HOW TO MANAGE YOUR COLLECTIONS: UNITING ACADEMIC RESEARCH AND COMMERCIAL DEMAND FOR PICTURE COLLECTIONS 28.01.09

We believe that everyone everywhere should have the right to access, use and benefit from cultural collections. Our aim...

Collections Law Commerce Technology Knowledge Consumers Collections Trust

UK Social Enterprise Independent 12-15 staff Based in London & Cambridge About us...

The new Collections Management... Collections Development Collections Knowledge Collections Care Collections Access

BSI PAS 197: A Code of Practice for Collections Management A joint standard for museums, archives and libraries Emphasising collections as the core ‘product’ of cultural institutions Looking at collections through the eyes of the consumer Understanding the different models of using collections Prioritising content creation against a known demand...

9 years of Digitisation in museums... IT Challenge Fund (1999) NOF-Digitise Programme (2001-2004) Culture Online (2005-2006) JISC Collections Renaissance funding = over £70m invested in Digital Cultural Content = Hundreds of thousands of digital images of objects in collections

IT Challenge Fund (1999)

NOF-Digitise Programme (2001-2004)

Culture Online (2005-2006)

JISC Collections

Renaissance funding

= over £70m invested in Digital Cultural Content

= Hundreds of thousands of digital images of objects in collections

The next stage.... Consolidating the content Going back and adding value Integrate, aggregate, federate Understanding the business model for cultural material Competitive, not sustainable

OpenCulture Open as in ‘Open Source’ Bringing together DCMS, MLA, BBC, London2012, C4, Arts Council etc. Looking at the ‘Digital Agenda’ in its broadest sense Sharing intelligence about future priorities Building the Grid...

Mass-market audiences Mass-market services Grid Cultural databases Sector-specific services Sector-specific audiences

The market for cultural content... Internal (management) Public Access Educational Commercial

The market for cultural content... Internal Public Academe Money Stock control – what is it, where is it, do we own it, do I need to conserve it? Discovery & entertainment – what have you got, can I see it, what do you know about it? Research – what have you got that relates to my work, what do you know about it? Use – what have you got that I can use to illustrate/advertise my product, can I use it, how much will it cost?

The answer Internal (management) Public Access Educational Commercial METADATA!

Supply and demand... Academic and commercial demand share common characteristics: They are unpredictable They are asymmetric They depend on (a) findability and (b) usability Academic research & publishing are a commercial proposition these days Any use adds value - both commercial and academic activity can drive value back into the public work of cultural institutions

Academic and commercial demand share common characteristics:

They are unpredictable

They are asymmetric

They depend on (a) findability and (b) usability

Academic research & publishing are a commercial proposition these days

Any use adds value - both commercial and academic activity can drive value back into the public work of cultural institutions

From inventory to product... Digitising material creates a product There is a ‘commercial’ demand for that product Cataloguing and describing the product adds value to it Internal processes and systems still emphasise stock control We need to adjust our priorities when creating this product to ensure that it is fit for purpose Put it this way – we can use public investment to create a commercial product which promotes the sustainability of our industry, but only if we do our job properly, use sensible standards and care about copyright & licensing...

Unlocking Knowledge Joint Collections Trust/British Library/Strategic Content Alliance initiative Driving understanding of licensing as a central mechanism for enabling distributed use of digital cultural content Lobbying for a conducive legislative environment Investigating collective licensing Looking for cost-effective, proportionate solutions which mitigate risk and promote use (both direct and aggregated)

The motivations to meta-describe It satisfies your public-service remit It promotes confidence It enables innovation It encourages partnership and opportunity It adds commercial value It turns collections from a liability to an asset

Contact... Nick Poole Chief Executive Collections Trust 01223 316 028 www.collectionstrust.org.uk www.collectionslink.org.uk www.culturalpropertyadvice.gov.uk www.discs-uk.info