Cultural Heritage Information Systems State of the Art and Perspectives

Abstract

Europe is diverse and complex – and its built cultural heritage reflects this. Millions of buildings, archaeological sites and city centres exist from Podsreda Castle in Slovenia to the historic core of Bilbao, Spain. This is one of Europe’s many strengths; however this diversity and complexity make the management of information concerning these resources a difficult task. In order to better manage Europe’s Cultural Heritage it is necessary to understand the current state of information systems and how they are used. To meet these aims four streams were researched in the framework of the European project EU-CHIC. This research offered a better understanding of how current systems are used, who uses them, how they function and what are the future research needs of the field. This in turn allows for better final recommendations for improvement in the management of Cultural Heritage. The four streams are: Government officials and decision makers, Professional end-users of information systems, Existing research and Future research priorities of information systems development and implementation. This paper describes the methodology of obtaining information from each stream, the final results and possible perspectives of further implementation, development and research into data management information systems and thus into integrated management approach to cultural heritage preservation.