Digitisation of cultural and scientific heritage in Lower Austria 2005(Status report March 2005)
• Museums
• Libraries
• Archives
• Other institutions and initiatives
1) Museums
1.1) Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum
Currently, the collections of the Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum (state museum of Lower Austria) are registered in a databank. The objects are accessible via the museum’s online platform eMuseum. As digitisation is ongoing, only a part of the museum's collections are registered to date. Over the next years, the service will be constantly expanded.
Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum
The Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum is responsible for the preservation, the scientific analysis and presentation as well as the management of collections based on societal, cultural, artistic, and the natural historical development of the province of Lower Austria.
The museum has comprehensive collections in fine arts (from Middle Ages to the modern times), natural history (geology, mineralogy, palaeontology, botany, zoology), folk, archaeology (prehistory and antiquity), as well as a presentation of the province and its inhabitants.
1.2) Other museums
The privately owned museums (mostly run by municipalities and societies) are supported in their activities by Volkskultur Niederösterreich. This also includes aspects of digitisation.
The major focus in respect to digitisation is on the establishment of database inventories.
Museums use the database system IMDAS-Pro which has been developed by Joanneum Research. With IMDAS-Pro all objects can be documented and can be used by research and managers of museum collections as well as by visitors via the Internet.
Volkskultur Niederösterreich
Volkskultur Niederösterreich was founded in 1998. It is a network of institutions and persons in the cultural field in Lower Austria. Its main objective is to support museums and folk culture from Lower Austria. In addition, it supports the organisation of events and training.
Waldbauernmuseum Gutenstein
The Waldbauernmuseum (a museum on woodland farmers) holds more than 2,000 objects. These include a variety of tools and furniture that reflect the life and the work of woodland farmers. The museum first known as the Holzmuseum (museum of wood), originates from the private collection of Wilhelm Ast. In 1989, the Waldbauernmusuem was awarded the Austrian museum award.
In addition to cataloguing its collection, the Waldbauernmusuem Gutenstein also digitises its collection of handicraft films and links them to its database. These films (lime and char burning, how to make shingles etc.) can be viewed in-house via large-screen video projections.
2) Libraries
2.1) Niederösterreichische Landesbibliothek
There are a number of digitisation activities by the Niederösterreichische Landesbibliothek (state library of the province of Lower Austria). One of the most important activities is DITHAKA – a project which digitises the historical topographical maps of the region.
The scanned images are continually integrated in a growing online catalogue. In a first step, the most valuable objects from the topographical collection will be digitised (scanned). This collection has about 100,000 objects whereby about 10,000 objects have already been scanned. At the beginning, local views, landscapes and architectural images are scanned (20,000 to 30,000 images). Post cards have not been digitised at this stage.
In a further step, the collection of maps will be digitised. To date, only one map has been digitised: the map of Lower Austria by Georg M. Vischer (1697), which can also be viewed online.
For scanning, the library uses a flatbed scanner (in the formats A3 and A4). The digitised objects are saved at 300 dpi in TIFF format. For presentation on the Web, images with 72 dpi in JPEG format are used. The high quality images will only be made available against payment.
The project’s aims are to preserve objects and to make them available to the public via the Web.
Furthermore, the Niederösterreichische Landesbibliothek collaborates with Austrian libraries in the digitisation of magazines – the project ANNO.
Finally, the NÖ Landesbibliothek purchased those parts of the Essmann collection which feature Lower Austria. This represents over 30,000 images (photos and post cards) from the period before the Second World War. These are now being prepared for publication.
Niederösterreichische Landesbibliothek
The Niederösterreichische Landesbibliothek is the public library of Lower Austria. Its mission is to preserve the historical memory of the province and to preserve its cultural heritage. The library is also a service provider for the citizens of Lower Austria and the library of the public administration of the province. Its collections include books, newspapers, maps, as well as the topographical collection.
3) Archives
3.1) Niederösterreichisches Landesarchiv & Niederösterreichisches Institut für Landeskunde
A major activity of the Niederösterreichisches Landesarchiv is the cataloguing of its collections. The NÖ Institut für Landeskunde (the research institute on state matters), which is part of the archive, is currently working on the bibliography of the publications from the province. The publications which have already been documented can be accessed online via BIS-C 2000 Webopac (Online Public Access Catalogue). The bibliography can also be accessed via the state search engine Wissenschaft und Forschung in Niederösterreich.
In addition, the collections dealing with the period of Nazi occupation have been catalogued and the NÖ Institut für Landeskunde is microfilming documents from the period of 1945-55.
Niederösterreichisches Landesarchiv
The NÖ Landesarchiv preserves the administrative documentation of the current and past administrations and courts in Lower Austria. These include charters, manuscripts and documents from the Middle Ages to the present.
The NÖ Institut für Landeskunde, which is part of the archive, was founded in 1978. Its main responsibility is to analyse, document and present the historical and present development of the province. The main focus is on legal, economic, social and cultural development.
4) Other initiatives and institutions
4.1) Zentrum für Bildwissenschaften der Donau-Universität Krems
The Centre for Visual Studies (Zentrum für Bildwissenschaften) of the Danube University Krems offers consultancy and training in the management of digital collections and cultural institutions, including archives, museums, as well as company archives which seek to digitise their collections.
The Centre built its own digitisation centre in 2003, which includes an electronic digital repro-station. It has also been involved in a number of digitisation projects: In 2002, it started researching and digitising the collection of Graphic Cabinet of the Göttweig monastery.
Other projects: - eGallery – Parlament: Digitisation of the collection of the Austrian parliament and presentation on the Web.
- Digitale Aufarbeitung Plakatsammlung: Digitisation of the collection of posters of the Höhere Grafische Bundes-Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt from the early 20th century (80 posters).
4.2) Institut für Realienkunde des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit der Akademie der Wissenschaften (IMAREAL)
The Institut für Realienkunde des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit was founded in 1969. It is a research institution at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The institute focuses on the diversity of human life, starting from a material culture perspective.
The institute has been involved in a number of digitisation and research projects:
4.3) Niederösterreichisches Volksliedarchiv
The Niederösterreichische (NÖ) Volksliedwerk is located at the Volkskultur Niederösterreich. Its mission is to collect, analyse, document and foster folk culture in Lower Austria, e.g. folk music and dance, poetry and regional theatre. The collected material is part of its archive (Volksliedarchiv).
The Niederösterreichische Volksliedarchiv has catalogued its collections. They can be accessed online via the platform DABIS.
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