Cross
Currents No 8 Apr 2002
A
digest of cross sectoral information management events, issues and ideas in
organisations, libraries, archives and museums, with special emphasis on
arts and the humanities.
|
ACROSS
BOUNDARIES
Business
planning | digiCULT study | Digital collections framework | Digital
libraries and the classroom | ICT framework & capability |
Internet high performance connections | Investment in the arts |
Subject portals | Scholarly work in the humanities
ARCHIVES
AND RECORDS
Australian
standards ] Victoria | Western Australia
LIBRARIES
The
European Library | National Library of Australia Peak Bodies Forum |
Statistics and quality standards
|
MUSEUMS
Museum
websites | Web access to cultural collections
PERFORMING
ARTS
Collaborative
data collection | Performing Arts Collection of South Australia | San
Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum
VISUAL
ARTS
AMICO
| Archnet | Design and Applied Arts Index
|
Business
planning
SPARC,
the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, has published Gaining
Independence: A Manual for Planning the Launch of a Nonprofit Electronic
Publishing Venture, a guide on business planning for start-up and
early-stage electronic publishing ventures. The publication aims to help
universities, libraries, societies and others conceive, plan and implement
alternatives to commercially published scholarly and scientific information.
It provides background on relevant electronic publishing models and
focuses especially on areas of business planning that may be unfamiliar to
those considering new communications initiatives. The manual includes sections
on: situational assessment and strategic response; technology and technical
considerations; markets, marketing and sales; organization; finances; and the
financial plan and operating plan. A detailed appendix links readers to
pertinent resources. Gaining Independence is available free of charge
at http://www.arl.org/sparc/GI, A
previous publication Create Change: New Systems of Scholarly Communication,
an issues-based brochure and web resource, is available at
http://www.createchange.org.
.
DigiCULT
study
The
European Commission’s study Technological Landscapes for Tomorrow's
Cultural Economy, commonly referred to as the DigiCULT Study, has been
competed. The study analyses trends in the cultural heritage sector 1996-2006.
Recommendations on national policies and initiatives, organisational change,
valorising cultural heritage resources and use of technology are laid out
for European archives, libraries,
museums and policy makers. Comparisons with the Australian Department of
Communications, Information Technology and the Arts' Key Needs of
Australian Heritage Collections report will make interesting reading.
Web: http://www.salzburgresearch.at/fbi/digicult/
Digital
collections framework
The
Institute of Museum and Library Services in the United States has released the
draft report A Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections The Framework was developed by the Digital Library Forum with
representatives from a range of libraries and museums involved in digital
library initiatives. The Framework identifies core principles and related
information resources for the creation of high-quality digital collections,
objects, metadata, and projects. It
is intended as a resource for grant applicants as well as for the use of IMLS,
other funding agencies, and all those involved in digital content creation and
management. Website: http://www.imls.gov/.
[Source: Diglib].
Digital
libraries and the classroom
Information
on Digital Libraries and the Classroom Testbeds for Transforming Teaching
and Learning is now available from the JISC site The objective of this joint NSF/JISC initiative is to
demonstrate significant improvement in the learning and teaching process and
bring emerging technologies and readily available digital content into
mainstream educational use. This will be done by funding exemplar projects
that take an integrative and innovative approach to development of educational
environments, based on the use of information and communications technologies
across a number of disciplines. The program will fund four projects at a total
of around US $2,100,000) each over three years. Each project must be a
collaboration of at least one institution of higher education in the USA and
one in the UK. Projects will be expected to provide a five-year plan of
activities, although funding will only be provided for the first three. This
will ensure that the projects are embedded into the institutions and
demonstrate that the innovations are sustainable. The projects will run from
2002/03 until 2006/07. The deadline for full proposals is 8 April 2002. Web
for JISC Circular 07/01and supporting documentation: http://www.jisc.ac.uk.
[Source: CNI-announce].
Digital
preservation collaboration
The
Digital Preservation Coalition and National Library of Australia have
announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to work collaboratively
on digital preservation activities. As a product of this collaboration, the
DPC and NLA will jointly compile a What's New in Digital Preservation
electronic digest of selected new items added to PADI and to the JISCmail
Digital-Preservation list. The digest will be compiled as a quarterly list and
as an annual edition containing an evaluation of the year's additions in
review. Websites: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/dner/preservation
and http://www.nla.gov.au/padi/
[Source: NINCH- announce].
ICT
framework & capability
The
Australian National Office of the Information Economy has announced the
development of an ICT Framework as an “opportunity to position
Australia's ICT sector to take maximum advantage of the global drivers of
innovation over the next decade.” NOIE
has also released an E-payment Better Practice Checklist to
assist managers and staff in Australian government agencies to improve their
agency's e-payment performance. It draws on the lessons learned by leading agencies and highlights
'better practice' procedures for
e-payment. Invest Australia, Austrade, NOIE and DCITA have jointly produced a
range of documents for the ICT World Congress summarising Australia's
capability in the ICT industry and offering a series of sector snapshots. Web:
http;//www.noie.gov.au. [Source: NOIE Update]
Internet
high performance connections
The
National Science Foundation in the United States seeks applications from
museums, archives, learned societies & libraries wanting help in relation
to Internet high performance connections to facilitate cutting edge science
and engineering research. Web: http://www.interact.nsf.gov.
