Digital Cultural Heritage and the Crowd

Abstract Libraries, archives, and museums have a long history of collaboration with members of the public. There is already considerable interest in extending this relationship, inviting members of the public, often referred to as “the crowd,” to tag and classify, transcribe, organize, and otherwise add value to digital cultural heritage collection content. In this essay, current discussions of crowdsourcing are connected with the mission and values of cultural heritage organizations and a framework is offered for thinking about distinct components of different kinds of projects that have been lumped together.