Global Plants and Digital Letters: Epistemological Implications of Digitising the Directors' Correspondence at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Digitization of the Directors' Correspondence (DC) collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, reveals complex epistemological implications that challenge traditional views of knowledge production. The study highlights how digitization introduces both gains and losses in historical perspective, emphasizing the importance of examining selection processes from letter writing to database curation. It underscores the role of project digitizers' expertise in generating new knowledge through close reading and metadata creation, while cautioning against replicating extractive practices that may obscure historical disconnections. This analysis provides a nuanced framework for understanding digitization's impact on collection-based biodiversity conservation.

Svensson, A. (2015). Global Plants and Digital Letters: Epistemological Implications of Digitising the Directors’ Correspondence at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Environmental Humanities, 6(1), 73–102. https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-3615907