Digitization and Digital Asset Management of Archival Materials in the History of Leprosy in the Philippines

Digitization and Digital Asset Management of Archival Materials in the History of Leprosy in the Philippines

Project Director:  Ma. Elena Chiong-Javier
Funding Agency:  National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)

Over the past decade, there has been a conscious attempt on the part of the Culion Sanitarium and General Hospital to preserve the memories of Culion. Part of the preparation of the centennial of the institution included putting up a library, archives and a museum. These new facilities contain various historical documents and artifacts that give visitors a glimpse of the life of the patients when it was still a leprosy colony. The collection is rich enough to attract scholars and researchers who are dealing with the history of leprosy.

In this project, NHCP has commissioned SDRC to help preserve the many important documents and medical records salvaged by officials of the former old Colony, which will be useful and of great value to future researchers. To secure them and make them more accessible, these archival documents will be digitized and a digital asset management repository created for their preservation. The endeavor will also involve the training of CSGH and project employees on the technical, metadata, collections management, and other important attributes required for digital preservation.

Key words: Leprosy, Culion, digital preservation, archival documents