Querying Cultural Heritage Data for research is a new field in the Digital Humanities. While collections presented in museums, archives, photo collections, and projects often have a digital presence in the net, only part of the information becomes visible for the researcher on the museum’s webpage. Current tendencies from the Digital Humanities however show, how to offer computational queries digging into the internal database through query endpoints. These query methods assume consistent data, following general standards for data queries and Linked Data. This way, museums, archives, and projects are providing valid primary sources for researchers. Allowing for a completely different kind of research than the object alone would have provided, the method provides insights up to the point of thick data queries, taking collections into the realm of Data Science and Digital Humanities research.

This collection of essays is addressing issues around the complicated backend of setting up institutional and project data, IIIF images, and query endpoints, for queries considering either single institutions or collective approaches. Finally, some case studies are addressing querying possibilities, by discussing the complex issues involved, as well as the advantages and limitations that go along with this method.

Editors: Angela Dressen (Guest Editor)


Cultural Heritage Data for Research: Opening Museum Collections, Project Data and Digital Images for Research, Query and Discovery

  • 1 

Special Collections