Se não encontras como podes utilizar? : diagnóstico à coleção de objetos digitais do Ecomuseu Municipal do Seixal

The digitization of collections increased the opportunities to share the knowledge preserved in our libraries, archives and museums. But this is not always accompanied by the development of new tools for organizing and systematizing both the metadata and the associated images. It will be necessary to ensure the long-term implementation and sustainability of digital preservation strategies for these collections. At the Documentation and Information Centre (CDI) of the Seixal Municipal Ecomuseum (EMS), a collection of digital resources has been managed without a formally defined incorporation and management policy. Since systematic criteria were not created regarding its creation, storage, preservation, cataloguing or use, the collection has grown according to the needs imposed by the development of museum activities. Based on a diagnosis made on the collection, its characteristics and weaknesses are identified in the light of existing good practices for the development of these collections. Finally, measures that can improve the management of these digital objects in the light of the EMS Documentation and Information System (SDI) are also discussed. Two sets of measures that can contribute to the development of a plan for the management of the existing collection are identified. One, includes some practical proposals that could be implemented at the level of the CDI’s internal organisation. The other, includes measures that can only be implemented in the long term and considered within the scope of a global strategy by the EMS authority in this regard.