antonella fresa warsaw, 30 january 2006 the management of digitisation projects in the cultural...

Antonella Fresa Warsaw, 30 January 2006

THE MANAGEMENT OF

DIGITISATION PROJECTS

IN THE CULTURAL HERITAGE SECTOR

Ministerial NEtwoRk for Valorising Activities in digitisation


Scope of the presentation

To present:

• the MINERVA initiative

• the Dynamic Action Plan

• some of the MINERVA products which can help in the management of digitisation projects


The MINERVA initiative

Working groups, conferences, workshops, publications, websites, newletter, international activities, services deployment, networking with other European initiatives, the political and strategic level.


Conferences and workshopsFrom February 2004 to January 2006:

• 36 events organised by MINERVA and MINERVAplus in AU, DE, EE, FR, GR, HU, IE, IL, IT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RU, SI, SW, UK

• MINERVAplus participated to 54 events held by other organisations in the above mentioned countries PLUS BG, CA, CZ, DK, FYROM, HR, SP, SR, US.

Different levels: local, national, international.


Publications 2004Some of them are availablein more than 10 languages!

Technical Guidelines for Digital Cultural Content Creation Programmeshttp://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/technicalguidelines.htm (available in EN, FR, DE¸ soon also in IT)

Good practices handbookhttp://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/goodhand.htm (available in CZ, DE, EE, EL, EN, FR, HU, IT, LV, PT, SI, SK)

MINERVA: Digitising content together: Ministerial NEtwork for Valorising Activities in Digitisation: Activities 2003 - 2004 (information brochure about the project)http://www.minervaeurope.org/publications.htm (available in EN, IT)


Publications 2005Dynamic Action Plan for the EU co-ordination of digitisation of cultural

and scientific contenthttp://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/dap.htm (available in EN, FR, DE, IT)

Guide to Intellectual Property Rights and Other Legal Issues (draft version)http://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/guideipr.htm (available in EN)

Quality Principles for cultural Web sites: a handbookhttp://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/qualitycommentary_en.htm (available in CZ, DE, EE, EL, EN, FR, HU, LV, SI)

Coordinating digitisation in Europe. Progress report of the National Representatives Group: coordination mechanisms for digitisation policies and programmes 2004http://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/globalreport/globalrep2004.htm (available in EN)

Manuale per la qualità dei siti Web pubblici culturali (2nd edition)http://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/qualitycriteria-i.htm (available in IT)


Postcards16 titles(printed or planned

to be).

Goal: to give the widest diffusion to the MINERVA and MINERVAplus products.

About 30,000 pieces.

Under preparation:

• DAP• Minerva Galaxy• IPR Guide• Report on Multilingualism• Cost Reduction• Study Map of the

European organisational structure of the cultural sector

• The Assessment report


Next titles• Report on multilingualism• 4th Progress Report of the NRG• Cost reduction report• IPR guide• Assessment Report on the Coordination of

Digitisation in Europe• Map of the European organisational structure of

the cultural sector• French and German translation of the 10 quality

principles handbook• Italian translation of the DAP• Second Italian edition of the Handbook for quality

in cultural web sites


NewsletterSince February 2004:4 English and Italian editions of

the newsletter were distributed to almost 3,000 subscribers.


MINERVA and MINERVAplus web sites BELGIUM

MALTA

ESTONIA

POLAND

HUNGARY

ISRAEL

RUSSIAPORTUGAL


New initiatives based on the MINERVA

results•MICHAEL and MICHAEL Plus

•MEDCULT•MINERVA eC


MICHAELMINERVA spin off based on:• the data model elaborated by the MINERVA

WP3• The technical guidelines elaborated by the

MINERVA WP4• The survey on the multilingualism in Europe

elaborated by the MINERVAplus WP4• The French platform Catalogue des fonds

numérisés• The MINERVA prototype of portal for the

digitised collection of Italy and France (produced by the WP3)


MICHAEL - www.michael-culture.orgMICHAEL (Multilingual Inventory of

Cultural Heritage in Europe) is a project presented by the MiBAC in the framework of the eTEN programme.

