Photograph of National Front and anti-racism demonstrations, 2004

Photograph of National Front and anti-racism demonstrations, 2004

The Alexander Turnbull Library holds a small collection of material that is ‘born digital’ – material for which there is no analogue or physical equivalent. The Library has been collecting digitally born heritage materials for a number of years in a limited capacity. This is a collection that continues to grow, and will increase exponentially over time.

Digital collecting is a response to the modern world. We email people instead of writing letters. We receive ‘e-tickets’ instead of printed receipts. We take photographs digitally, which are uploaded to computers and may never be printed. Like individuals, institutions are also starting to record their operations and history electronically. We all use computers. Much of this material remains digital. While physical material that the Alexander Turnbull Library has collected in the past will continue to be acquired, there will be a wide variety of other formats to contend with as well.

This image by Dylan Owen is one of a number of digitally born photographs in the Alexander Turnbull Library collection. It is part of a series documenting the National Front and anti-racism demonstrations that took place in Wellington on 23 October 2004.

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image

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