Traveling Heritages
In the book Traveling Heritages. New Perspectives on Collecting, Preserving and Sharing Women’s History, cultural heritage specialists discuss the newest methods of collecting cultural heritage. They pose important questions, such as: whose history is being collected, and why?
Digitization and globalization
The increasing digitization and globalization of information is dramatically changing in the ways in which librarians and archivists do their work. Throughout the world, the methods of collecting historical material are changing, and more and more material is becoming digitally accessible.Whose history?
New developments in the field of history have led to the realization that collecting cultural heritage is not an objective process. We must continually ask ourselves, ‘whose history are we collecting, and why?’. Furthermore, who makes use of cultural heritage collections? Who has access to the information contained in these collections, and who does not?International experts speak out
Everywhere in the world, specialists in the field of cultural heritage are critically reflecting on both the content of their collections and the manner in which material is collected. Aletta is also concerned with these types of questions. Aletta’s book Traveling Heritages. New Perspectives on Collecting, Preserving and Sharing Women’s History is a scholarly, English-language publication that resulted from the IIAV’s jubilee conference in 2005. The book’s 18 chapters were written by 21 Dutch and international authors.Academic and applied perspectives
The authors of this volume consider these questions from both academic and applied perspectives. They use historical and international approaches and address both theoretical and concrete developments throughout history in the fields of library and archival science. The authors pay special attention to the issues of collecting and preserving the cultural heritage of women and of women’s movements and to issues facing Aletta.History as a dynamic phenomenon
This is what contributor Maria Grever says about the concept of traveling heritages: “History is a dynamic phenomenon. It is our responsibility as professionals to think consciously about the stories that we tell about the past.”The responsibilities of collecting cultural heritage
Author Susan Legêne: “Traveling Heritages is without a doubt an important book. Aletta is a good example of an institution that is very aware of its role and responsibilities in collecting cultural heritage and making it accessible.”Traveling Heritages online
You can download the text of the book on the website of the publisher Aksant.Look at the book Traveling Heritages online (PDF)
Book review
The magazine Feminist Collections, Quarterly of Women Studies (Women's Studies Librarian, Univeristy of Wisconsin) published a favourable book review of 'Traveling Heritages: New Perspectives on collecting, preserving and sharing women's history'.Read the book review by Phyllis Holman Weisbard (PDF)
Details
Traveling Heritages. New Perspectives on Collecting, Preserving and Sharing Women’s HistorySaskia Wieringa (ed.) Aksant, 2008
ISBN 9789052602998, illustrated, 307 pages, €25
Authors: Antonia Byatt, Gisela Dütting, Maria Grever, Francisca de Haan, Clare Hemming, Biljana Kasic, Susan Legêne, Josien Pieterse, Joanna Semeniuk, Twie Tjoa and Ozden Yalim
Aletta authors: Manu Bühring, Marjet Douze, Anna Honigh, Grietje Keller, Annemarie Kloosterman, Lin McDevitt-Pugh, Annette Mevis, Ineke van Mourik, Tilly Vriend and Saskia Wieringa