MICHAEL will establish an international online service, to search, browse and examine multiple national cultural portals (starting with France, Italy, and UK) from a single point of access and using open source softwares.


MICHAEL Plus

The enlargement of MICHAEL, elaborated by MiBAC in cooperation with France and UK.

The following countries joined the MICHAEL system (based on the MINERVA results):Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden

Status: approved, under negotiation.


MEDCULTMay 2005:

MEDCULT project approved by UNESCO for funding, to spread MINERVA products through Mediterranean Arab countries, in cooperation with the STRABON network

December 2005:MEDCULT kick-off in RomeWorkshops:

April 2006, Alexandria (Egypt)May 2006, Rabat (Morocco)August 2006, Amman (Jordan)

http://www.minervaeurope.org/MEDCULT/home.html


MInisterial NEtwoRk for Valorising Activities in digitisation eContentPlus - Supporting the European Digital Library

Submitted under eContent+ Programme

MAIN OBJECTIVES:Capitalising the results of MINERVA and MINERVA

Plus; Implementing recommendations undertaken by the

NRG;Large involvement of the cultural institutions and

stakeholdersStandard Agreements and Interoperability

Frameworks;Coordination of content enrichment projects;

The MINERVAeC proposal


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MinervaECThe ambition of MinervaEC is to provide the glue

to make the architecture more stable

Integration of national and European actions


WP Activity

1 Project management and coordination

2 Assessment and evaluation

3 Awareness, dissemination and partnership with stakeholders

4 Development of the European Observatory

5 Quality, Accessibility and Usability

6 Good practices for content enrichment

How


AustriaBelgiumCzech RepublicEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIreland

ItalyLuxembourgMaltaPolandPortugalSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenUnited Kingdom

20 partner countries:

with more than 150 cultural institutions

Who


Networking with European projects

PrestoSpace: contribution to the MINERVA deliverable 6.4

EVA Conferences: stable occasion of dissemination of the MINERVA results

Bricks: Bricks will create a module for museum managers based on the Museo&Web product of MINERVA

TEL: coordination of the European national library services

DELOS: Network of Excellence in support of the European Digital Library


Map of the cultural institutions across Europe

The Austrian Presidency and the Italian Ministry, with the contribution of NRG/MINERVA, are working together for the creation of a map of the cultural institutions across Europe.

This study will be a road map of the future of the digitisation of the cultural heritage and will be integrated with the Marketing Plan of MINERVA.


The Minerva GalaxyR&D Constellation:

Minerva, MinervaPLUS, Bricks, Calimera,

Digicult, EVA, Prestospace, The European Library, Delos

Learning Constellation:

Eurydice, university networks

Implementation Constellation: Michael, MichaelPLUS

European Digital Library Constellation:

Thematic network, content enrichment, targeted projectsCooperation Constellation: MedCult, Strabon,

Unesco


The Dynamic Action PlanLaunched on 15th November 2005 in Bristol by the

UK Minister for Culture, David Lammy.Available in DE, FR, IT, UK.It renews the Lund Action Plan.Main goals:(1)Providing strategic leadership in a dynamic and changing

environment.(2)Strengthening co-ordination and forging stronger links between

Member States’digitisation initiatives, EU networks and projects.(3)Continuing efforts in overcoming fragmentation and duplication of

digitisation activities.(4)Assessing and identifying appropriate models, funding and policy

approaches to sustain development and long-term preservation strategies.

(5)Promoting cultural and linguistic diversity through digital content creation.

(6)Improving online access to European cultural content.


The Dynamic Action Plan• re-affirms Lund Principles

• sustainable and accessible digital cultural heritage

• support e-inclusion, cultural diversity, education and training

• promote resources of variety and richness and stimulate content industries

• synergy between cultural and technology programmes


The Dynamic Action PlanAction areas:

A. Users and contentB. Technologies for

digitisationC. Sustainability of contentD. Digital preservationE. Monitoring progress


From the MINERVA products bouquet

3 titles are presented here:

1. Technical Guidelines for Digital Cultural Content Creation Programmes

2. Quality Principles for Cultural Websites

3. Good practices Handbook

sharing the same life-cycle segmentation


The Technical Guidelines for Digital Cultural Content

Creation ProgrammesAims:• To contribute to ensure consistency of

approach to the creation, management and delivery of digital resources through the effective use of standards;

• To identify those areas in which there is commonality of approach a to provide a core around which content-specific requirements might be built.


