Public Data Act and humanities data: Applying for open to humanities data held by public institutions

Abstract

To examine the present state of data disclosure by public institutions under the Public Data Act, I first analyzed the humanities data compiled by public institutions and explored problems in requesting open to them. In Korea, humanities data are mostly stored and managed with government support. In 2013, the Public Data Act was enacted, mandating that public institutions provide public open to the public data they hold and manage. However, public data in the humanities sector frequently have yet to be disclosed. Although secondary workpieces of public data are provided as a web service, such as the Annals of the Digital Joseon Dynasty, it is necessary to obtain RAWDATA corresponding to the primary feed for digital humanities research, a new form of study of the humanities in the digital environment. However, most humanities institutions that store humanities data do not disclose public data under the Public Data Act, citing reasons such as personal information protection, data updates, and copyright protection despite public data disclosure requests. Therefore, it is necessary to change public institutions’ attitudes toward the disclosure of machine-only RAWDATA such as CSV, XML, and RDF guaranteed by the Public Data Act for the study of the humanities in the digital era.