Digital Heritage 2015

Digital Technology, the Need for Connection, and the Role of National Memory Institutions

The digital world has transformed how we think, how we communicate, and how we retain our collective memory.  In this landscape, memory organizations such as libraries and archives hold the key to keeping that collective memory alive, and making sure that it persists into the future. How do we use digital technology and our position as memory organizations to connect beyond the tendency to pursue only information which reflects isolated professional and personal interests? Can the digital world really dissolve the boundaries between memory organizations and others? How can we make the promise of connection, which is so basic to the digital environment, do more? What is the role of a national library and archives in all this? And how do we go beyond connecting to a process that achieves results? These are just a few of the questions being posed by Dr. Guy Berthiaume, the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, in this presentation.