International Workshop on Semantic Digital Archives
Berlin, 29.09.2011
From the website:
The Semantic Digital Archives Workshop will be an exciting opportunity for collaboration and cross-fertilization between the digital libraries, the digital archives and the semantic web community. Naturally, digital archiving is a heavily interdisciplinary topic. Semantic Digital Archives shall bring digital archives to a new level of interoperability by focussing on knowlede representation and knowledge management issues around digital archiving. We intend to have a discussion about all aspects concerning Semantic Digital Archives at the Workshop.
Since decades, the amount of content created digitally is increasing and its life cycle tends to remain digital. A selection of this content is expected to be of value for the future and can thus be considered being part of our cultural heritage. For example, a huge amount of digital publications that have to be stored and kept accessible within a digital library today will become obsolete some day and will not be accessed as frequently anymore. Then, it has to be decided which content will be of value in the future and shall therefore be archived and kept accessible for requests by information professionals like historians and journalists but possibly also for the general public.
Digital Archives provide a long-term curation perspective for the content residing in Digital Libraries and any other kind of data or knowledge base. Having to deal with any kind of data breeds an issue of huge complexity. However, even digital publications tend to become more and more complex, embedding different kinds of multimedia, data in arbitrary formats and software and challenge already current Digital Library systems. As soon as these digital publications become obsolete, but are still deemed to be of value in the future, they have to be transferred into an appropriate Archival Information System (AIS) where they need to be kept accessible possibly forever. AIS must face the challenge to provide sustainable (usually indefinite) long-term digital preservation.
Important Dates:
- 01. June 2011 – System will be open for Submissions
- 30. June 2011 – Deadline for Submissions
- 30. July 2011 – Acceptance Notification
- 20. August 2011 – Camera-ready papers due
- 20. September 2011 – Presentations due
- 29. September 2011 – Workshop to be held in Berlin
The semantics by which materials are accessed evolve and change over time. Topic maps are in a unique position to use present semantics and at the same time allow for the evolution of semantics.
Each new generation of researchers will have their unique views of archived materials. Without topic maps we will either deny them the right to their own views or lose the views of prior researchers. Either seems like a poor choice to me.
While you are in Berlin, be sure to visit the Pergamon Museum. The reconstruction of the Istar Gate from Babylon is an amazing sight.
The Ishtar Gate dates from about the mid-point of the written record of civilization. Preservation of semantics over historic time isn’t even approached by current proposals. Although I think topic maps should be in the running for ideas to consider.