www.beazley.ox.ac.uk. From apparatus of scholarship to web resource. The Beazley Archive 1970-2008

Donna Kurtz

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2009, 20, 37-46

Abstract

Over nearly four decades the Beazley Archive has developed from a personal archive, whose origins were rooted in 19th century classical scholarship, to a state-of-the-art electronic resource that can be used anywhere, at any time by anyone. The challenges along the way are noted and the ways they were met, in the hope of inspiring others to persevere. The first decade was "organisational", the second saw the adoption of ICT, the third was dominated by participation in EU R and D projects in telecommunications, and the fourth by the Vision of CLAROS - Classical Art Research Online Services. Since this lecture was given in autumn 2008 the CLAROS Vision has become a reality: by August 2009 more than two million records and images were integrated virtually using CIDOC-CRM. By adopting an ISO programme developed under the aegis of UNESCO for ICOM, the International Council of Museums, and by enhancing it with Open Source software, CLAROS offers a platform that any museum or research institute with digital assets can use free of charge for the public benefit. As the Beazley Archive approaches its fifth decade, it looks forward to collaborating for the advancement of scholarship and dissemination of results to the global community.

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