Low-Cost Digital Organization, Digitization and Valorization of Small Archives: The Jewish Archive of Pisa
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Eurographics Association
Abstract
The Historical Archive of the Jewish Community in Pisa holds an underrepresented documentary heritage comprising several documents spanning centuries. Due to limited resources, this lesser-known heritage's digital organization, preservation, and valorization posed significant challenges. This paper presents a low-cost, sustainable strategy for digital organization and the preservation, documentation, and dissemination of this cultural asset. The project began with recovering and converting an obsolete digital inventory into an open, standard CSV format, enabling more effective data management and visualization. Selected portions of the archive, particularly the most frequently consulted and fragile documents, were digitized using cost-effective techniques, including cameras and A3 and A4 scanners. Some records were transcribed and partially analyzed using generative AI tools and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. A dedicated website based on WordPress, integrated with a secure server infrastructure, was developed to provide online access to the digital collections and their metadata. This case study shows how low-cost digital technologies can facilitate the preservation and valorization of small archives, ensuring long-term accessibility while mitigating risks of physical degradation.
Description
CCS Concepts: Information systems → Information systems applications
@inproceedings{10.2312:dh.20253137,
booktitle = {Digital Heritage},
editor = {Campana, Stefano and Ferdani, Daniele and Graf, Holger and Guidi, Gabriele and Hegarty, Zackary and Pescarin, Sofia and Remondino, Fabio},
title = {{Low-Cost Digital Organization, Digitization and Valorization of Small Archives: The Jewish Archive of Pisa}},
author = {D'Errico, Andrea and Diana, Francesca Valentina and Giovanna, Silvia Di and Duca, Angelica Lo and Marchetti, Andrea and Moretti, Manuela and Toniazzi, Mafalda},
year = {2025},
publisher = {The Eurographics Association},
ISBN = {978-3-03868-277-6},
DOI = {10.2312/dh.20253137}
}