Models and tools for the digital organisation of knowledge: accessible and adaptive narratives for cultural heritage

Abstract

The cultural heritage sector includes a significant variety and complexity of data and information. Making this accessible today represents one of the main aims of cultural institutes. The connections between digital archives and knowledge enable the extension of this wealth of information beyond the physical existence of cultural assets by fostering the creation of digital libraries based on the comparison and interaction of data and on sharing the most up-to-date scientific literature. To this purpose, the results of the analysis on the Italian system of cataloguing and dissemination of knowledge related to cultural heritage are first illustrated. These are indispensable for enhancing the experience of cultural heritage, starting from guidebooks and travel literature, which represent the first codified forms of description of cultural heritage addressed to an audience of visitors/users, and ending with the most recent ways of sharing knowledge related to cultural heritage. Among these, digital platforms for participatory storytelling and the drafting of innovative texts and narratives stand out. Particular attention is paid to the innovative models for the use and enjoyment of cultural heritage employed in some of the main institutes and museums, where examples are analysed to effectively illustrate the emergence of new forms and modes of knowledge and narrative of cultural heritage, between big data and digital devices. Through these analyses, this article provides an overall picture of the current models and methods for the digital organisation of cultural heritage knowledge in order to raise awareness of the main critical issues encountered and to activate targeted planning and design processes capable of responding adequately to the needs of an increasingly active and participative user base in the processes of learning and enjoyment of cultural heritage. The interactions between scientific and technological research characterise the field of cultural heritage knowledge and are both instrumental in facilitating established approaches and contribute to changing the very parameters of research by posing new epistemological questions.