Digital Cultural Heritage Inequality: Philippine Museums During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Like many museums worldwide, Philippine museums moved their operations online when COVID-19 hit. However, studies showed that central to this move was digital heritage collection, which required time and resources spent years before the pandemic began. This paper re-examines the concept of openness of digital cultural heritage in Philippine museums. This paper tries to determine the state of openness of Philippine museums along with their perception of Open Heritage Data. Using the Open Heritage Data Model of Roued-Cunliffe, document analysis of eighty five museum websites was done. This was followed by semi-structured interviews of thirteen Philippine museums. A thematic analysis was done to answer the questions on openness and Open Heritage Data in Philippine museums. Philippine museums have minimal openness when it comes to physical, online, and data access levels. This can be explained by their cataloging practices, the effects of the pandemic on their institution, and their perception of Open Heritage Data. This lack of openness contributes to global inequality in digital cultural heritage.