Is the city out there? memory institutions and the digital world

Abstract

Introduction: The capital city created to symbolize the Brazilian modernity of the 60s, of the 20th century, has in its local documentary collections references for social memory. The public dimension of urban memory currently presents different degrees of relationship with cultural facilities, which are increasingly interdependent with each other due to the presence of digital technologies. The research deals with the public availability of collections of photographic images about Brasilia and how their archiving, with access restrictions and without long-term digital preservation policies, reduces the possibilities of interaction for the construction of digital memory and its consequences in everyday life. Objective: to identify the representativeness of local collections in Brasilia in relation to the digital universe, their public availability at present, in parallel with the existence or not of structuring long-term digital preservation policies. Methodology: identify conditions of access and use of digital technologies by cultural facilities; collect data on the digital availability of imagery documentation about Brasilia in comparison to other Brazilian cities; analyze the representativeness of the collections and the cultural role of local entities. Results: recognition of the relevance of local collections for the construction of the public dimension of urban memory in the long term. Conclusion: importance of valuing local collections, considering digital preservation policies, urban memory and long-term access.