Heritage libraries in Catalonia (2018-2019)

Abstract

This edition of the Anuari focuses on recent trends in the area of libraries and heritage centres. The first trend is innovation, with examples of experiences in which librarians abandon their comfort zone to work with other researchers at the same level, contributing their expertise, promoting the use of their collections, and generating new materials. The Digital Humanities are consolidating their position in the area of innovation with the creation of multiple projects, work groups, and creative spaces such as digital labs that contribute to the democratization of heritage. The second trend highlighted is the reuse of digital heritage. Digitization has been a good tool for disseminating heritage, but its uses are still very limited and are mostly confined to the academic and scholarly fields. New applications of digital heritage need to be found. This is likely to involve partnerships with very diverse agents and will require higher levels of flexibility and creativity. The establishment of a clear legal framework to regulate their uses is also mandatory. Finally, the article reviews the main developments in training, research, dissemination and publications in 2018 and 2019.