Editorial

Figure 1.

Painted Tower, Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde, 1934. Beginning in the 1930s, a team of American archaeologists, photographers, and architects developed a highly effective hybrid method of site documentation before and after intervention by combining the precision of large format photography with the conventions of architectural drawings. This annotated composite record anticipates the later requirements of heritage documentation, which was first realized through transparent photo-mechanical overlays and today through digital media such as geographic information systems. (Photo by Markley, courtesy National Park Service, Mesa Verde National Park)

Innovation has always played an important role in heritage conservation. The interdisciplinary requirements of the field have required professionals to think creatively and to employ a wide variety of techniques and methodologies. While disciplinary collaboration is well established, the technological revolution in the capture, analysis, and dissemination of information is evolving at a rapid pace, requiring constant reevaluation of the goals and objectives of heritage documentation. Mainstream technology is now available that allows professionals not only to gather and process data precisely and efficiently, but also all on compatible platforms. This is a critical requirement as an increasing number of diverse specialists with their own language and data requirements contribute to the conservation project and a more informed public demands access to that information.

Previous and current efforts to address these needs include the activities of the RecorDIM (Recording, Documentation, and Information Management) Initiative, a project that developed out of four years of workshops organized by the Committee for Documentation of Cultural Heritage (CIPA Heritage Documentation) jointly sponsored by ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) and ISPRS (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) from 1995 until 1999. The result of these years of work was the RecorDIM Initiative, founded in 2002 by ICOMOS, CIPA Heritage Documentation, and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI). From the beginning the partners recognized the "critical gaps between those who provide recording, documentation, and information management tools and professionals in cultural heritage management who use the tools," a reality uncovered over the course of the initial workshops in the 1990s.¹ As a result, the following goals were identified:

1. 1. To improve perception and communication in recording, documentation, and information management;

2. 2. To integrate communication in recording, documentation, and information management activities into the conservation process;

3. 3. To increase resources for documentation;

4. 4. To define, develop, and promote documentation tools;

5. 5. To disseminate information; and

6. 6. To make available training/learning programs.²

Most cultural heritage professionals agree that the need for a more sophisticated understanding of technology is a critical one; however, "bridging the gap" between the user and provider must be addressed through education on both sides that seeks instead to narrow that gap. While heritage conservation's unique research and management needs argue for specific requirements in documentation and recording, it is worth asking whether activities such as software development are the most appropriate place for cultural heritage organizations to invest their time and energy. Similarly, it would be foolish to embrace uncritically technologies developed for situations and applications removed from the immediate and especially long-term obligations of heritage stewardship. The promise of ultimate data capture of a resource now for future use is a seductive opportunity that should be considered in light of other requirements and often more immediate needs such as its versatility and ability to be used in simultaneous applications by a variety of specialists as well as site managers. Data that is difficult to manipulate, transfer, and migrate, no matter how exact, does not satisfy the requirements of most cultural heritage projects.

Ultimately all conservation projects, especially those that require documentation and information management, must include discussions about digital tools. As long as we continue to treat digital technology as outside the conservation process or as an afterthought, we will fail to inform, manage, and educate effectively. Despite its widespread presence, the use of digital technology in the field of conservation/preservation is only recently being considered as a topic to be studied in and of itself. Many important initiatives have occurred within individual organizations; however, the time has come to...