------- Original Message --------
Subject: Digital Lives: New Research Project to Explore the Nation's
Digital Memories
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 12:33:28 +0100
From: Kankainen, Suvi <[log in to unmask]>
New research project to explore the nation's digital memories
* 'Digital Lives' sets to understand how we use computers in our daily
lives to capture personal moments and memories
* Led by the British Library with University College London and Bristol
University
* All creators and users of digital information invited to fill in an
online survey
From diaries, letters, jottings and photo albums to blogging, emailing,
tweeting and flickr-ing, the digital revolution has affected enormously
the ways in which we record our personal lives. These largely
born-digital collections will become invaluable in years to come for
researchers - from biographers and historians to literary critics and
scientists. Currently nobody knows for sure what is happening to this
material and whether it can be made available in the future. 'Digital
Lives' aims to begin to answer these questions.
Dr Jeremy Leighton John, the British Library's Curator of e-Manuscripts
and the Principal Investigator of 'Digital Lives', says: "More and more
people are creating, acquiring and holding digital information on their
desktops, laptops and hand-held devices. We need to begin to understand
the way people capture, maintain and share digital information, the
legal and ethical environment in which they do so, including perceptions
and realities of ownership, and the impact of new technologies on
recording our lives."
The team is now looking for help from anyone who uses computers in their
daily lives. There are two ways in which people can participate and
help the 'Digital Lives' project:
* By completing an online survey at
http://www.bl.uk/digitallivessurvey.html The survey looks at the way
people currently use their computers to capture their digital lives
* By sending in details of technologies and online services relevant for
capturing, retaining and sharing digital information to [log in to unmask]
As the custodian of the nation's collective memory the British Library
has an interest in enabling future access to digital archives and
personal collections created by individuals in the 21st century. The
project team has already interviewed a number of individuals such as the
politician Tony Benn, molecular biologist Richard Henderson, playwright,
actor and comedian Patrick Marber, digital storyteller and photographer
Daniel Meadows, architects M. J. Long and Rolfe Kentish, and
geophysicist Martin Siegert.
For further information about 'Digital Lives' please visit
http://www.bl.uk/digitallivessurvey.html or contact Suvi Kankainen in
the British Library's Press Office [log in to unmask]
Tel: 020 7412 7105 or Lawrence Christensen [log in to unmask]
Tel: 020 7412 7114.
--
Karen Blakeman
UKeiG Honorary Secretary, Web Site Liaison
mailto:[log in to unmask]
t: +44 118 947 2256 f: +44 20 8020 0253 m: +44 7764 936733
88 Star Road, Caversham, Berkshire, RG4 5BE
http://www.ukeig.org.uk/
http://ukeig.xwiki.com/
http://ukeig.wordpress.com/
UKeiG is a Special Interest Group of CILIP
Registered Charity Number: 313014
|