Innovating Heritage – A Singapore Story

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to show how engagement of the Tamil community can be meaningful to preserve cultural heritage for an indigenous group. Valuing the community is one of National Library Board’s (NLB) shared values, as it proactively engages the community and partners with various stakeholders to harness their expertise and networks so as to promote a civic and knowledgeable Singapore. What had been previously unexposed, unpublished and made unavailable is now not only searchable but retrievable and usable. What we have tested here will might be useful to any ethnic communities in identifying and retrieving hidden gems in the cultural heritage of a community.

Theatre, Music and Dance-related materials are primarily captured in the form of audio-visual materials. These exist in context with complementary or supporting information such as drama scripts, posters and collaterals. Soliciting these materials, collecting, curating and annotating them and making them available through a digital archive goes a long way in preserving and sharing these sound and visual cultural heritage for Singapore’s Tamil community. Transforming materials relating to Digital Archive of Singapore Tamil Theatre, Music and Dance into the digital humanities would have far-reaching effects not least of which is the ability to create new knowledge and sustain the culture of the group. With the successful launch of the Digital Archive, the library’s digital collection unlocks the opportunities for greater knowledge discovery...