Disseminating Statistics: Internet and Publications INE – Madrid, 3-5 March 2008 Ulrich Wieland, Eurostat How to link publications and Internet in order to create complementary dissemination

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Agenda A. The Eurostat dissemination strategy B. Website vs. paper publications C. Integration from the user perspective D. Integration from the producer perspective

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March A. The Eurostat communication strategy Adopted in February 2006 Follows the free dissemination From dissemination to communication

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Objectives of the Eurostat communication strategy To be the first-choice source for European statistical data To increase the level of service to users To present the Eurostat figures attractively and, as far as possible, to accompany them with clear and objective comments

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Some elements of the communications strategy The dissemination of statistics must be an integral part of the work of the units which produce statistics The website must be the main dissemination/communication tool Publications should concentrate on analytical publications and on short publications (pocketbooks) aiming to increase Eurostat‘s visibility

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March B. Website vs. Paper publications What is the role of paper publications in the age of the Internet?

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Advantages of the Website Easy update Easy distribution Easy access Sophisticated search functions Re-usability Cheap production (?)

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March The need for publications Analytical publications are easier to read on paper Books can be an important image factor Publicity handed out on paper reaches a different audience than electronic publicity Publications are usually better archived

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Complementarity Both the Internet and the paper publications have their role to play in dissemination Consider Web site and paper as two different media of the same dissemination process. Make sure that you use the right media for the objective of your dissemination; don´t hesitate to disseminate the same information on different media

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Recommendations Make all public information available on the Web site Use publications for Flagship publications (e.g.yearbook) Analytical publications (more than 50% of text) Small publications for publicity purposes (press releases, pocketbooks, leaflets) Publications with a large readership

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March C. Integration from the user’s perspective Accessing publications from the Website: Pdf files and the Web search Linking from publications to the Web site Look and feel

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Books on the Internet Offer all your paper publications as pdf files on your Website Use user-friendly features such as table of content, hyperlinks etc. Pay attention to the use of colour (user might print in b&w) Pay attention to file sizes for downloading

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Books on the Internet - Example

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March The Internet Search Make sure that all books can easily be found through the search on your website Allow for search by title, abstract, collection, release date, keyword Offer on-line ordering of paper copies (and of pdf files if they are not available free of charge)

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Pricing policy Agree on a clear pricing policy (e.g. for paper publications, pdf files, data base access and other services) Often, the pricing policy reflects the printing and distribution cost; other conflicting criteria include maximising income or supporting a large distribution

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Harmonise the Look and Feel Use your logo extensively Use the same symbols and abbreviations Use the same terminology Use similar layout and fonts -> develop a style guide for both publications and web site

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March The DOI (Digital Object Identifier) A system for identifying content objects in the digital environment. Provides a framework for persistent identification of intellectual content. Managed by the International DOI Foundation Recently been accepted for standardisation within ISO.

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March The Eurostat code I A Eurostat-specific code to identify tables and data sets on the web site In contrary to the DOI, it refers to dynamic (regularly updated) data sets rather that to static data sets The codes remain stable over a long time period

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March The Eurostat code II All tables and graphs in a publication will receive a code (e.g. TPS00021) which refers to the corresponding data set or table on the web site Data sets and tables can be accessed either by typing the code into the Eurostat search field or (for pdf versions) by clicking on the hyperlink

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March The Eurostat code III Structure of the code: Example: TPS00021 T = Table PS = (Population and social statistics) = The code system can be extended to cover other objects such as meta data, definitions, nodes in data trees, etc.

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March The Eurostat code IV Implemented in the Eurostat yearbook and the Eurostat pocketbook In the future, all publications will use the Eurostat code Currently, no attempts are made in Eurostat to implement the DOI

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March D. Integration from the producer’s perspective How to avoid separate production processes and redundant work when creating publications and web content?

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March XML publishing: Where are we now?

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March XML publishing XML publishing is a method of creating from the same content various types of output, in particular pdf and html It uses a standardised format for representing content (text, tables, graphs etc.)

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March XML publishing: Where do we want to get?

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March What is XML? A standardised language to represent content (not layout) Supported by many suppliers including Microsoft Standard software to convert from and to XML is available See

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Predefined tables

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Example of an XML document (very simplified)

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March XML in Eurostat – predefined tables

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March The problem: Where do we want to get?

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Strategic questions : When is the XML publishing a good choice? Costs and benefits of an XML based approach? How and when should be the dissemination programme modified to better fit the technology?

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Technical question 1: Standards What XML language to use: –DocBook (common format for publications) –SDMX-ML (Standard format for statistical data and meta data) –CoSSI (developed by Statistics Finland) –ODF (Open Document Format) Eurostat has chosen the Open Document Format

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Technical question 2: XML content creation Native XML editor or standard Office software Database output in XML Conversion software

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Practical experiences Statistics Finland Statec Luxembourg (Yearbook)

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Eurostat activities Development of SDMX-ML together with other international statistical bodies Workshop on XML publishing in October 2007 Study to determine the best way to implement XML publishing in Eurostat Attempts will be made to work closely with some NSOs in the development of XML publishing Pilot implementation using the Eurostat pocketbook

Disseminating Statistics - INE – Madrid, 3-5 March Contact Ulrich Wieland Head of Sector Publications EUROSTAT - Unit B6 BECH A3-100 European Commission L-2920 Luxembourg Tel