Future past: integrated preservation information systems

“And what we can see and imagine gives us faith for what surpasses the imagination” (Wells, 1902)

A rich cultural heritage can serve as a vehicle that enlivens all levels of educational development and promotes an interdisciplinary dialogue concerning preservation goals and objectives. A comprehensive, integrated information base is essential to sustaining the viability of this diverse cultural heritage and to promoting a national preservation agenda. The collective experiences and practices of local preservation efforts, when assembled into a readily accessible knowledge base, can effectively inform efforts to resolve preservation challenges nationwide.

As the ideal of historic preservation has come to accommodate a variety of philosophical perspectives, so too must the efforts to adapt new technologies to the tasks of cultural resource management. The development of more effective mechanisms for informing the decision processes will encourage resource administrators to assume greater responsibility for the management of cultural resources. It will enable the preservation community to strengthen its social, economic, and political advocacy for the conservation and celebration of our delicate, yet durable, cultural roots. Through the outreach to public and private constituencies, and through the development of market applications for cost effective preservation products, technologies, and services, the positive socioeconomic benefits of sensible, sensitive cultural resource management will serve to institutionalize the perception of our cultural heritage as an integral part of a healthy, informed society.

The goal of this work is to demonstrate through developed prototypes and projected scenarios, alternatives for technology transfer, adaptation, and application that can facilitate better informed decisions about the management of an increasingly threatened cultural heritage. This body of information will contribute to the resolution of the most critical needs of the preservation process, and will enhance the ability of private, state, and federal agencies to meet their legal obligations in the management and protection of our cultural heritage. The work demonstrates that the whole of the preservation process can be enhanced by exploiting the opportunities inherent in emerging information management technologies.