Why and when is heritage information required?

Because this is how managers come to understand the meaning of heritage and recognize its value and significance
The better we know heritage places, the more we value them. In archaeology, the lack of recording is considered to be equivalent to the destruction of discovered remains, and it is evident that the significance of an excavated site depends largely on the quality of documented knowledge.
The same concept can be applied to the conservation management of cultural heritage places in general. Research, investigation, and conservation activities produce large amounts of unique information that, if recorded and documented properly and made available, will make the heritage place more meaningful and enhance its historical, scientific, and
cultural significance.
Because heritage information assists managers in performing routine management and maintenance The availability of updated information describing the nature and extent of problems in a region or on a single site makes it easier to identify emergency situations, schedule investigation priorities, budget conservation needs, and develop adequate control policies. Expanded inventories that not only provide administrative data but also include conservation related information are increasingly used by heritage agencies worldwide.


BOOK

Recording, documentation, and information management for the conservation of heritage places : guiding principles / Robin Letellier ; with contributions from Werner Schmid and François LeBlanc.

Letellier, Robin.Los Angeles : Getty Conservation Institute, c 2007.