Digital Pasifik Collaboration

This March the Pitcairn Islands Study Center (PISC) at Pacific Union College becomes the latest institution to collaborate with Digital Pasifik, a Pacific Virtual Museum pilot project implemented by the National Libraries of New Zealand and Australia.

Drawing from the PISC’s collection of over 600 digitized photographs and postcards, Digital Pasifik places Pacific Union College’s archival records in context alongside other digitized items of Pacific cultural heritage held in collections around the world. Each postcard or photograph shared with Digital Pasifik links back to Pacific Union College and the PISC website, empowering researchers to not only discover PISC collections but also to learn more about the study center, the museum, and PUC’s mission to preserve the history of Pitcairn Island, the Islanders, and the Bounty Saga.

This collaboration took place under the direction of Special Collections Librarian Katharine Van Arsdale. The opportunity to partner with Digital Pasifik spurred the digitization of previously unprocessed photograph and postcard collections held by the Pitcairn Islands Study Center. After the Digital Pasifik pilot project ends in 2022, these newly digitized images and accompanying metadata records will remain permanently on Pacific Union College’s institutional repository, where they will continue to add enduring value for faculty, students, and outside researchers.