Decentralising digital humanities: exploring blockchain technology and “web3” for the Sloane Lab and Towards a National Collection (TaNC)
| Date | 28 November 2024 |
| Pages | 211-235 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-04-2024-0093 |
| Published date | 28 November 2024 |
| Author | Foteini Valeonti,Andreas Vlachidis,Julianne Nyhan,Antonis Bikakis,Rachael Kotarski,Philipp Jovanovic |
Decentralising digital humanities:
exploring blockchain technology
and “web3” for the Sloane Lab and
Towards a National
Collection (TaNC)
Foteini Valeonti and Andreas Vlachidis
Department of Information Studies, University College London, London, UK
Julianne Nyhan
Department of Humanities Data Science and Methodology,
TU Darmstadt Institut f€
ur Geschichte, Darmstadt, Germany
Antonis Bikakis
Department of Information Studies, University College London, London, UK
Rachael Kotarski
University of Chicago Library, Chicago, Illinois, USA, and
Philipp Jovanovic
Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK
Abstract
Purpose –Advancements in Internet technologies greatly influence digital humanities, yet research
investigating web3 (i.e. the blockchain-based, decentralised web) within that domain remains limited. The
purpose of this paper is to address that gap, presenting a state-of-the-art synthesis of web3-related
technologies for digital humanities infrastructures and exploring associated risks and challenges.
Design/methodology/approach –Following a review of the literature, the authors scope out ways
blockchain technology, peer-to-peer decentralised storage and other web3 technologies could support digital
humanities infrastructures, especially in the context of digital cultural heritage. In this discussion, particular
cognisance is given to the needs and aims of the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Towards
a National Collection programme, which seeks to break down the barriers that exist between the UK’s cultural
heritage collections.
Findings –Web3 introduces novel tools and processes that could benefit digital humanities infrastructures,
enabling decentralisation and facilitating open access data storage. Yet, significant barriers to adoption
remain, such as the requirement for highly specialised technical expertise. Risks and challenges must also be
considered prior to any use, including legal, ethical and technical safeguards.
Research limitations/implications –This study explores opportunities and risks of web3 for digital
humanities, through the lens of digital cultural heritage infrastructures and their requirements, including
decentralised storage and persistent identification. It does not provide a holistic overview of all web3 technologies.
Practical implications –The authors identify practical uses of web3 technologies for digital humanities
projects, outlining potential applications concerning decentralised storage and persistent identification.
Originality/value –The authors push forward current knowledge and literature on the intersection of web3
and digital humanities, outlining also practical recommendations for scholars, practitioners and funding
organisations.
Keywords Digital humanities, Blockchain technology, Decentralised web (web3), Sloane Lab
Paper type Research paper
Journal of
Documentation
211
This research was funded by the Towards a National Collection programme of the Arts and Humanities
Research Council (grant number: AH/W003457/1).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
Received 25 April 2024
Revised 31 July 2024
Accepted 8 August 2024
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 81 No. 1, 2025
pp. 211-235
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-04-2024-0093
1. Introduction
Over the last decade, a new form of Internet has been emerging, that of the decentralised web,
commonly referred to as web3. Leveraging blockchain technology and its ability to enable
secure exchanges between strangers without the need for a trusted intermediary, web3 is built
upon an infrastructure capable of addressing issues stemming from centralisation. Described as
tamper-evident and tamper-resistant distributed digital ledgers (Yaga et al., 2018), blockchains
are increasingly utilised by individuals, organisations and governments seeking to take
advantage of their properties of integrity, security and decentralisation. Indicatively, in 2022, the
UK government announced plans to “make Britain a global hub for cryptoasset technology and
investment” (HM Treasury, 2022). Although blockchains are predominantly used in finance and
supply chain management (Al-Shamsi et al., 2022), decentralised-ledger technologies are
adopted across a wide range of sectors including sports, entertainment and culture.
Although technology is a foundational element of digital humanities, web3 remains an
understudied field in the domain. Furthermore, in a recent study by Ben
ıtez and Romero, the
authors identify blockchain as a technology of potentially “great impact” for humanities (Ben
ıtez
and Romero, 2023, p. 103). Aiming to push forward current knowledge, this study examines
whether blockchain-based technologies and their capacities for storage, computation and
sustainability (i.e. not relying on institutional maintenance and funding), could benefit digital
humanities infrastructures, such as digital corpora, archives, platforms and tools. The study
identifies four key challenges faced by digital humanities infrastructures, highlighting the
limitations of current tools and platforms through the case study of the “Sloane Lab: looking back
to build future shared collections”. This 3-year project seeks to reunite the dispersed collections of
Sir Hans Sloane and is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s “Towards a
National Collection” programme. The challenges identified are, firstly, the over-centralisation of
data storage; secondly, data permanence limitations beyond a project’s funded period; thirdly,
limited adoption of persistent identifiers; and, finally, limited data interoperability. The sections
that follow are each dedicated to these four challenges in turn, exploring web3 technologies and
their potential to help address the aforementioned challenges via decentralised storage,
capabilities for self-sustained project funding, decentralised persistent identification and the
semantic bridging of data deriving from blockchains with cultural heritage data.
Risks and challenges that may arise from the adoption of blockchain technology in digital
humanities are also identified and assessed. Despite the widespread adoption of blockchain
applications across industries, decentralised ledgers remain a newly emerging technology plagued
by risks, challenges and limitations, which are identified and examined throughout the study.
These include application-specific risks (e.g. see Section 4.3), as well as web3-wide challenges, such
as the lack of legal and technical safeguards, or the high barrier for adoption in terms of technical
expertise. Finally, the study also summarises areas of digital humanities for which web3 is deemed
unsuitable by design and is not expected to make any substantial contributions in the foreseeable
future. This paper aims to inform scholars, practitioners, funding bodies and organisations in the
cultural heritage sector and to contribute to an understudied field of research that explores the
intersection of web3 and digital humanities. To inform future practice and improve decision-
making, this paper provides a series of recommendations that are relevant to key groups ranging
from individual users and project creators to cultural heritage institutions and funders.
2. Background
2.1 From digitisation and aggregation to digital humanities infrastructures
The past 2 decades have seen a wave of digitisation in the cultural heritage sector. At the
national-level, numerous programmes have been implemented, such as the UK’s millennial
NOF-Digitise (Nicholson, 2003) and the JISC Content and Digitisation programme (Terras,
2012). At the trans-national level, digitisation across the European Union (EU) has been led
JD
81,1
212
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