An interdisciplinary volume of essays identifying the impact of
technology on the age-old cultural practice of collecting as well as the
opportunities and pitfalls of collecting in the digital era.
Seminal to the rise of human cultures, the practice of collecting is an
expression of individual and societal self-understanding. Through
collections, cultures learn and grow. The introduction of digital
technology has accelerated this process and at the same time changed
how, what, and why we collect. Ever-expanding storage capacities and the
accumulation of unprecedented amounts of data are part of a highly
complex information economy in which collecting has become even more
important for the formation of the past, present, and future. Museums,
libraries, and archives have adapted to the requirements of a digital
environment, as has anyone who browses the internet and stores
information on hard drives or cloud servers. In turn, companies follow
the digital footprint we leave behind. Today, collecting includes not
only physical objects but also the binary code that allows for their
virtual representation on screen. Collecting in the Twenty-First Century
identifies the impact of technology, both new and old, on the cultural
practice of collecting as well as the challenges and opportunities of
collecting in the digital era. Scholars from German Studies, Media
Studies, Museum Studies, Sound Studies, Information Technology, and Art
History as well as librarians and preservationists offer insights into
the most recent developments in collecting practices.
