This Anthro Life

The Fight To Save Cultural Memory With Charles Henry

Feb 16, 2024

47:43

How can we use CLIR's help to protect our cultural heritage during climate change? Could telling stories be a big help in keeping our culture alive? Why must we work together to fight climate change and save our heritage? And can technology bring together businesses and academics to help with this?

In this episode of This Anthro Life, we talk with Charles Henry, President of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), about protecting our cultural heritage during challenges like climate change. Charles explains how CLIR supports institutions with resources and funding to make their projects more impactful globally. We stress the importance of storytelling in preserving cultural memory and the need for cooperation to tackle climate change. We also discuss how competitive models between business and academia fall short and how digital technologies can help bridge these gaps.

We discuss the serious threat climate change poses to our cultural heritage, including both physical artifacts and traditions. We talk about how things like rising sea levels, droughts, fires, and other climate-related events endanger our cultural history. Additionally, we mention the importance of digital technologies like the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) in creating a neutral platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange, which is crucial for safeguarding cultural heritage against climate-related risks.Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking conversation with Charles Henry as we delve into the crucial topic of preserving our cultural heritage in the face of climate change. Discover how organizations like CLIR are making a global impact by providing resources and funding. Explore the power of storytelling in safeguarding cultural memory and the importance of cooperation in tackling climate challenges

Timestamps:

02:05 - Charles' Journey into Libraries and Digital Information
08:36 - Making Rare Materials Accessible: The Digitizing Hidden Collections Project
11:43 - Preserving Audiovisual Materials at Risk
12:16 - Building Networks in the GLAM Community
16:27 - Challenges Facing Higher Education Institutions
19:56 - The Importance of Collaboration in Strategic Plans
21:41 - Climate Crisis Threats to Cultural Heritage
29:39 - The Power of Storytelling in Driving Change
37:53 - Introduction to the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF)
45:12 - Technology's Role in Preserving Cultural Heritage

Key Takeaways:

Climate change can damage cultural stuff like old things and traditions because of floods and bad weather.
The Council on Library and Information Resources helps libraries save old things by giving them money and support.
Stories can bring people together, but the internet makes it hard for people to work together.
The Digital Library of the Middle East is a good example of how the internet can save old stuff from dangerous places.
Standards like the International Image Interoperability Framework help people share and learn about old things online.