Standards: definition of the reference scenario

de jure – formally recognised by a body responsible for setting and disseminating standards (e.g. TCP / IP maintained by the Internet Engineering Task Force)

de facto – not formally recognised by a standards body but widely used (e.g. Adobe PDF file format)


Open-ness of Standards

Open access – to the standard itself and to documents produced during its development

Open use – implementing the standard does not incur any cost or IPR

Ongoing support – driven by requirements of the user and not by the interest of the standard provider

Preference is given to open standards


The benefits of deploying standards

Interoperability

Accessibility

Preservation

Security

To:• users – the citizens,

the learners, the children

• Information providers and managers

• Funding agencies

• Creators


Levels of adoption

Must – absolute technical Requirements

Should - Guidance

May – the topic deserves attention

Vocabulary used in the Internet Engineering Task Force documentation (www.ietf.org)


The life-cycle approach1. Preparation for digitisation2. Handling of originals3. The digitisation process4. Storage and preservation of the digital

material5. Metadata capture6. Publication7. Disclosure8. Reuse and repurposing9. Intellectual property and copyright


The MINERVA Technical Guidelines provide a core set of guidelines, useful in many different contexts.

The implementers of digitisation programmes and projects will need to adapt these guidelines to the specific contexts in which they are operating


The 10 Pinciples for good quality cultural websites

Celebrating European cultural diversity by providing access to digital cultural content

for all

The 10 Principles are aimed at cultural websites – those developed by museums, libraries, archives and other cultural institutions.


A good quality cultural website must:be transparent, clearly stating the identity and purpose of

the website, as well as the organisation responsible for its management

select, digitise, author, present and validate content to create an effective website for users

Implement quality of service policy guidelines to ensure that the website is maintained and updated at an appropriate level

1/3


A good quality cultural website must:be accessible to all users, irrespective of the technology

they use or their disabilities, including navigation, content, and interactive elements

be user-centred, taking into account the needs of users, ensuring relevance and ease of use through responding to evaluation and feedback

be responsive, enabling users to contact the site and receive and appropriate reply. Where appropriate, encourage questions, information sharing and discussions with and between users 2/3


A good quality cultural website must:be aware of the importance of multilinguality by providing

a minimum level of access in more than one language

be committed to being interoperable within cultural networks to enable users to easily locate the content and services that meet their needs

be managed to respect legal issues such as IPR and privacy and clearly state the terms and conditions on which the website and its contents may be used

Adopt strategies and standards to ensure that the website and its contents can be preserved for the long-term 3/3


the Quality Handbook It provides commentary an exploration of each

of the 10 Quality Principles through:

• interpretation, background information and motivation for the principle

• a set of criteria which can be used to assess compliance of the website with the principles

• a checklist based on the criteria• a set of practical and pragmatic tests and

questions• the “priority matrix”


The life-cycle of digitisation projects• Website Planning• Website Design • Content Selection • Digitisation Process• Storage and Preservation of the Digital

Master Material• Metadata Capture • Website Implementation • Online Publication• Ongoing Maintenance


Relationships between the various stages of a website life cycle and the 10 Principles For each principle-stage pair, a priority is

provided: • 1 – Low priority• 2 – Mid priority• 3 – High priority


The matrixPlan Design Content

SelectDigitise Store

&Pres. Maste

rs

Meta-DataCapture

Implem. Online Publish

OngoingMaintain

Transparent 2 3 1 1 1 1 3 3 2Effective 2 3 3 1 1 2 3 3 2Maintained 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 3 3Accessible 3 3 1 2 1 1 3 1 1User-centred 2 3 1 1 1 1 3 1 2Responsive 2 2 3 1 1 1 2 3 3Multi-lingual 3 3 2 2 1 1 3 2 1Interoperable 3 3 1 3 2 3 3 2 2

Managed 1 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 1Preserved 1 1 2 3 3 3 1 1 2


Key messages Quality must be planned into a website from

the start The user is critical – involve him at every

stage Relationships with other online resources

(interoperability) and with future resources (long term preservation) must be given due attention


the Good Practices Handbook Provides useful information to the

establishment, execution and management of digitisation projects.

