Thinking collectively: resource disclosure through collectionlevel description mda Conference Common

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Thinking collectivelyresource disclosure
through collection-level descriptionmda
Conference Common Threads, Edgbaston,
Birmingham, 6 September 2002

• Bridget Robinson(content by Pete Johnston)
• UKOLN, University of Bath
• Bath, BA2 7AY

cd-focus_at_ukoln.ac.uk http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/
UKOLN is supported by
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Thinking collectively resource disclosure
through CLD

• The resource discovery context
• Collections, collection description
  collection-level description
• Approaches to collection description
• Applying collection-level description

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The resource discovery context

• Strategic initiatives for museums
• Renaissance in the Regions
• Single Regional Agencies
• Resource Framework for Collections Management
• And elsewhere.
• Libraries
• Peoples Network connectivity
• Full Disclosure retrospective cataloguing
• Research Support Libraries Programme
  disclosure/access, collaborative management
• Archives
• Access to Archives, Scottish Archival Network,
  Archives Hub integrated access

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The resource discovery context

• Digital content creation programmes
• making heritage (more) accessible
• NOF-Digitise
• 50m content creation programme
• supporting strategy for social inclusion,
  lifelong learning
• digitised objects
• learning materials
• 130 projects, Summer 2001-
• Culture Online
• to widen access to resources of arts/cultural
  sector for purposes of learning and enjoyment

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The resource discovery context

• Broader resource discovery context
• user wants information relevant to task/activity
• may see structural/organisational boundaries of
  information providers as unimportant!
• content providers exposing content through
  multiple services, channels
• service providers surfacing content from
  multiple (distributed) sources
• from web sites to portals

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The resource discovery context

• Technological context
• XML everywhere.
• Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata
  Harvesting Release Version 2.0 (stable)
• enabling sharing of metadata records (using XML
  over HTTP)
• Web Services (SOAP etc)
• enabling modular distributed applications
  (communicating using XML over HTTP)
• CIMI
• Dublin Core testbed
• Metadata harvesting using OAI PMH
• CIMI XML Schema for SPECTRUM testbed

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The resource discovery context

• e.g. HEIRPORT
• Cross-searching metadata databases of ADS,
  RCAHMS, SCRAN, Portable Antiquities
• Z39.50 search/retrieval protocol
• Dublin Core (in XML)

http//ads.ahds.ac.uk/heirport/
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The resource discovery context

• Access
• Integration
• Collaboration.
• Interoperability as recombinant potential
• (Dempsey, 2002)
• The whole is more than the sum of the parts

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Collections, collection description
collection-level description
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What is a collection?

• Collection
• an aggregation of items
• Aggregations of, e.g.
• natural objects fossils, mineral samples
• created objects artefacts, documents, records
• digital resources documents, images, multimedia
  objects, data, software
• digital surrogates of physical objects
  documents, images
• metadata catalogue records, item descriptions,
  collection-level descriptions (!)

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What is a collection?

• Various criteria for aggregation, e.g.
• By location
• By type/form of item
• By provenance of item
• By source/ownership of item
• By nature of item content
• .
• Permanent, temporary
• Discrete, distributed
• Collections created with intent/purpose
• collection development policies

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What is a collection?

• CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model draft v3.3.2,
  31 July 2002
• E78 Collection
• Subclass of Physical Man-Made Stuff
• Scope Note This entity describes an aggregate of
  items, which is maintained by an Actor following
  a plan of cultural relevance over time. Things
  may be added or taken out of a collection in
  pursuit of this plan. A collection is designed
  for a certain public, and the conservation of the
  collected items is normally catered for.

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What is a collection?

• Museums
• collections of physical objects/items
• collections of digital objects/items
• collections of metadata records
• describing physical objects
• describing digital objects
• Collections are made available to users through
  services

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Physical services make physical collections
available at physical locations
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Network services make digital collections
available at digital locations
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Physical services make physical collections
available at physical locations
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Network services make digital collections
available at digital locations
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User wants to know

• Which collections are relevant to their
  requirement?
• subject/coverage of items?
• type?
• legal status?
• conditions of access/use?
• etc
• What services make those collections available?
• location?
• access?
• etc

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Collections of digital metadata records made
available through multiple network services
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User wants to know

