National Collections Online Feasibility Study Bridget McKenzie

The Brief To find out if it is possible to create a: discovery facility that integrates national museum collections, providing seamless access to item-level collections, and a base on which to build learning resources and creative tools, the nationals collaborating successfully and enabling participation by diverse secondary partners.

The Brief

To find out if it is possible to create a:

discovery facility that integrates national museum collections,

providing seamless access to item-level collections,

and a base on which to build learning resources and creative tools,

the nationals collaborating successfully and enabling participation by diverse secondary partners.

The Enquiry What is the scope? (What kinds of collections and organisations? What kinds of audiences and uses?) What would be a useful project to meet needs of different partners? What past and current initiatives can offer lessons and opportunities? What are the best means of helping people explore collections? How can this be delivered? (Funding & advocacy, the partnership, costs etc)

Partners National Museum Director’s Conference Victoria & Albert Museum National Museum of Science and Industry National Maritime Museum Culture 24

Partners

National Museum Director’s Conference

Victoria & Albert Museum

National Museum of Science and Industry

National Maritime Museum

Culture 24

Timescale Interviews by 13 May Workshop 9 May Phase 1 report end of May Workshop 18 June Phase 2 report end of July for NMDC annual meeting

Timescale

Interviews by 13 May

Workshop 9 May

Phase 1 report end of May

Workshop 18 June

Phase 2 report end of July

for NMDC annual meeting

Community of enquiry 57 people Staff from the lead partner bodies Collections Trust, MLA, JISC, BECTA, NEN Visit Britain, LOCOG, English Heritage, Wellcome Trust, Ofcom, EDL Flickr, Google, Lexara, Powerhouse And more… What are they saying?

Community of enquiry

57 people

Staff from the lead partner bodies

Collections Trust, MLA, JISC, BECTA, NEN

Visit Britain, LOCOG, English Heritage, Wellcome Trust, Ofcom, EDL

Flickr, Google, Lexara, Powerhouse

And more…

What are they saying?

“ Oh no, not another portal!”

“ You need to go to where the eyeballs are”

“ Don’t reinvent the wheel. See how existing projects shape up” EDL – Europeana Integrated Architecture Project National Museums Online Learning Project Strategic E-content Alliance Lexara’s Magic Studio C24’s Teachers Cultural Resource Discovery project Semantic web developments e.g. Powerhouse Google searching deep web – e.g. museums using Site Maps & URLs for collections It’s still a job to understand these and to see how they can be influenced and interoperate

EDL – Europeana

Integrated Architecture Project

National Museums Online Learning Project

Strategic E-content Alliance

Lexara’s Magic Studio

C24’s Teachers Cultural Resource Discovery project

Semantic web developments e.g. Powerhouse

Google searching deep web – e.g. museums using Site Maps & URLs for collections

It’s still a job to understand these and to see how they can be influenced and interoperate

Need for audience research – is there a market need for integrated collections? Need to establish clarity on copyright if tools are created that enable ‘mashing up’ and collection mixing Need for agreement on data standards Need for organisational change e.g. work to communicate web expertise within museums Need to focus on digitising stuff and getting it out there “ We have to build the foundations first. ”

Need for audience research – is there a market need for integrated collections?

Need to establish clarity on copyright if tools are created that enable ‘mashing up’ and collection mixing

Need for agreement on data standards

Need for organisational change e.g. work to communicate web expertise within museums

Need to focus on digitising stuff and getting it out there

Need to enable experiment Follow example of Powerhouse Create a sandbox Multiple approaches e.g. microformat tools, API’s, Sitemaps, bookmarking experiments, make your information more wikipedia friendly, try different ways of federated search… “ Let’s just do small stuff ”

Need to enable experiment

Follow example of Powerhouse

Create a sandbox

Multiple approaches e.g. microformat tools, API’s, Sitemaps, bookmarking experiments, make your information more wikipedia friendly, try different ways of federated search…

Plethora of options Questions about leadership Strong recommendation not to forge ahead and build something big – to use foundations already there Need for a more market-led, or audience-led approach Balanced with a need for sector leadership to value and understand emerging technology What does this mean?

Plethora of options

Questions about leadership

Strong recommendation not to forge ahead and build something big – to use foundations already there

Need for a more market-led, or audience-led approach

Balanced with a need for sector leadership to value and understand emerging technology

What next? And what about you? Workshop on 9 May – exploring these options Workshop on 18 June – exploring how to deliver Present to NMDC for their decisions Ask me if you want to join Google Group discussion Will post some questions on MCG list

Workshop on 9 May – exploring these options

Workshop on 18 June – exploring how to deliver

Present to NMDC for their decisions

Ask me if you want to join Google Group discussion

Will post some questions on MCG list

Bridget McKenzie [email_address] 07890 540178 www.flowassociates.com