Twenty Years of Arts Computing
CHArt Twentieth Annual Conference
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FUTURES PAST: Twenty Years of Arts Computing |
Christine L. Sundt, Visual Resources Collection, Architecture & Allied Arts Library, University of Oregon, USA
Digital Projects Past and Present - Survivors or Fossils?
New digital initiatives have always enjoyed a special place in Visual Resources: An International Journal of Documentation during its twenty years in print. From early videodisks and pioneering websites to databases and online inventories, Visual Resources has featured many such projects that promised, when fully implemented, a bright future and enlightened users. But whatever happened to these seductive promises after the ink dried and the journal issue found a comfortable spot on a bookshelf?
This paper will provide an overview of digital projects highlighted in Visual Resources though the years with an analysis of a few that have prospered and some that have faded from view. Why did some succeed while others did not? What we learn from the past we can help us enrich the future. Visual Resources may hold the key.