[Source: NINCH-Announce]
Investment
in the arts
The
Center for Arts and Culture in the United States has released National
Investment in the Arts by Bruce Seaman of Georgia State University, the
sixth issue paper in its Art, Culture and the National Agenda series. National
Investment in the Arts clarifies the scope of public funding for arts and
culture by assessing the level of local, state, and federal support, and looks across the federal budget to include major sources of direct
federal support for the arts and humanities. Its main focus is on novel
approaches by governments and partnerships between the non-profit and
for-profit arts sectors. Among the recommendations are organizational
initiatives at the federal level to strengthen affiliated efforts, new funding
source initiatives, encouragement of partnerships through tax and other
policies, and technology initiatives. The issue paper is available for
download at http://www.culturalpolicy.org
[Source: Cultural Policy Listserv 27 March]
Subject
portals
The
Resource Discovery Network, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Data
Service and Humbul, is conducting a survey to help improve its subject portal
functionality at http://www.mathgate.bham.ac.uk/mathsportal/sppsurvey.asp
[Source: AHDS]
Scholarly
work in the humanities
William
S Brockman, Laura Neumann, Carole L. Palmer and Tonyia J.Tidline have written Scholarly
Work in the Humanities and the Evolving Information Environment, published
by the Council on Library and Information Resources in December 2001
Project
Findings are articulated under the following headings: Ways
of Reading (Chaining to Enable Reading, Collaborative Networking),
Researching and Searching (Collections as Capital, Many States of Primary
Materials, Multitude of Sources, Access Tools for Speed and Scope, Diverse
Skills and Strategies, Generic Searching Problems, Browsing across Collections
and Tools), Ways of Writing (Information Management, Accretion, and
Refinement, Oscillating and Overlapping Synthesis Work), Trends:
The Evolving Information Environment for Humanists Conclusions:
Technology has enhanced scholarship in a number of important ways. At the same
time, the digital shift has sometimes produced confusion. Each research
library will need to weigh how it can respond to its constituencies, but
concerted action is also due. A shift is recommended away from critical mass
as a defining element of digital research libraries toward a principle of
contextual mass. Web: http://www.clir.org/.
Australian
standards
The
National Archives of Australia has begun a review of its Recordkeeping
Metadata Standard for Commonwealth Agencies (RKMSCA). As part of the
review, the Archives would like to hear from people who have had experience
with using the standard, as staff in Commonwealth agencies, as consultants or
system vendors. Those with an interest
in recordkeeping metadata in general are also encouraged to participate. The
current standard is available from the NAA's website at
http://www.naa.gov.au
The
NSW State Records Office has announced developments in relation to three
forthcoming standards.
-
Australian
Recordkeeping Standard AS 15489.
The international standard on records management, ISO 15489 has officially
been accepted as an Australian standard, replacing AS 4390. Copies of AS
15489 will be available from Standards Australia at www.standards.com.au.
There are slight differences between the Australian version of ISO
15489 and the international version, mainly in relation to terminology. .
-
The
Australian Government Locator Service (AGLS) Metadata Element Set has
been issued for comment in its process of becoming an Australian standard.
The standard has been used in the Australian government environment for
several years to promote government services and online information
resources and is therefore a tested specification applicable to any
individual or organisation to the benefit of the broader Web community.
AGLS has been modified slightly for its release as an Australian Standard
but it still consistent with the Dublin Core and the other recordkeeping
metadata specifications derived from it.
Free electronic versions of the consultation draft can be
downloaded from Standards Australia's Web site at http://www.standards.com.au
To do this, type the consultation draft's official number, DR 02023 CP,
into the 'standard number' field of Quicksearch, or enter the term 'AGLS'
into the keyword field. [Source Aus-Archivists]
Victoria
The
VERS (Victorian Electronic Records Strategy) website has been restructured and
contains several new areas, including the VERS Toolkit, based on National
Archives of Australia's DIRKS recordkeeping best practice system, but
containing additional information on broader issues relating to electronic
Recordkeeping. The Toolkit has
been designed to be extensible and there are plans to add information on an
ongoing basis. Web: http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/vers/toolkit/
[Source: aus-archivists]
Western
Australia
The
State Records Commission and State Records Office of Western Australia have
launched a new web site and released new State Records Principles and
Standards 2020. Web: http://www.sro.wa.gov.au.
[Source .RECMGMT-L]
The
European Library
First
the Euro, now the Euro Library. To facilitate international co-operation on
both technology and content, nine European national libraries, together with
the Conference of European National Librarians, are constructing The European
Library (TEL) to offer users the ability to search all online catalogues of
the European national libraries simultaneously with a single inquiry, before
access their digital and conventional holdings and services. The results of
initial work on the project will be presented at conference that will cover
such topics as national libraries and publishers, the business of digital
libraries, describing and handling digital publications, The European Library
proof of concept and European information networks. The organiser is the
Deutsche Bibliothek. The location is Deutsche Bibliothek, Frankfurt am Main,
Germany. and the dates are 29-30 April 2002. Further information: http://www.europeanlibrary.org.