• Which collections are relevant to their
  requirement?
• subject/coverage of items?
• type?
• legal status?
• conditions of access/use?
• etc
• What services make those collections available?
• location?
• access?
• etc
• User may be human researcher or software tool

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The problem

• Weve created this incredible constellation of
  collections, of pools of information accessible
  through the Net. And people cant find which pool
  to look in
• (Lynch, 2002)

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Collection description

• Describing the pools.
• Hierarchic
• info about collection as whole, and about items
  (and relationships between items and whole)
• Analytic
• info about items in collection
• Indexing
• info derived from items in collection
• Unitary
• info about collection as whole, not about items
• collection-level description
• (typology from Heaney 2000)

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Why collection-level description?

• Enable collection provider to
• disclose information about collections
• overview of otherwise uncatalogued items
• summary where item-level detail
  inappropriate/unavailable
• manage collections
• in collaboration with other providers
• inform strategic planning
• e.g. Resource
• assess priorities for item-level cataloguing
• e.g. Full Disclosure

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Why collection-level description?

• Enable user to
• discover/locate collections
• physical/digital
• select collections to explore/search on basis of
  summary description
• physical/digital
• compare collections as broadly similar objects
  even where items heterogeneous

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Why collection-level description?

• Enable software agents to
• select (digital metadata) collections to search
  on behalf of user
• e.g. on basis of profile/preferences
• perform searches across multiple (digital
  metadata) collections

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Why not collection-level description?

• What is a collection?
• the functional granularity question
• even-ness across contexts, domains
• Absence of cross-domain consensus on schemas for
  CLD?
• Access points for CLD
• What is the subject of a museum collection?
• Uncertainty of value of CLD, compared to
  item-level description?
• resource managers, resource users
• Collection-level description v collection
  asssessment?

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Approaches to collection-level description
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IMLS on collection description

• Collections should be described so that a user
  can discover important characteristics of the
  collection, including scope, format, restrictions
  on access, ownership, and any information
  significant for determining the collections
  authenticity, integrity and interpretation.
• IMLS Framework of Guidance for Building Good
  Digital Collections

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CLDs in archives

• Collections defined by provenance of (unique,
  physical) items
• records of organisation or individual
• principle that value of individual record derives
  from context, relationships
• Archival description
• emphasis on multi-level resource description
• hierarchical collection description
• well-established standards e.g. ISAD(G), EAD
• Established services NRA, Archives Hub, A2A,
  SCAN etc

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CLDs in libraries

• Focus on description of (non-unique, physical)
  item
• well-established standards (MARC, AACR2)
• shared cataloguing
• emphasis on discovery
• Until recently, CLD informal, unstructured
• Collections defined by
• location
• subject
• Standards
• some use of MARC for CLD (especially in USA)
• deployment of RSLP CD schema by RSLP projects

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CLDs in libraries

• RSLP Collection Description project
• Michael Heaney, An Analytical Model of
  Collections and their Catalogues
• Entity-Relationship model
• Implementation independent
• Based mainly on library/archival view of
  collection
• but intended to be applicable across wide range
  of collection types
• RSLP Collection Description schema
• Andy Powell (UKOLN)
• structured set of metadata attributes
• simple description of subset of entities in model
• attributes based on Dublin Core Element Set where
  possible

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CLDs for digital resources

• Some description of aggregates of resources
• use of general metadata schemas (e.g. DC, GILS)
• application-specific, protocol-specific
  approaches
• Evolution of approaches to creating digital
  collections
• proof of concept (technological focus?)
• greater attention to custodianship, use
• focus on integration, reuse, interoperability,
  sustainability
• (Cole 2002, Besser 2002)
• Integration requires shared conventions for
  talking about collections
• growing interest in collection-level metadata

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CLDs in museums

• Focus on description of (unique, physical) object
• for management more than discovery?
• But notion of collection is used
• collection management
• collection mapping/assessment
• Various criteria
• type/form of item
• subject
• ownership/source
• Some CLD (maybe not called CLD!)
• e.g. guides to holdings, directories

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CLDs in museums

• Little standardisation?
• some use of Dublin Core MES (CIMI testbed)
• some use of Encoded Archival Description DTD
  (NHM)
• some use of RSLP CD schema
• Crossroads (West Mids)
• Find It In London
• Regional collection mapping exercises
• West Midlands, South-West Region
• growing interest in
• sharing data within profession
• using data to support disclosure as well as
  management
• Resource Framework for Collections Management

