From the Editor

Preservation, Digital Technology and Culture is presenting its second issue for 2024, with five articles that deal with the heritage preservation using 3D digital models, access to archival collections in the digital age, blockchain technology application for the participatory design, modelling methods in electronic libraries, rare manuscript preservation initiative through digitalization and the Declaration on the protection of archives, libraries, museums and heritage places during armed conflicts and political instability. The Declaration was jointly prepared and published on May 30, 2024, by four sister organisations active in the field of cultural heritage preservation and protection: International Council on Archives (ICA), International Council of Museums (ICOM), International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

The international community in May this year celebrated the seventieth anniversary of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (The Hague Convention), with this occasion conveniently used for the publication of the Declaration as a reminder of it to the whole world, which is witnessing an increasing threat of wars, conflicts and political instabilities. During the conference in The Hague, hosted in May 2024 by UNESCO and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, partners from around the world gathered to emphasize the need of protecting cultural heritage. The Declaration thus emphasises the signatories’ “profound concern about this escalating destruction of life and cultural heritage during armed conflict and political instability”, which are also causing the destruction of museums, archives, libraries and heritage places, “a vital and unique part of the culture of the peoples affected by the conflict”. All four sister organisations, ICA, ICOM, ICOMOS and IFLA, working globally in the interest of cultural heritage institutions and places, therefore advocate for the protection of culture in general and particularly for respect and protection of all libraries, archives, museums and heritage places. Cultural institutions and places are “indispensable to the survival of our societies”, as culture is seen as an essential element for recovery and peace promotion. The Declaration urges all involved in conflict to respect the work of archivists, librarians, museums and heritage professionals and their role in using “available resources to protect the materials in their custody during times of war”: “Our organisations thus jointly recall the importance of protecting cultural and documentary heritage as an essential component of cultural rights and express the shared position that cultural and documentary heritage professionals play an essential role in building a peaceful, sustainable, and collective future.”

Preservation, Digital Technology and Culture supports the Declaration on the protection of archives, libraries, museums and heritage places during armed conflicts and political instability, as it is in line with the journal’s objective of preserving digital content, primarily that identified as part of collective heritage, from a wide variety of perspectives, including technological, social, economic, political, and user. In 2024 Preservation, Digital Technology and Culture aims to devote its space for topics and articles that deal with the digital preservation of cultural heritage which is under threat of wars and crisis in the world, aligning itself with the overall message of the Declaration. Therefore, we are repeating our call for articles that will contribute to the aforementioned topics and could impact our readership and wider global community.

This issue opens with the article “A Digital Preservation for The Indonesian First Terminus” by Harmilyanti Sulistyani (Institute Seni Indonesia Surakarta, Indonesia). Indonesia, as many countries, developed its railway network during the long process of the modernisation of its society. The railway system is very important part of the history of Indonesia and Java, but some important aspects of its past are almost forgotten. The existence of the first terminus in Indonesia has been nearly forgotten, even though it is “undeniable that trains, railways, and stations are the vehicles that ushered in the arrival of modernisation to Indonesia”. This article deals with the Semarang Station, which was the first terminus in Indonesia built in the nineteenth century. The author analyses the potential of digital reconstruction for preservation and conservation of this important historical and heritage site regarding its architectural evolution. As there are a few drawings and photos of the original station, textual sources were used to validate the information from the visual sources, in an effort to produce 3D digital models from digitalised 2D objects. The architectural morphology analysis was applied for the creation of relevant data used to produce the 3D models, which is the main objective of the Semarang Station digital reconstruction.

“Preserving the Past, Enabling the Future: Assessing the European Policy on Access to Archives in the Digital Age” is our second article, authored by Michael Friedewald (Fraunhofer-Institut für System und Innovationsforschung ISI, Germany), Iván Székely (Central European University, Hungary) and Murat Karaboga (Fraunhofer-Institut für System und Innovationsforschung ISI, Germany). The authors conducted this study to investigate the implementation and challenges of accessing archives in the digital age within the broader European policy context. An online survey and expert interviews were used for data collection from multiple sources in all Council of Europe member states, including archival institutions, professional users and civil society organisations, with the study showing several findings. Although the digitisation positively impacts archival material and document accessibility, only a small portion of archival holdings have been digitised, with one of the reasons for this within the realm of data protection and copyright, including the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). On the other hand, the digitisation is convenient as it reduces workload and improves user access, while automated metadata creation and identification pose at the same time a great opportunity and challenge for archival institutions. The study shows the importance of cooperation among memory institutions in sharing know-how and experience that could lead to enhanced digital accessibility or archival collections.

Brian Whelan (Western Carolina University, USA) is the author of the next article, “Enhancing Participatory Design Through Blockchain”. Blockchain technology in this article is approached from the perspective of Participatory Design (PD), as a complex approach to designing products, services and systems that actively involve people who will be impacted by the design process. Despite the tremendous potential of blockchain technology, there has been a notable lack of research on the use of blockchain in PD. This research makes an important contribution to the PD literature by illuminating numerous challenge areas for successful PD project administration and demonstrating how the use of blockchain technology can substantially improve each of those areas. Some specific usage scenarios for blockchain in PD initiatives are illuminated, along with corresponding benefits that may enhance the outcomes of PD initiatives.

Our fourth contribution in this issue is “Methods of Modelling Electronic Academic Libraries: Technological Concept of Electronic Libraries” by Nurbolat Kolbayev, Kalima Tuyenbayeva, Danakul Seitimbetova and Nurlan Apakhayev (all Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan). This article presents a study about the modelling methods in academic electronic libraries for examining and understanding the library’s structure and operation in the digital environment, within a context that included comparative analysis of Kazakhstani, British and American electronic libraries examples. The main findings of this study show that modern electronic libraries incorporate the conceptual modelling method with the establishment of a clear hierarchy between objects of the electronic library and attributes of search queries, the logical method using search categorisation, the informational method employing the semantic principle of material construction and the systemic-functional method to ensure a balance between functions, structure, technologies and management system.

The last article in this issue is “Preservation as a Shared Responsibility: Collaboration for the Sustainable Preservation of Ambon Manuscripts”, by Sarwo Ferdi Wibowo (National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia), Alfida (UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Indonesia), Khairul Fuad, Devi Fauziyah Ma’rifat, Fatimah Zuhrah and Warnis (all National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia). Ambon manuscripts in the former Hitu kingdom are rare and valuable historical resources for understanding part of the diverse cultural heritage in Indonesia. This study discerns optimal practices for sustainable preservation of manuscripts, which are kept in various conditions, both in institutions and in private collections. The analysis focuses mostly on digital preservation methods, skills and practices, with the active participation of individuals who own and have an in-depth knowledge about the manuscripts, that could provide valuable information in the post-digitisation process of preservation. One of the findings of the study is that there is a gap in knowledge transfer between older and younger generations regarding Ambon manuscripts. Therefore, it is necessary to work on building competences in digital and non-digital preservation among the members of indigenous communities such as Ambon, in an effort to secure sustainable preservation of cultural heritage.

The issue closes with the Currents section, which includes the Declaration on the protection of archives, libraries, museums and heritage places during armed conflicts and political instability. Preservation, Digital Technology and Culture appreciates four signatories of the Declaration and is thankful for the possibility of re-publishing it in this issue of the journal under the CC BY 4.0 licence.