1995 National Preservation Office Conference
Formal Opening
Opening speech for the 2nd National Preservation Office Conference: Multimedia Preservation - Capturing the Rainbow by the Hon. Matt Foley, Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Industrial Relations and the Arts, Brisbane Hilton Hotel, Tuesday 28 November, 1995.
Acknowledgements:
- Des Stephens, State Librarian
- Jan Lyall, Director, National Preservation Office
- Eric Wainwright, Director General, National Library of Australia
- National and international guests
- Ladies and gentlemen
We are often encouraged to see ourselves as travellers on the "information superhighway", journeying towards the "global village". Yet many may wonder exactly what this village has in store for us, and whether our arrival there means that those distinguishing marks that make each culture a thing of distinction, are eroded by the megabytes of the Internet.
The preservation of our heritage is a key factor in ensuring that we maintain our sense of identity within the onslaught of new technology. We need to ensure that we can embrace such technology confidently, while maintaining our cultural identity.
This conference, "Multimedia Preservation: Capturing the Rainbow", provides a forum to discuss the issues of culture through the employment of new technologies. A wide range of crucial issues will be addressed, such as the digitising of the collections of libraries and archives, and the production of interactive multimedia products which make collections held in galleries and museums accessible. Issues of copyright, and other specific legal, economic and access questions will also be considered, as will relationships between collection institutions and the trade, business and cultural heritage industries.
The Queensland government recognises the importance of such relationships. The cultural policy statement, "Building Local - Going Global", promotes a future which locks together business and culture. The policy builds upon the Federal government's "Creative Nation" which promotes multi-media industry development as a core strategy in developing Australia as a leading player in the information economy.
It is important to recognise that multi-media and digitisation can offer us greater access to, and preservation of our heritage, but it must also be acknowledged that the new technologies pose enormous questions for those creating and managing information, as the democratisation of information is breaking down the traditional boundaries between museums, galleries and libraries.
This conference plays a major role in bringing together industry, government policy makers, content creators and information managers to discuss these major issues, which have the potential to reinvent our cultural institutions and transform our economy.
Already the advantages of this technology in the preservation of our cultural life are becoming evident in Queensland: the Ipswich City Council's "Global Information Centre" offers on-line access to City Council Services, and community access to the World Wide Web.
The Rockhampton City Council has recently completed the establishment of a database of the city art collection, which is available to both the community and contributes to the eventual development of a state-wide database of collections.
The Queensland Art Gallery has recently received funding from the State Government, to establish an electronic network for regional galleries. Such a network helps overcome the regionalised nature of Queensland's population.
The Federal Department of Communication and the Arts has supported a feasibility study to digitise and network community heritage collections in the Mackay, Whitsunday, Nebo and Mirani shires. This national pilot is being managed by "Museums Australia" as part of the development of the national collection project.
What these projects and the many that will follow show us, is that the information superhighway need not be something to fear, but instead that it has enormous access and dissemination potential.
The challenge for those of you involved in this cutting-edge technology is surely to ensure that the highway is open for all, and that our global culture does not polarise us into the technologically empowered and the technically impoverished.
On that cautionary note, I formally declare this conference open, and wish you every success with the discussions, debates and decisions made over these four days.
Last updated 27 February 1998
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