PhD in Technologies for Cultural Heritage - since XXXVI Cycle

Contacts

Supervisor

Maurizio Vivarelli

Phd thesis

Knowledge, Digitalisation, Renovation and Enhancement of the University Library ‘A. Graf’ of Turin: Testing of innovative models of public University as far as the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage: the research project focuses on the digital transformation of the University of Turin’s libraries, particularly the Historical Library ‘Arturo Graf’. This work is framed within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and aligned with the National Digitization Plan (PND). The aim of the research is to create innovative digital services that improve access and engagement with library collections. The ‘Arturo Graf’ Library offers a rich and diverse collection, making it a perfect case study for developing new methodologies that combine digital technologies with library science and archival practices. Specifically, the focus is on personal collections, as they present unique challenges and opportunities in the digital environment. These collections provide insights into the lives, activities, and cultural contributions of significant individuals, which are crucial for both academic research and public engagement.

Research activities

RESEARCH

Biography: Angelo La Gorga is a PhD student in Technologies for Cultural Heritage at the University of Turin. He has been working on the management of archives and libraries in digital environments for Promemoria Group, in particular on issues of data interoperability. Currently, his research topics revolve around the valorization practices of personal collections in the context of academic libraries.

PhD thesis: the research project focuses on the digital transformation of the University of Turin’s libraries, particularly the Historical Library ‘Arturo Graf’. This work is framed within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and aligned with the National Digitization Plan (PND). The aim of the research is to create innovative digital services that improve access and engagement with library collections. The ‘Arturo Graf’ Library offers a rich and diverse collection, making it a perfect case study for developing new methodologies that combine digital technologies with library science and archival practices. Specifically, the focus is on personal collections, as they present unique challenges and opportunities in the digital environment. These collections provide insights into the lives, activities, and cultural contributions of significant individuals, which are crucial for both academic research and public engagement.

Methodology:

Case study: One key case study I am focusing on is the Emanuele Artom collection. Emanuele Artom was a notable figure in Italian history, particularly during the Resistance. His personal library and related archival documents present a diverse set of materials that require careful handling, both in terms of preservation and digital transformation. The collection spans bibliographic resources, archival documents, and para-textual elements that tell a story beyond the books themselves, such as personal correspondence and historical accounts.

Collection boundaries and resource census: As part of this research, a detailed census of the resources in both digital and physical formats has been conducted. This involves verifying the documentary consistency of the collection, organizing resources, and comparing the physical documents with their digital counterparts to ensure integrity.

Creating digital narratives: One of the main goals of this research is to create digital narratives that bring historical collections to life for users. By leveraging AI technologies, particularly large language models (LLMs) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) architecture, we can build interfaces that allow users to engage with these collections in new ways. Textual and para-textual elements, such as critical essays or intertextual relationships between different authors, could enrich the knowledge base to create a more comprehensive context to analyse.

Outcome: The experimentation process is divided into three main phases. First, we are identifying which textual and para-textual elements are most valuable for creating enriched metadata. Second, we are building relationships between these elements to create cohesive narratives. Finally, we are developing a user-centred interface that allows for intuitive exploration of the collections.

 

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH

A line of research was started with the Carlos III University of Madrid, supported by the planning of a 7-month research period at their headquarters. This collaboration led to the involvement of the National Library of Spain, interested in a methodological alignment for the application of the experiments proposed by the research line of this doctorate. 

The common line of research consists, foremost, in the identification of a specific type of document (author's collections), included in the collections of libraries that preserve historical collections and that are promoting valorization activities in the digital environment. The objective is to share: a) the analysis of the relevant scientific literature; b) the analysis of experiences, case studies, good practices; c) the evaluation of conceptual models capable of ensuring an adequate representation of heterogeneous bibliographic and documentary resources, with particular reference to the enrichment of metadata; d) the choice of the most appropriate technological resources to achieve the identified objectives. These defined objectives constitute, in any case, a common problem for cultural institutions beyond national borders. This is how the launch of a joint line of research between the University of Turin (Department of Historical Studies) and the Carlos III University of Madrid (Department of Library Science and Documentation) and the National Library of Madrid was conceived. In particular, the convergence of the research themes was immediate as a result of the comparison with the practices of valorization of funds in the digital environment implemented by the two universities and the library institution, which was made possible thanks to the granting of a research stay period by the Turin team, during which the Italian team had the opportunity to observe the strategies, practices and reflections implemented and to share the paths taken. The problems and challenges related to the valorization of these complex objects are common and revolve around the double theme of the integration of the heterogeneous data that constitute them and the subsequent generation of effective stories from them, capable of narrating the historical context from which they come. The first phase, whose importance was also highlighted during the working meetings, consisted in identifying the object of study, taking into account its multiform nature. The reconstruction of the bibliographic dimension of the collection, together with the collection of documentary and information resources heterogeneous to the form of the collection kept in the "A. Graf" library, was of fundamental importance for the planning of the experimental activities that are now in the start-up phase. In order to proceed in this phase jointly, a methodological alignment is necessary and, therefore, the identification by the operators of the National Library of Madrid of a case study that presents similar characteristics to the collection under analysis, thus favouring the application of RAG architectures.

PUBLICATIONS

Miguel Angel Marzal, Angelo La Gorga, Maurizio Vivarelli, Enriquecimiento del valor de los fondos personales en las bibliotecas universitarias: el fondo 'Emanuele Artom' entre archivos, bibliotecas y repositorios digitales, «Revista Española de Documentación Científica» (publication scheduled in 2025)

Angelo La Gorga, Marco Pozzi, Strategie di arricchimento dei metadati per l’authority file di un fondo di persona, «Biblioteche oggi», 42 (2024), n. 2, p. 49–56.,<http://www.bibliotecheoggi.it/rivista/article/view/1657>, DOI:10.3302/0392-8586-202402-049-1

Angelo La Gorga, Valorizzazione dei fondi bibliografici d’autore: un approccio interdisciplinare in Sul confine: Le collezioni delle biblioteche tra gestione, produzione editoriale, esperienze di lettura, a cura di Vivarelli, Maurizio e Dinotola, Sara, Milano, Ledizioni, 2024.

Angelo La Gorga, Lorenzo Verna, Dati, oggetti, utenti: come riassemblare l’universo bibliografico?, in Un incontro di sguardi: biblioteche, libri e lettura come nodi di un reticolo di possibilità creative e generative, a cura di Dinotola Sara e Marras Anna Maria, AIB studi, 2024

Angelo La Gorga, Maria Pagano, Maurizio Vivarelli, “Costruire relazioni. Ambienti e strumenti digitali per il progetto Abitare in Italia in Inchieste sulla casa in Italia. La condizione abitativa nelle grandi città italiane nel secondo dopoguerra, a cura di D. Adorni e D. Tabor, Viella, Roma, 2019.

Angelo La Gorga, Oltre la granularità, in Biblioteche Oggi, vol 37, Editrice bibliografica, Marzo 2019