kate fernie, [email protected]
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Fishing for content: how standards are helping people create a historic environment information landscape. Kate Fernie, [email protected]. HEIRNET. Fishing for content. The information environment Finding resources User needs Standards, standards People matter. The information environment. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Fishing for content:how standards are helping people create
a historic environment information landscape
Kate Fernie,
HEIRNET
Fishing for content
• The information environment
• Finding resources
• User needs
• Standards, standards
• People matter
The information environment
• Rich and diverse information content• Broad range of information providers
Finding resources
• A user wants information about Westerwood, where there is a Roman fort and a stretch of the Antonine wall near Glasgow
• They could go to Google and find some information on the site … and a lot else besides! but this data is
not authoritative, may be out of date or irrelevant and is incomplete
Finding resources… alternately the user could use Canmore, the on-line database of
the RCAHMS
www.rcahms.gov.uk
Finding resources… or the user could have gone to the online catalogue of
SCRAN and searched for Westerwood
… and found pictures of the Antonine wall and aerial photographs of the fort
www.scran.ac.uk
Finding resources…
• Or they could have gone to the West of Scotland Archaeology Service SMR (www.wosas.org.uk)
• Or the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University where the Romans in Scotland are listed (www.gla.ac.uk/museum)
• Or the Portable Antiquities scheme to find any metal detector finds (www.finds.org.uk)
• Or to the Archaeology Data Service (ads.ahds.ac.uk)• Or Cornucopia (www.cornucopia.org.uk)
HEIRNET Register http://britarch.ac.uk/heirnet/
The hunt for resources…
PAS NMRS WOSAS SCRAN Museum
Content providers shout loud to promote their web sites
User has to go to every service manually – and learn how the system works
but services offer mix of access and use functionality, have different authentication procedures and…
Using resources
• Users can end up tired, confused – and disappointed
• Users just want to find information
So can we find a better way of joining up services…
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/heirport.html
Westerwood
Joined-up services
• Users go to HEIRPORT to find out information about Westerwood
• HEIRPORT does the work and serves up results from several information providers
• The results are authoritative and up-to-date
• Users can easily go to the information provider to find out more
ADS Canmore SCRANContent Providers co-operating(High Impact!)
End-user
HEIRPORT
Z39.50,Bath Profile,CIMI Profile,XML, RDF,Dublin Core Metadata,HTTP,HTML.
A single enquiry point
PAS Y ZX
(Blissfully unaware) = Happiness!
Joined up doing = interoperability
Standards
Interoperability = people
“to be interoperable, one should actively be engaged in the
ongoing process of ensuring that the systems, procedures and culture of an organisation are managed in such a way as to maximise opportunities for exchange and re-use of information, whether internally or externally.” Paul Miller
See: www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue24/interoperability/See: www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue24/interoperability/
People make it happen!
• Information providers choose to find ways of working together
• Deciding to adopt and implement common standards and
• Providing easier ways for users to access their resources
What is HEIRNET doing to help this process?
HEIRNETHistoric Environment Information Resources Network
HEIRNET is a consortium of organisations with an interest in historic environment information systems.
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/HEIRNET/
HEIRNET
HEIRNET aims to find ways of enabling access to Historic Environment Information Resources for conservation, research, learning and general interest.
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/HEIRNET/
• Developing a register of HEIRs• Experimenting with HEIRPORT• Offering technical advice• Evaluating user needs
In conclusion
• The information landscape offers rich and diverse content
• More and more services are becoming available
• Technology allows us to create joined-up services
• Standards and people make it possible!
Kate Fernie