Developments in Libraries and related sectors Paul Miller UK Interoperability Focus
1999 -01 -28
Information Environments • Include… Archives Cultural Heritage Sector museums, art galleries, heritage agencies Libraries both ‘traditional’ and ‘hybrid’ ‘Living Resources’ Reuters news feed, live stock data, the Mars Pathfinder site etc. 2 1999 -01 -28
Accessing Information Environments • …but getting at them isn’t always easy. . . 3 1999 -01 -28
Smoothing the Path • Adoption of standards helps… • consistent description of resources – helps curators curate and finders find • consistent, replicable, access mechanisms – encourage repeat visits, and allow ‘clumping’ • adoption of extra–community initiatives – reduce duplication of effort, and enhance the D(I)NER for all…. 4 1999 -01 -28
On the Information Superhighway • Information on the Internet can be available to all. . . Arts & Humanities Data Service National Monuments Record of Scotland COPAC unified library catalogue National Register of Archives BBC News . 5 1999 -01 -28
A selection of building blocks • Archives ISAD(G) — General International Standard Archival Description EAD — Encoded Archival Description . 6 1999 -01 -28
A selection of building blocks • Cultural Heritage Sector SPECTRUM CIMI Profile ICOM/CIDOC Core Data Standard Controlled terminologies and thesauri e. g. . 7 1999 -01 -28
A selection of building blocks • Libraries MARC Z 39. 50 ISO ILL IFLA Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records . 8 1999 -01 -28
A selection of building blocks • Cross–sectoral IMS Dublin Core Resource Description Framework (RDF) …and, increasingly, Z 39. 50 . 9 1999 -01 -28
Don’t forget. . . • Consistent application of standards for data recording, description and dissemination is only part of the picture • You also need: – Intra–/Inter–discipline agreement on; – what to make available – how to disseminate it – why it is being made available at all – effective integration into (often remote) teaching/learning environment – effective delivery of support – A product that people want! 10 1999 -01 -28