Translational Challenges in Cross-Cultural Digitization Ethics: The Case of Chinese Marriage Documents, 1909-1997

Abstract

Digitization of archival materials has gained global popularity as both practice in cultural heritage institutions and a scholarly topic. However, ethical issues involved in digitization, especially the challenges brought by cross-cultural archival digitization practices, have been only weakly explored. In the domain of Asian Studies librarianship in the United States, digitizing archive materials acquired from Asian countries in academic and research libraries has facilitated Asian Studies research, but also brought up ethical concerns of inappropriately translating the original culture for new audiences. This paper treats digitization as a translational device bridging cultural contexts, public audiences, and personal accounts, as well as openness and privacy. Focusing on the unique open-access digital archival collection The Chinese Marriage Documents (1909-1997) at the University of Pittsburgh as a case study, I examine crucial cross-cultural ethics involved in the digitization process and discuss best practices to digitize and disseminate culturally sensitive archives ethically.