The digitalization of the Erik Gunnar Asplund collection at The Swedish Museum of Architecture
The back ground to the project is that Asplund is Sweden s foremost architect. He belongs to a small group of architects that through their architecture made a deep impact and changed the direction of modern architecture, both in Sweden and internationally. It is therefore not surprising that UNESCO has listed one of his projects, Skogskyrkogården, as a world cultural heritage. Other objects of interest are the town library of Stockholm and the internationally renowned extension of the Gothenburg Rådhus (town council)etc.
The status of the collection is that the Museum more or less never allows researchers to study the material, thus making it difficult to conduct archive based research about Asplund. On the other hand the collection is the most asked for amongst researchers in Sweden and abroad, which states a very large problem. It is therefore great importance that the collection is digitalized and made accessible for researchers.
The collection is today held at the museum in Stockholm. The digitalization will be taken care of by the National Archives, which is a guaranty for high quality images and that the collection is well taken care of during the entire process.
- The purpose and development of the infrastructure
The purpose of the project was to digitize the architect Erik Gunnar Asplund's collection consisting of approximately 26,000 drawings, sketches and other documents. The goal was to make the material available digitally, contribute to increased accessibility, and thus also promote research, for researchers both nationally and internationally (and not as before only through site visits to ArkDes in Stockholm), while ensuring that the often very fragile material remains for the future, at least through long-term preservation in digital form. Because it is a matter of fact that the material included in ArkDes collections (which today consists of almost 4 million drawings, sketches, etc.) is often of a paper quality that does not allow long-term preservation. Asplund's collection of about 26,000 objects is no exception. This has meant that the material has not been able to be kept available for research in a way that is in relation to the architect's significance both from a national and from an international perspective. At the same time, Asplund's collection is the most asked for at ArkDes, and has been so for decades. This is also the background to the application, to create conditions for satisfying the research's need for accessibility to the collection.
Digitization thus ensured both accessibility and long-term preservation.
Since the project was granted funding, things have happened in terms of digital accessibility. Above all, it is the digital platform Digital Museum (DM) that has developed explosively. The number of affiliated institutions to DM has increased, as well as the number of users and the number of downloads. In general, ArkDes has over time noticed a significant change in the number of research inquiries and physical visits to ArkDes and our research room. The number of inquiries and visits has decreased significantly, which is most likely related to increased digital accessibility to the collections.
-The results of the project so far, and a reasoning about these.
The purpose as stated in the application was to digitize the collection's approximately 26,000 objects with the long-term goal of making the material available to researchers and other stakeholders both nationally and internationally.
The result so far is that all about 26,000 objects have been digitized. These are 26,000 high-resolution images. The material has been digitized according to plan through an agreement with the National Archives' Media Conversion Centre, MKC, which has contributed to high quality both in the handling of the sensitive objects, and the quality of the digital files. The process has been of high quality where no objects have been damaged and where the delivery of the digital material has worked without complaint. Curators from ArkDes have closely followed the work in close dialogue with staff at MKC and in connection with site visits.
The material has gradually been able to be uploaded to DM. Today, all objects are registered in DM of which just over half are connected to a digital image of the object. That everything has not yet been made available via DM with an image is due to two things; on the one hand, it is enormously time-consuming, and on the other hand, it requires cutting-edge knowledge in the digital field. Within the group of collection curators, there has always been one curator with that competence. Since the project ended, however, there has been an unusually high turnover for that service. Three people have started and quit since 2015. Only now in the autumn of 2020 a new digital curator is on the way, which will hopefully help to complete the publication via DM.
What we can state, however, is that the material that is digitally available is used. The number of publications that have been published in the years since the project ended in 2015 is extensive. The report below also shows that many of the books and articles published are international and in several different languages.
- Briefly about how the infrastructure was used and what research was started with the help of the infrastructure.
As mentioned above, we can state that a large number of books, articles, essays, etc. have been published. about the architect Erik Gunnar Asplund. Undoubtedly, the digitized objects have played a role in the completion of these publications. At the same time, as mentioned above, the demand for the digitized material via ArkDes has decreased, which indicates an increased use via DM as the number of publications indicates a continued great interest in Asplund and ArkDes collection.
- Unforeseen technical and methodological problems, as well as deviations from the original plan.
As mentioned above, we have had some problems with the supply of skills as key people left the authority, something we are about to solve.
- The integration of work in the authority / organization, and how the infrastructure is to be maintained in the long term.
The work with the project, and the work that followed it, is an integral part of ArkDes operations. The collection is the very heart of the authority and administration, making it available, digitizing and long-term preservation are central tasks. The project has thus fitted in well with the authority's regular activities and the assignment that the authority has.
The main platform is the Digital Museum. It is under constant development where we, as one of several hundred players, have influence over how the business can be developed to the benefit of accessibility for researchers in different disciplines.
- Infrastructure accessibility and relation to requirements for open accessibility and Open Science.
The digitized collection is completely open and free to use. The images are free to use and can be downloaded free of charge.
- Any international collaborations.
This is expressed by the fact that the material has been made available through this project. However, this was not necessary for the actual implementation of the project.
- Any publications that have been released as a result of research conducted in connection with the infrastructure.
The materials are available via the Digital Museum, which makes it difficult to track usage. The pictures are free to download. High resolution, and free to use as it has been more than 70 years since the author died. However, it can be stated that since the digitalisation and an increased availability of the material, the following publication have been made possible. This is evident from searches made in a number of databases. See tab "Publication list".
Links to own web pages.
www.arkdes.se
www.digitaltmuseum.se