Interoperability, networking, and standards

Archives Hubarchiveshub@mimas.ac.uk

@archiveshub

A little bit about archives…

Archives are reaching (should reach) global audiences

People access information online

What does this mean for cataloguing?

The way we catalogue needs to changeThe web is ubiquitous

Machines are our intermediaries..and allies

Things are changing...

The evolution of finding aids

People

The original finding aid? An archivist!

Advantages:

Expert knowledge & interpretationHuman-readable

Disadvantages:

Limited lifespanNot easily shared

No search functionNot machine-readable

Paper

Advantages:

Durable (maybe)Human-readableCan be kept with the materials it describesDoesn’t require special technology

Disadvantages:

Not machine-readableNot easily shared

Have to read individuallyNot searchable

Handwritten, typed

Document

Advantages

Human-readableCan exchange via email, webDurable (maybe!)Searchable (individually)

Disadvantages

Content not machine-readable

Might be locked into proprietary formats

Mark-up is about presentation, not structure

or content

Includes word processed documents, PDFs, HTML documents...

Database

Advantages:

Human-readable (depending on the system)Machine-readableCan be exchanged and sharedSearchableCross-searchableDurableCan be standards-based

Disadvantages:

ProprietaryBadly designed

Not always flexibleNeed mapping for data

integration

XML

Advantages:

Human-readable (with practice)Machine-readableEasily exchanged and sharedSearchableCross-searchableDurableStandards-based

Disadvantages:

Technical barriersUnderstanding

Permissive standardsLack of tools

We can’t share or exchange data meaningfully without standards – they facilitate interoperability.

EAD: encoding standard based on ISAD(G): cataloguing standard

Standards can give us a common vocabulary for data exchange

Standards

Index terms provide a route into descriptionsUse standard terms taken from source/thesaurus

Significant topics Drawing topics together Internal links for navigation Consistency Aid to discovery

UKAD indexing tutorial: http://www.ukad.org/UKAD-Indexing-Tutorial/

Indexing

Will your description make sense to users out of context? Do you need to add extra information?

Will your description make sense without you there to explain?

Have you used archival jargon?

Vocabulary & global environment

Your descriptions are there to connect people with the information they need.

Think about what people need to know, and write your descriptions with a people-focus.

Don’t stick to the rules if they’re not helpful! ISAD (G) doesn’t include some information that’s vital for the online environment.

People

Beatrice Webb

Linked Data / Linking Data

Martha Beatrice Webb, 1858-1943, social reformer

Martha Beatrice Webb, 1858-1943, social reformer

http://data.archiveshub.ac.uk/id/person/webbmarthabeatrice1858-1943socialreformer

or

http://data.archiveshub.ac.uk/id/person/345678

http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb227msda865.w4

Archival Resource

Person

Created

Subject: Archival ResourcePredicate: CreatedByObject: Person

Subject > Predicate > Object

CreatedBy

Triple statement

If something is identified, it can be linked to

We can then take items from one dataset and link them to items from other datasets

Linking Datasets

BBC

VIAF

DBPedia Archives Hub

Copac

GeoNames

‘Our role in using technology is really all about people. I often think of myself as the middleman, between the technology (the developers) and the audience.’

http://archiveshub.ac.uk/blog/2012/07/the-modern-archivist-working-with-people-and-technology/

Finally

On an index card, write:

The Stanley Kubrick Archive

c.1945-2002

853 linear metres

Exercise 1

ISAD(G) mandatory fields:

3.1.1 Reference code 3.1.3 Title 3.2.1 Name of Creator 3.1.3 Dates of Creation 3.1.5 Extent of the Unit of Description 3.1.4 Level of description

Exercise 2

Look at your index card. What information

would need to be added/changed for an

online audience?

Exercise 3

The Archives Hub has these additional mandatory fields: Repository name Reference for a global environment Language Conditions governing access Scope & content

Exercise 3

University of the Arts, London The Stanley Kubrick Archive  GB 3184 SK Stanley Kubrick c1945-2002 853 linear metres Fonds English This collection is open for consultation

The collection spans Kubrick's entire career from his time as a photographer in the 1940s and early 1950s until his last film in 1999 (Eyes Wide Shut). Kubrick died during the editing of Eyes Wide Shut and some items relating to the release/finished version were added by his staff. They have been included because they were held with the main collection, at the creator's home, following the pattern of what he kept and were deposited with the Archive. The collection covers the film making process from pre until post production and includes:…

Repository University of the Arts, London

Title The Stanley Kubrick Archive

Reference GB 3184 SK

Creator Stanley Kubrick

Dates c1945-2002

Extent 853 linear metres

Level Fonds

Language English

Data in a table

‘Dublin Core is an independent international metadata standard managed by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). The DCMI promotes interoperable metadata standards for information discovery and in particular maintains a core set of metadata elements. The standard has been designed in consultation with information professionals, including librarians, curators and archivists. Like all metadata standards, Dublin Core consists of a set of metadata elements that are designed to capture information about a resource, be it electronic or physical, and allow that information to be shared. The building blocks of Dublin Core are the 15 simple metadata elements available at http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. The full set of terms is at http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/ .’

Interoperable metadata: Dublin Core

Contributor Coverage Creator Date Description Format Identifier Language

Publisher Relation Rights Source Subject Title Type

The 15 basic Dublin Core elements

XML is a markup that facilitates data exchange.It is created from pairs of tags, eg:<books>

<title>Alice in Wonderland</title><author>Lewis Carroll</author><extent>1 volume</extent><format>hardback</format>

</books>

Tags must be correctly nested and paired.

XML

In pairs, agree tags for this data:

University of the Arts, London 

The Stanley Kubrick Archive   

Stanley Kubrick 

c1945-2002

XML exercise

One answer:

<repository>University of the Arts, London</repository>

 <title> The Stanley Kubrick Archive </title>

   <originator> Stanley Kubrick </originator>

  <unitdate>c1945-2002</unitdate>

XML exercise

EAD is XML for archives: it allows for the meaningful exchange of archive descriptions, using an agreed-upon standard.

Archivists all over the world have agreed what the EAD terms mean. Thus we can say that <origination> should always contain the name/s of the creating enitity/ies.

XML is an international, interoperable format for data exchange.

EAD

Any questions?

http://archiveshub.ac.ukarchiveshub@mimas.ac.uk@archiveshub