A renaissance of German university collections

Abstract

German universities' host many remarkable collections, some being of local interest only, while others are of immense academic value. In recent years, university collections have attracted considerable interest by both academics and general public. This interest has been highlighted by well-attended exhibitions and well-funded projects for the utilization of collections. A central role in this renewed interest has been played by the so-called 'new media', which provides new ways to access collections worldwide as resources for research and teaching. This paper presents an overview of current collections of German universities and introduces various projects involving digital media.

As universidades alemâs albergarti colecçôes notâveis, algumas de interesse locai e outras de imenso valor académico. Recentemente, as colecçôes universitârias alemâs têm atraido considerâvel interesse, quer por parte da academia, quer por parte do publico em gérai. Este interesse é materializado no substancial aumento do nùmero de visitantes as exposiçôes, bem corno no financiamento de novos projectos. Os chamados 'novos media' têm desempenhado um papel significativo neste 'despertar', possibilitando novas formas de acesso as colecçôes a partir de qualquer parte do mundo, bem corno urna re-invençâo do papel destas no ensino e na investigaçâo. Este artigo traça em linhas gérais o panorama das colecçôes das universidades alemâs e descreve sumariamente alguns projectos de tecnologias digitais actualmente em curso.