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CLDs in museums

• A few examples.
• FENSCORE (Natural Science collections)
• http//fenscore.man.ac.uk/
• Directories including CLD
• http//www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/
• http//www.cornucopia.org.uk/
• http//www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
• http//www.english-heritage.org.uk/
• Some RSLP projects include CLD for museum
  resources
• http//www.rascal.ac.uk/
• http//www.mappingwales.ac.uk/
• http//scone.strath.ac.uk/

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Applying collection-level description
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Collection-level description Research Support
Libraries Programme

• Support for academic researchers
• disclosure of collections
• discovery of/access to collections
• collaborative management of collections
• Collections in RSLP
• projects describing primarily collections of
  physical items (library/archive)
• projects also describing digital catalogues
  (which describe physical items)
• collections of metadata records
• Projects have created subject-based or regional
  databases of CLDs

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Collection-level description the JISC
Information Environment

• Content made available as collections
• various content providers
• Physical collections
• of physical resources (e.g. books, journals)
• Digital collections
• of digital resources (texts, images, multimedia
  objects, software, datasets, learning objects
  etc)
• of digital metadata records
• describing physical items, digital items,
  physical collections
• Users access content through services

http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/distributed-systems/jisc-ie
/arch/
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Using Collections in the JISC Information
Environment

• HTML Web sites
• Aimed at human reader not software tool
• Different user interfaces, different metadata
  schemas
• Researcher joins up services manually
• The portal solution
• task/user-centred
• single point of access to range of heterogeneous
  network services
• The IE service registry
• Database of collection-level descriptions,
  service descriptions

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The service registry in the Information
Environment
The vision.
End-user is automatically presented with
relevant resources through relevant channels
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Surveying the landscape

• CLD not a substitute for item-level description
• complementing item-level discovery
• enabling item-level discovery (JISC IE)
• CLD as achievable goal?
• RSLP CD schema for simple, high-level CLD
• Useful for museums?
• CLDs support survey of information landscape
• to identify areas rather than specific features
  - to identify rainforest rather than to retrieve
  an analysis of the canopy fauna of the Amazon
  basin
• (Heaney, 2000)
• The navigator of the landscape may be a human
  researcher or a software tool

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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.
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/

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References

• Lorcan Dempsey, Metadata in a distributed
  environment interoperability as recombinant
  potential, Keynote Paper, OCLC/SCURL New
  Directions in Metadata conference, August 2002
• Andy Powell,ed. Collection Level Description A
  Review of Existing Practice (Aug1999)
  lthttp//www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/cld/study/gt
• Michael Heaney, An Analytical Model of
  Collections and their Catalogues (Jan
  2000)lthttp//www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/rslp/model/
  amcc-v31.pdf/gt
• Tony Gill, Stephen Stead, Matthew Stiff,
  Definition of the CIDOC object-oriented
  Conceptual Reference Model v 3.3.2 (Jul 2002)
• lthttp//cidoc.ics.forth.gr/docs/cidoc_crm_version_
  3.3.2.docgt

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References

• Howard Besser, The Next Stage Moving from
  Isolated Digital Collections to Interoperable
  Digital Libraries, First Monday, Vol 7 No 6
  (June 2002)
• lthttp//firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_6/besser/ind
  ex.htmlgt
• Tim Cole, Creating a Framework of Guidance for
  Building Good Digital Collections, First Monday,
  Vol 7 No 5 (May 2002)
• lthttp//firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_5/cole/index
  .htmlgt
• Clifford Lynch, Digital Collections, Digital
  Libraries, and the Digitization of Cultural
  Heritage Information, First Monday, Vol 7 No 5
  (May 2002)
• lthttp//firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_5/lynch/inde
  x.htmlgt
• Digital Library Forum, A Framework of Guidance
  for Building Good Digital Collections. IMLS.
  (November 2001)lthttp//www.imls.gov/pubs/forumfra
  mework.htmgt
• Andy Powell and Liz Lyon, The JISC Information
  Environment Architecture, 2001lthttp//www.ukoln.a
  c.uk/distributed-systems/jisc-ie/arch/gt