University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The history and future of local history infrastructure: Open access and Commodification of local history in the United States and the Anglosphere

Lenstra, Noah

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/17434

Description

Title
The history and future of local history infrastructure: Open access and Commodification of local history in the United States and the Anglosphere
Author(s)
Lenstra, Noah
Issue Date
2010-11-27
Keyword(s)
  • community informatics
  • cultural heritage
  • local history
  • archives
  • historical societies
Abstract
This paper argues that constructing an open access infrastructure for the global sharing of local history information requires understanding the historical periodization of local history infrastructures across time and space. This paper presents such a periodization in the contexts of the United States and the Anglosphere. Local history infrastructure is composed of deliberately created institutions that make accessible the historical information of local, historical, organic communities. A key finding is that the global spread of information technology has enabled a business model to emerge for charging access to community information. This business model conflicts with the historical model wherein community memory is construed as a free, public good.
Publisher
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China, Peking University
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/17434

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