Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Progress report and content specification

Steering group meeting Feb 2005

Richard Butterworth

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Overview...

• Recap what I said I would do

• Show what I have done

• Discuss what’s next

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Recap...

• Christmas 2004Prototype tutorials, finish backend system, finish

digitisation system

Prototype tutorials: very briefly

Finish backend system: nearly

Finish digitisation system: overtaken by events

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Recap

• Backend systemStores site structure, and page information as XML

pages

These are converted into browser independent web pages

Maintainers are automatically informed of problems

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Shmml Site system

(Senate House Maintainable Markup Language)

Shmml Site

GlossaryGlossaryGlossaryGlossary

GlossaryGlossaryGlossaryShmml

GlossaryGlossaryGlossaryHTML

Editor user interface

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Hiding the technology...

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

<script language="javascript">function showMenu( menu_id ){ var mymenu = document.getElementById( "menu" + menu_id + "drop" ); mymenu.style.visibility = 'visible';

}function hideMenu( menu_id ){ var mymenu = document.getElementById( "menu" + menu_id + "drop" ); mymenu.style.visibility = 'hidden';}var topRefs = [ 'index.html', 'about.html', 'staff.html', 'news.html', 'stakeholders.html', 'links.html', 'documents.html' ];var menus = [ [ 'Home' ],

[ 'About', 'Introduction', 'Aims', 'Objectives', 'Workplans' ], [ 'Staff' ], [ 'News', '9 Aug 04' ], [ 'Stakeholders' ], [ 'Links' ], [ 'Documents', 'AAMH 1.3', 'AAMH 2', 'AAMH 3', 'AAMH 4' ] ];

var menuRefs = [ [ 'index.html' ], [ 'about.html', 'intro.html', 'aims.html', 'objectives.html', 'workplans.html' ],

[ 'staff.html' ], [ 'news.html', 'news.html#9aug04' ], [ 'stakeholders.html' ], [ 'links.html' ], [ 'documents.html', 'AAMH1.3.pdf', 'AAMH2.pdf', 'AAMH3.pdf', 'AAMH4.pdf' ] ];

var drops = [ 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0 ];function writeMenu( menu_num ){

var DOMCapable;if( document.getElementById )

DOMmenu( );else

preDOMmenu( );}

function preDOMmenu( menu_num ){ document.writeln( '<table><tr>' ); for( var i = 0; i < menus.length; i++ ) { document.writeln( '<td valign="top" style="padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px">' ); for( var j = 0; j < menus[i].length; j++ ) { if( j == 0) document.writeln( '<a style="font-size: small" href="' + menuRefs[i][j] +

'">' + menus[i][j] + '</a>' ); else document.writeln( '<br/><a style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal"' +

'href="' + menuRefs[i][j] +'">' + menus[i][j] + '</a>' );

} document.writeln( '</td>' ); } document.writeln( '</tr></table>' );}

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Shmml<menu> <menuitem>

<as><address uri=“about.html”>About</as> </menuitem> <menuitem>

<as><address uri=“intro.html”>Introduction</as> </menuitem> <menuitem>

<as><address uri=“aims.html”>Aims</as> </menuitem> <menuitem>

<as><address uri=“objectives.html”>Objectives</as> </menuitem> <menuitem>

<as><address uri=“wps.html”>Workplans</as> </menuitem></menu>

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Shmml Site

<shmmlsite> <page src=“home.xml” /> <container> <page src=“about.xml” /> <page src=“intro.xml” /> <page src=“aims.xml” /> <page src=“objectives.xml” /> <page src=“wps.xml” /> </container> <page src=“staff.xml” /> . . .</shmmlsite>

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

The maintainer’s interface...

Shmml Site Editor

home.xmlabout.xmlaims.xmlobjectives.xmlwps.xml

staff.xmlnews.xmllinks.xml

Save

New page

Add page

Home page

Generate menus

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Backend system...

• 3 XML formats implementedGlossaryShmmlShmmlSiteAll documented using ‘XML Schemas’ (W3C

standard)

• Converter implementedHTML4Nearly MSIE6, pre Document Object Model

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Editor...

• ShmmlSite editor working fully

• Shmml editor nearly finished

• Needs a general tidy up

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

What’s still to do...

• MSIE6 compatibility, tidy up editor

• Port converter to unix (should be easy)Will install linux on the project laptop to test

Install converter on ULCC server

• EvaluationInstall editor on Mura’s machine, so she can use it in

anger

Bug reports and corrections for remainder of project

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Liaison

• Links established with:Camden Local History Society (visit to SHL and presentation

to meeting)

West Middlesex Family History Society (visit to SHL and to present to their AGM in March)

London Archive User’s Forum (visit to SHL and another planned)

Heraldry society

• Two interviews with users, some volunteers for focus group

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Content specification

• Primary specification from AAMH2

• Target user groups: local and family history groupsProduce one site aimed at both groups

If we expand target groups then maybe one site per group

• Beginners: tutorials

• Not beginners: questions to archives examples

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Primary specification (AAMH2)

• Example driven tutorials

• Interactive discussion boards

• Database of questions and archives

• Annotated links

• Searchable catalogue

• Digitised resources

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

Content specification...Home pageTutorials

Archive tutorialsWhat are archives?What can I use archives for?How do I get access to archives?Which archives should I use?How do I find what I’m looking for?

Research tutorialsWhy should I do research?What is a research question?What is my research question?Family history research questionsLocal history research questionsFrom collecting facts to deeper

understandingPublishing your research

Identifying archivesFamily history archivesLocal history archives

Discussion groupsFamily history discussionLocal history discussionAsk the expert

Links and other resourcesFamily history sitesLocal history sitesOther tutorials and guidesPalaeography and transcriptionTranslation

Senate House Library resourcesContextual help

Accessing our archival and manuscript heritage

What’s next...

• Proactive liaisonChase up all contactsKeep chasing...

• Write tutorialsBased on our liaisonStealing good ideas from elsewhere

• Compile question to archive examples• Discussion group software• Digital content based on collection strengths

(AAMH7)