The Reference Collection-Is it Dead? The Role of the Physical Reference Collection in the Digital Age

With the recent launch of online resources resulting from the AFIRE Archaeological Fish Resource project in the United Kingdom (UK) and the increasing number of other online and offline digital reference materials available, it is perhaps timely to consider the relative importance of digital versus physical reference resources. There are several questions concerning location and ease of access. The physical collection may not be easy to get to, perhaps housed in another country. Digital resources should in theory be more accessible, but are they? The size and scope of both can be limited: physically, by problems of acquisition and storage; and digitally, by format and selection. The digital resource can never supply certain information, e.g., DNA and isotopes. The storage and dissemination of these and other data are, however, exactly what online access can provide. With pressure on existing fish stocks and on museum space for collections, we need to work out ways to integrate our collections, both with other physical collections and with rapidly developing and changing digital resources. This paper explores these issues and incorporates the results of an online survey concerning the current availability and use of physical and digital resources.