Collection-level description in practice Collection-Level Description & NOF-digitise projects NOF-digitise programme seminar, London, 22 February 2002 Bridget Robinson & Pete Johnston UKOLN, University of Bath Bath, BA2 7AY UKOLN is supported by: URL

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb Collection-level description in practice Collection-level description –before CLD… –in archives –in museums –in libraries –in RSLP –in the JISC/DNER –in the NOF-digitise programme

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLDs before CLD…. Resource managers/providers create CLDs without calling them CLDs! –summary guides –directories –descriptions of institution’s “holdings” –etc

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLDs in archives Description of aggregates as central feature of descriptive practice –“Multi-level” description “Collections” defined by provenance of items Archival emphasis on context of item CLD embedded in standards for archival description –International Standard for Archival Description (General) (ISADG) –Encoded Archival Description (EAD)

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLDs in archives (2) AIM25 – –RSLP project –ISAD(G) collection(fonds)-level descriptions (some sub-collections) –archives/manuscript collections in HE institutions & learned societies in London area –also exports XML (experimentally!) as –EAD documents; RSLP CD RDF/XML records; simple DC records via OAI

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLDs in archives (3) Archives Hub – –JISC service at MIMAS (Manchester) –EAD collection(fonds)-level descriptions for archive collections in UK universities & colleges –some hierarchical descriptions –EAD supports description down to item level –Z39.50 target

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLDs in museums Tendency to focus on description of object But notion of “collection” is used –collection management –collection assessment/mapping Various criteria –type/form of item –subject –ownership/source Some collection-level description –little standardisation? –some use of EAD, Dublin Core

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLDs in museums (2) Cornucopia – –Resource service –CLDs for UK museums –data from range of existing sources –mapping to RSLP CD schema –cross-domain considerations e.g. subject terminologies

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLDs in museums (3) 24 hour Museum – –developed by mda/Campaign for Museums; now independent charity –summary CLDs –also details of events, exhibitions, “trails”, teaching resources etc

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLDs in libraries Tendency to focus on description of item –well-established standards (MARC, AACR2) Until recently, collection-level description informal, unstructured Subject-based collections –items dispersed –complex relationships Standards –some use of MARC for CLD (especially in USA) –adoption of RSLP CD schema in RSLP programme

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLDs in libraries (2) SCONE – –RSLP project –CLDs for holdings of libraries in Scotland –complex relationships between collections –support –collaborative collection management –“landscaping” in CAIRNS –implements RSLP CD schema

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD in RSLP Support for researchers –discovery of/access to collections –collaborative management of collections Collections in RSLP –projects describing primarily (but not exclusively) collections of physical items –projects also describing digital catalogues (which describe physical items) i.e. collections of metadata records –projects creating new digital collections of collection descriptions

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD in RSLP (2) RSLP CD Model & Schema –Michael Heaney (Oxford), Andy Powell (UKOLN) –means of consistent collection description in RSLP –simple, generic Adopted by number of RSLP projects –use RSLP CD schema as base descriptive schema –or use other schema internally and map to RSLP CD –… more later today!

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD in RSLP (3) Regional –RASCAL – –Mapping Wales – Subject-based –Caribbean Studies, Black/Asian history CASBAH – –BUFVC Researchers Guide Online –

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD in DNER Collections in DNER –collections of resources –text, images, data... –collections of metadata about resources –subject gateways, library catalogues… –digital items, physical items –distributed –local institutions –JISC content providers –external collections

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD in DNER (2) Collections available to users through services Network services make digital collections available at digital ‘locations’ Real services make physical collections available at physical ‘locations’

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD in DNER (3)

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD in the NOF-digitise programme Collections in NOF-digitise –projects creating new digital collections of resources (images, audio, video etc) –projects creating new digital collections of metadata records (describing digital items) –(projects maybe also describing physical collections?)

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD in the NOF-digitise programme Collection-level descriptions –one CLD for all project resources as single collection? –multiple CLDs for “sub-collections”? –by item form/type? –by subject? –CLD for consortial “super-collections”? CLDs might be created –by project –by “consortium” –by NOF on behalf of project

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb Introducing OAI MHP OAI Metadata Harvesting Protocol –lightweight protocol which allows data providers to expose metadata records for retrieval by service providers –data providers (projects) supply metadata as XML documents –Must provide simple DC (OAI provides XML Schema) –May provide other metadata formats (in XML) –OAI provides a standardised means for NOF portal - and other portals - (service providers) to gather metadata records from projects (data providers) into central database

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb Resources Web site Item-level Metadata Resource discovery within a project CLD(s)

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD NOF Portal Web site OAI MHP CLD in the NOF programme : project view Metadata Web site CLD Web site CLD export DC Other directories, services

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb CLD NOF Portal Web site CLDs for NOF collections DC item-level records for NOF resources Web site CLD DC Query CLDs Query item-level DC Other directories, services

Collection-level description & NOF-digitise projects, London, 22 Feb Acknowledgements UKOLN is funded by Resource: the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the UK higher and further education funding councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.