The Archive 2.0 project has completed its start-up phase and published a white paper entitled “Archive 2.0: Imagining The Michigan State University Israelite Samaritan Scroll Collection as the Foundation for a Thriving Social Network”. The project involves digitally preserving three Israelite Samaritan Pentateuchs and is being done by the Writing in Digital Environments (WIDE) research center at Michigan State University (MSU).
Lead author Jim Ridolfo, graduate of MSU’s Rhetoric & Writing program and Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati, and WIDE co-director Bill Hart-Davidson were recently interviewed about the project for The Chronicle of Higher Education. They talked about the extensive field work conducted, cultural considerations in digitizing the collection, and what can be gained from a digital archive. Hart-Davidson explains:
[...] When an archive becomes a digital resource, it not only means that users can access it from all over the world. It also means that an archive transforms to become a place where interaction among stakeholder groups can take place. In many respects, this is quite different from a traditional archive, which is often characterized by tight control over the ways users can interact with artifacts and, perhaps less deliberately, with one another. Hushed conversations and gloved hands are no longer required in digital spaces.
It’s great to see this project gaining recognition. I highly recommend reading through the white paper to get a sense of the history and culture involved as the authors transform archival practices.
