ukoln is supported by: providing a support infrastructure for digital library programmes marieke guy...
TRANSCRIPT
UKOLN is supported by:
Providing a Support Infrastructure for Digital Library Programmes
Marieke Guy
QA Focus
A centre of expertise in digital information management
www.ukoln.ac.uk
Richard Waller
NOF Technical Advisor
Introduction
This presentation will:• Introduce the programmes served by the support
mechanism• Explain each support service’s rationale• Give information on partners in the service• Describe each service’s users• Describe each service’s activities• Compare and contrast the services’ approaches• Examine the lessons learned over the service duration• Summarise recommendations for new programmes
NOF-digitise Programme• Programme Life: August 1999 to December 2004• £50 million funding to put information that supports lifelong
learning into digitised form.• It brings together a wide range of partnerships and
organisations and is designed to support lifelong learning under one of three broad themes:
– cultural enrichment – citizenship
– re-skilling • Data resources comprised a considerable proportion of newly
digitised material • Resources needed to be accessible, interoperable, durable
and represent value for money
Rationale of NOF TAS
• Need for informed support and advocacy of Technical Standards and Guidelines
• Need for assistance in achieving standards compliance • Need for detailed and project-specific advice• Need for repository of standard and generic advice • Need for input into development of Technical Standards &
Guidelines• Need for input into creation of Programme Manual• Need for examples of best practice• Need for means of communication to, from and between
projects
The Partners
• Distributed team– UKOLN, University of Bath – AHDS (Arts and Humanities Data Service), Kings College,
London• Skills
– UKOLN - Access (Web sites), Web site design and implementation, detailed technical support, support coordination, policy, documentation
– AHDS – Digitisation, policy, Web site design
Nature of Users (1)
• Nof-Digi projects come from higher education, local authority, museum and archive backgrounds
• Fairly heterogenous group• A very wide range of technical competence • A variety of relationships with projects’ technical developers,
ranging from in-house to commercial third-party with parent-child organisational relationships in between
• Enquiries can come direct from project managers, technical developers, cataloguers, etc.
Nature of Users (2)
• NOF is composed of a project leader and case managers but with access to other forms of advice such as Resource
• Fairly homogenous group but which seeks advice on very varied matters from detailed project-specific issues to policy
• Its principal role is supporting and even enforcing delivery through progress-tracking and so often seeks project-specific advice
• NOF will also seek advice on more general issues including policy and the balance between standards and real-world implementation
Activities of Service (1)Web site:• Information Papers • Useful Pointers• FAQs – divided across different areas of the implementation
cycle:– Web site design, Hardware and software, File formats, Legal issues,
Digitisation, Metadata and Compliance
Project-specific advice:• Email enquiries• Telephone enquiries• Site visits• Training sessions and workshops• Discussion list
Activities of Service (2)
NOF-oriented advice:• Review meetings• Case manager-oriented ‘surgeries’• Policy review and advice• NOF-related discussion lists
JISC 5/99 Programme
• August 2000 to July 2003• Improving the applicability of resources for learning and
teaching• Previously data resources used primarily for research• Increasing use by integration into JISC’s Information
Environment• Resources needed to be accessible, interoperable, durable
and represent value for money• Technical development needed to be rigorous and based on
best practices• Standards and Guidelines to build a National Resource
document (based on eLib Standards and Guidelines)
Rationale of QA Focus
• Compliance had never been checked before• QA Focus post funded in early 2002 for 2 years initially as a
support mechanism for 5/99• Aim was to ensure that:
– projects comply with standards and recommendations
– projects make use of best practices
– projects use quality assurance procedures
– projects are advised and supported
• Enforcement versus encouragement• Developmental - explaining reasons for compliance,
documenting examples of best practices and providing advice on implementation and monitoring
The Partners
• Distributed team– Initially UKOLN, University of Bath and ILRT (The Institute for
Learning and Research Technology), University of Bristol
– Now UKOLN and AHDS (Arts and Humanities Data Service), Kings College, London
• Time– Intermittent Project Manager time
– 0.5 FTE UKOLN, 0.5 FTE AHDS
• Skills– UKOLN - Access (Web sites), software, metadata, service
deployment
– AHDS – Digitisation, some learning and teaching
Nature of Users
• 5/99 projects came from HE• Mainly technically competent • Fairly homogenous group• They were divided into the following clusters:
– Images
– Moving image and sound
– Access to museum resources
– Enhancing JISC-funded data services
– Infrastructure
– Virtual environments
– Access to learning and teaching resources
Activities of Service (1)
• Documentation and Advice– Briefing Papers
– Case Studies – written by the projects
– FAQs
– Descriptions of tools and architectures for projects to implement best practices
– Pointing users to the correct advisory services
• The QA Focus Toolkit - self-assessment toolkit, more than just a tick box approach
• Surveys of project Web sites • In-house QA – policies, procedures and audits
Activities of Service(2)
• Providing Motivation - explaining why compliance with standards is important
• Workshops– Workshops for 5/99 - Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham
– General ‘standards’ Workshops
– Presentations at conferences
• Liaising – with individual projects
– with the Advisory Services over their provision of advice and address maintenance and feedback mechanisms
– With JISC about requirements for future programmes
Convergence and Divergence of Approach
Reactive
Lower level
Hands on
Pre-emptive
Higher level
Self assessment
Documents
Workshops
Motivation
NOF TAS QA FOCUS
Lessons Learned• The earlier support mechanisms are introduced in a
programme the greater the impact and service responsiveness• Ideally they should be involved in the creation of the standards
on which they will advise• There is a conflict between advice and real world
implementation that must be handled flexibly• Some projects want to be told exactly what to do, others want
to do exactly what they want• If projects are to implement standards they need to
understand them clearly and why they should use them• You cannot prescribe everything nor anticipate everything• The deliverables from a programme are not just the resources
created but the lessons learned• Process is easily as important as product
Lessons for New Programmes• A support structure needs to be implemented as part of the
design of a programme• Advisers need to be involved in the standards creation process• Training sessions/workshops are great morale-boosters• Case studies really help but need to be timely• A support structure needs the backing of its funders and
programme managers• To work well, a standards document needs to be tied in with
support and offer practical examples• Decide on the redline areas that must be implemented for
interoperability, prioritise their support and sustain with a variety of aids; be positive but also pragmatic about how much of the remainder should be realised.
Questions?
QA Focus - http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/
NOF TAS - http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/nof/support/