Source DigLIb
National
Library of Australia Peak Bodies Forum
The
National Library of Australia convened a forum of representatives from library
sectors on 15 February 2002 to discuss issues of mutual interest and decide on
a national plan of action. Participants included representatives from the
Australian Law Librarians’ Group, Australian School Libraries’
Association, ALIA Information Specialists’ Group, FLIN, Association
of Parliamentary Libraries of Australasia, Health
Libraries Australia, CAUL, CASL, ALIA TAFE National Group and the National
Library of Australia. Action was initiated on the following: a national
site licensing model, cooperative national electronic collection of Australian
materials, research into user behaviour, a national cooperative store; a
service model for access by individuals regardless of their location and
development of principles for mutual support. {Source: PB]
Statistics
and quality standards
Charles
R McClure, R. David Lankes, Melissa Gross, and Beverly Choltco-Devlin have
written Statistics, Measures, and Quality Standards for Assessing Digital
Reference Library Services: Guidelines and
Procedures Field Test Draft: March 8, 2002. Syracuse, NY:
Information Institute of Syracuse, 2002. The manual, and its accompanying
instructions are still in draft form. The authors invite enquiries for further
information. Web: (http://quartz.syr.edu/quality/Field_Test_Draft.pdf).
[Source: Current Cites]..
Museum
websites
V.
Kravchyna and SK Hastings have published an article on Informational Value
of Museum Web Sites in First Monday 7(2) (February 4th 2002)
The article assesses the behaviour of users based on an extensive
Internet survey of museum users and provides advice on database design,
metadata creation and retrieval options. The paper will form part of a larger
investigation into the value of museum Web sites. Web:http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_2/kravchyna/).
Web
access to cultural collections
The
Northeast Document Conservation Center in the United States is presenting Off
the Wall and Online: Providing Web Access to Cultural Collections at the
National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts, May 30-31, 2002. The
conference will address challenges facing both large and small institutions
undertaking digitization projects and putting images from their collections
online for educational purposes, research, and public relations. New
evaluation data will be presented to help define the online audience and
determine how programs can most effectively engage audiences. Topics: The
Changing Role of Museums, Attracting Visitors to a Website, Cooperating to
Build Virtual Collections, Reaching Out to Diverse Audiences, Designing a
Website, Quality of Scanned Images, Web-based Education, Image Capture for
Preservation & Access. Web: http://www.nedcc.org
[Source: DIGLIB]
Collaborative
data collection
The
Performing Arts Research Coalition in the United States has begun testing a
strategy to solicit patrons’ opinions about their arts experience and the
contribution the arts make to their communities. This is expected to capture
comprehensive, standardized information to facilitate comparisons across
participating member organizations, disciplines and cities. The project is
intended to help the arts world develop a national model for arts research
collaboration. The Pew Charitable Trusts has posted information about the
project at http://www.pewtrusts.com
Performing
Arts Collection of South Australia
The
Performing Arts Collection of South Australia has published the first issue of
Showcase, a biennial newsletter promoting its collections and services.
Issue number one has information on recent acquisitions including a scrapbook
on Dame Judith Anderson, compiled by elocution teacher, Mabel Best. Web: http://www.pacsa.asn.au,
Contact: Curator Jo Peoples jo.peoples@afct.org.au
San
Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum
Focusing
on the Bay Area's heritage from the Gold Rush to the present, the SFPALM site
offers events calendars, online exhibitions, and a searchable catalog of its
collection of dance, music,
theater, opera, musical theater and design materials in many formats including
books, photographs, programs, newspaper clippings, audio and video tapes,
original artwork, and artifacts. Website: http://www.sfpalm.org/
AMICO
AMICO,
the Art Museum Image Consortium, via an RFP, is seeking a synergetic
relationship with a university to house its office and staff.
Formed in 1997 by 23 institutions with collections of art, AMICO has
grown to over 35 members and has established itself as a self-sufficient,
subscription-income-funded organization with over 160 university, school,
research institution, museum and art gallery subscribers to the AMICO Library.
Web: http://www.amico.org
Archnet
ArchNet
is an online community for architects, planners, urban designers, landscape
architects, architectural historians and scholars, with a special focus on the
Islamic world. Developed at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning in
close cooperation with and the support of The Aga Khan Trust for Culture.
ArchNet's online library currently includes over 15,000 images and more
than 1,500 publications, including many hard-to-find or out-of-print
publications. The publications
(in pdf format) include full runs of the journals MIMAR: Architecture in
Development, and Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic
World. New collections and rare archives are being added on an
ongoing basis. Membership in ArchNet is free. Web: http://archnet.org>
Design
and Applied Arts Index
DAAI
has data on over 51,000 designers, craftspeople, studios, workshops,
biographical sources and other subjects. Web: http://www.designandappliedartsindex.com.
[Source:arlisanz-l].
This
issue of Cross Currents compiled by Paul Bentley
The
Wolanski Foundation would be grateful for feedback
on the scope, format and content of this bulletin..
