Joseph Padfield and Rupert Shepherd, The National Gallery, and Rob Tice, Knowledge Integration How can information be opened up within an organisation? The National Gallery was faced with a series of different systems, all holding data related to the collection - but speaking to each other only intermittently. This issue was solved with the installation of a middleware system to combine and deliver data from these eight different data sources as a seamless whole. Our paper will look at the implications this has had for how we work with our data, and as an organisation. We will also touch upon the benefits of opening information up within our organisation, and some projects that are currently using - or are planning to use - our data, which will be delivered using established, open standards.

1. Opening up the National
Gallery’s collection
information
Muse+Tech, 18 October 2019

2. Opening up the NG’s collection information
Joseph Padfield, Principal Scientist,
The National Gallery
Rupert Shepherd, Collection
Information
Manager, The National Gallery
Rob Tice, Director, Knowledge
Integration
@JoePadfield
joseph.padfield@ng-london.org.uk
@rgs1510
rupert.shepherd@ng-london.org.uk
rob.tice@k-int.com

3. The Gallery has probably more
knowledge about its own collection than
any other museum in the world. That’s
knowledge that we want to share, it’s
knowledge that we want to put out on
the internet.
Gabriele Finaldi, Newsnight, BBC2, 4 January 2016

5. Internet IntranetNGC website Scientific websites
Umbraco
Web CMS
TMS
Collections
Management System
CALM
Archive Management
System
CID
Collection Images
Database (metadata)
Extensis Portfolio
DAMS - non-
collection images
EOS
Library Management
System
NGC databases
Online collections Archive catalogue Online collections Library OPACExhibitions CID Image LibraryShop, picture library, etc
Image folders
Scientific image viewer

6. Internet Intranet Scientific websites Public endpoints
Umbraco
Web CMS
TMS
Collections
Management System
CALM
Archive Management
System
CID
Collection Images
Database (metadata)
Extensis Portfolio
DAMS - non-
collection images
EOS
Library Management
System
NGC databases
Online collections Archive catalogue Online collections Library OPACExhibitions CID Image LibraryShop, picture library, etc
Image folders
Scientific image viewer
CIIM Media store
DokuWiki
Authoring System
PID Generator
Artifax
Room Booking
System
External API
(ElasticSearch)
OAI-PMH
(DC, LIDO)
LOD – RDF pages
(CIDOC-CRM )
External IIIF Server LOD – SPARQL
(CIDOC-CRM)

7. Internet Intranet Scientific websites Public endpoints
Umbraco
Web CMS
TMS
Collections
Management System
CALM
Archive Management
System
CID
Collection Images
Database (metadata)
Extensis Portfolio
DAMS - non-
collection images
EOS
Library Management
System
NGC databases
Online collections Archive catalogue Online collections Library OPACExhibitions Images Archive catalogueShop, picture library, etc
Image folders
Scientific image viewer
CIIM Media store
DokuWiki
Authoring System
PID Generator
Artifax
Room Booking
System
External API
(ElasticSearch)
OAI-PMH
(DC, LIDO)
LOD – RDF pages
(CIDOC-CRM )
External IIIF Server LOD – SPARQL
(CIDOC-CRM)

8. Opening up your data …
• … reveals problems with your data
– Entities need persistent, shared identifiers
• … reveals opportunities to improve your ways of working
– Systems need owners
– Systems need to be upgraded regularly
– Rights need managing …
– … images need a DAMS

9. Development of the existing Collections
documentation into a digital research
resource … that would function as a ‘digital
dossier’ for each painting
The National Gallery Strategic Plan: 2018-2023

11. Aggregators
Research projects
Building a pan-European
research infrastructure for
heritage restoration and
conservation
Connecting people digitally
to historical artefacts in
different places across
Europe
The European Research
Infrastructure for Heritage
Science
Providing social science
and humanities data to the
European Open Science
Cloud
Constructing a layered and
interactive view of the art
and architecture of
renaissance Florence

12. Data endpoint
data.ng-london.org.uk
(release date t.b.c. – but soon)

13. Opening up your data …
• … contributes to large-scale datasets
• … keeps collections at the forefront of research
• … extends user engagement

14. Opening up the NG’s collection information
Joseph Padfield, Principal Scientist,
The National Gallery
Rupert Shepherd, Collection
Information
Manager, The National Gallery
Rob Tice, Director, Knowledge
Integration
@JoePadfield
joseph.padfield@ng-london.org.uk
@rgs1510
rupert.shepherd@ng-london.org.uk
rob.tice@k-int.com