The Impact of Advanced Information Communication Technologies on Heritage Conservation

Advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the capability to support innovative and strategic responses to the challenges facing heritage organizations. These technologies, including GIS (Geographical Information Systems), electronic repositories, Web-based portals, and on-line communities of practices, have the capability to support strategic innovation within the heritage sector as organizations seek to respond to shifts in their environments. Increasingly, new technologies are expanding the horizons of heritage sector organizations, making their fieldwork, assessments and research more efficient, and the efforts to protect heritage properties more effective. The paper examines current technology trends, how they are being implemented and the potential impact of these technologies on the heritage sector. Furthermore, it explains how heritage organizations are currently adapting and incorporating these technologies in the pursuit of their missions. In particular, a case study of the Ontario Ministry of Culture demonstrates how ICTs, including web portals, electronic repositories and collaboration technologies, have been used to reconfigure key information flows to support the promotion of heritage conservation, enhance the management of heritage property inventories, and improve the exchange of knowledge by heritage professionals.