Open Cultural Repositories : Cases of the Digital Public Library of America and Europeana

Abstract

This article presents issues of the concept of open data for cultural heritage institutions in other countries that have incorporated the concept of open data into their cultural heritage information management practices, namely (1) the Digital Public Library of America in the United States and (2) Europeana in the European Union. The paper studied research papers, theses, research articles, and academic articles, both in Thai and foreign languages. The study results found that 1) the primary operating characteristics are the characteristics of a digital platform that collects cultural heritage data from various sources, has a working structure of technology and data standards, including sources of funding; 2) important resources include metadata, technology, and personnel; 3) partners or allies include cultural heritage data, such as libraries, museums, art galleries, archives, etc. In terms of technology, it is mainly supported by open-source software groups; and 4) User groups include students, teachers, researchers, etc.