It is a reasoned organisation of lessons learnt by the analysis of the data collected across Europe since May 2002.

The Handbook is enriched with on-line complementary information, and in particular a selection of existing guidelines on digitisation.


The structure of the HandbookIntroduction and background

10 sets of practical lessons learnt and information gathered by the Minerva project best practice team. A collections of practical ‘rules of thumb’, to be considered by organisations who are establishing, executing or managing digitisation projects in the cultural sphere.

Complementary on-line information (addresses of existing guidelines and references to examples of good practices in the various sectors)


Practical GuidelinesThe material is broken down in

accordance with the stages in the digitisation life-cycle.

Each guideline description is structured as:

- Title,- Issue definition, which sets the scene

and introduces the problem(s) addressed,

- Pragmatic suggestions,- Notes or commentary.


Areas of Practical Guidelines / stages in the life-

cycleDigitisation project planningSelecting source material for digitisationPreparation for digitisationHandling of originalsThe digitisation processPreservation of the digital master materialMeta-dataPublicationIPR and copyrigthManaging Digital Projects


Managing digitisation projects:

some pragmatic suggestions Digitisation process management Team development Staff training Working with third parties for technical

assistance Working with third parties in cooperative

projects and content sharing Costs


Digitisation Process Management

To establish a work-flow that maximises the through-put of the digitisation team

Project knowledge base (database, spreadsheet or even a collection of documents), to ensure the recording of actions which are carried out

Name, identifier, status of the item, procedural choices and other relevant information for each item to be digitised should be entered in the knowledge base

Documenting parameters for hardware setup

Location, phone numbers and backup staff of key service personnel


Team development

If possible, include at least one person with appropriate information technology skill in the team

Assess the state of knowledge of the personnel, identify training needs and fill these before the project starts

IT skills are not the only ones which may be needed; specialist skills may be needed, e.g.: handling of delicate documents and artifacts, etc.

Better to have a small core of skilled personnel than a larger population of occasional participants


Staff trainingDo not assume that no staff training is required, not that

archives, library or museum staff automatically has all the relevant expertise

Identify training requirements at the start of the project: certain training may be ‘learn on the job’, other requires training in advance

Technology training may be well delivered from another project in the same institution; check first internal availability

A lack of staff training can jeopardise the whole project results; the same may result if the staff is removed from the project and new personnel start to work


Working with third parties for technical assistance

Services which are most commonly provided include: actual digitisation itself, project management, software development and integration, etc.

The relation should be governed by clear, strict contracts, including documented specification of the products/services to be provided

Review of the work on regular basis

It should be born in mind that expertise and experience gained by third parties will be mostly lost by the cultural institution at the end of the project (include long-term members of staff into the project)


Working with third parties in cooperative projects and

content sharingEnsure that all partners are aware of and have endorsed their roles and responsibilities

Establish common mode of communication across partners

Subcontractors should be governed by strict commercial contracts (deliverables, deadlines, etc.)

IPR documented and agreed among partners


Costs Take into account start-up and infrastructural costs as well as costs for

running the project. The following costs should be considered: Staff development (salaries, but also travel costs and training)

Facilities needed (low costs V/S high standard for image capture)

Operational costs

Costs for storage and for delivery systems

Image capture is often the least costly part of a digitisation project, on average:

1/3 of total costs are connected with digital convention

1/3 (or slightly less) to meta-data creation

1/3 (or even bit more) to administrative and quality assurance

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

Regardless of the quality of the digital resources created by your digitisation project, they will not last long if the project cannot find funds for their maintenance

PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY IS A PRIORITY!


Thank you for your attention!

Antonella Fresa

[email protected]

www.minervaeurope.org

antonella fresa warsaw, 30 january 2006 the management of digitisation projects in the cultural...

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