Artifact: an online resource for Art, Design and Music and the Performing Arts Mary Burslem JISC RSC for London e-Learning for Music Technology 21 st June 2006

First of all, what is Artifact?  A free search engine for locating quality Internet resources for the arts and creative industries  Access to resources relevant to teaching, learning and research  Supports further and higher education  Over 6,800 authoritative sites  Sites chosen by subject specialists  Metadata and description added by cataloguers  Part of the Resource Discovery Network (RDN)  Funded by the HEFCE via the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)

Who are we? Partners are –CALIM (Consortium of Academic Libraries in Manchester) Manchester Metropolitan University = lead site Includes the Royal Northern College of Music –The University of the Arts London –South Cheshire College of FE –MIMAS at Manchester Computing = host

Architecture Arts Communications & Media Culture Design Fashion & Beauty Music and the Performing Arts

Our aim is… …to become a trusted source of reliable and authoritative Internet resources for the arts and creative industries through an easily searchable catalogue

Or more simply… …provide the user with free access to the best of the Web!

7 ways into Artifact Explore ‘On This Date’ - a list of historical arts events linked to related Artifact records by date Search the database Perform an advanced search See the latest Limelight feature Browse the subject areas Access the Artists’ Index Browse the A-Z Index

The music sub-headings of the Music and the Performing Arts browse heading 1. Browsing Artifact

Resources about acoustics The flag = the country of origin of the resource Click on the title to go straight to the resource Click on ‘View Full Record’ for the full record display

The full record display…

…and the resource itself

2. Searching Artifact A search for “music software” finds 82 records

3. Searching Artifact using the Advanced Search

A “phrase search” for “music technology” finds 14 resources

4. Accessing the Artists’ Index

Browse by Role and Surname Select: Pople, Anthony, : Scholar, musicologist

One record on Anthony Pople

5. Browsing Limelight features by subject

Select the Limelight feature on Philip Glass

Do you have any suggestions for future Limelights? Why not us at with your ideas?

6. Browsing the A-Z subject index

The subjects list is based on the Artifact browse headings and it is updated as new browse headings are added

7. Exploring “On This Date” Click on the word or phrase to perform a search in Artifact Click on “On This Date” to search for more arts-related facts and events Refresh the page to see different facts for today

Click on the Virtual Training Suite icon to view a set of free “teach-yourself” online tutorials, designed to help students develop their Internet research skills.

The Future… On 13 th July 2006, the RDN will become…

Please note that this website is under construction until 13 th July

The eight RDN Hubs are merging into four new subject groups: Arts and humanities Health and life sciences Science, engineering and technology (including geography) Social sciences

Please note that this website is under construction until 13 th July

The Virtual Training Suite will be updated and given a new look…

Please note that this website is under construction until 13 th July

…and the search and browse features, Limelight, Artists’ Index and On This Date are staying… …but additional features will include: Electronic journals – for quick and easy access to a separate list of electronic journals Thematic Timelines – containing dozens of key events which have shaped the world as we know it, together with suggested online searches for further research. MyIntute – which provides weekly updates of recently reviewed websites and allows you to save resources of interest Working with Intute – embedding Intute services in your own websites and Virtual Learning Environments using our sophisticated MyIntute Include services.

Visit and link to Artifact at: *after 13 th July Send suggested sites and feedback to: *after 13 th July

Thank you and happy searching and browsing!