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Developing t he Scot t ish cooperat ive infrast ruct ure |Tell us about your Archives, or Libraries, or Museum s proj ect s |
Brief report s: Met aMap |Glossary
Developing the Scottish cooperative infrastructure - the w hat,
w ho, w here, w hen and w hy of SPEI R
Aut hors: D e n n is N ich olson and Ge or ge M a cgr e gor
What ( in the name of the w ee man) is SPEI R?
SPEI R ( pronounced "speer") is a SLI C- funded proj ect based at t he CDLR - but it 's m uch m ore t han t hat . The
acronym ( yes, anot her one! ) st ands for "Scot t ish Port als for Educat ion, I nform at ion and Research" - but port als are only t he t ip of t he proverbial iceberg. SPEI R will develop an environm ent t o underpin Scot t ish port als, creat ing t he basis for:
"a coherent virt ual learning, inform at ion and research landscape for all Scot t ish cit izens, collaborat ively built and m aint ained via an agreed count ry- wide, st andards- based, globally int eroperable, co- operat ive infrast ruct ure".
The prim ary focus of t he port als work is t he Scot t ish Cult ural Port al being developed by SLI C, but t his, t oo, is only part of t he st ory - t he aim being generic support for any st andards- driven Scot t ish port al. A proj ect of m any part s ( t o paraphrase som eone or ot her) , SPEI R can be described by list ing t he m aj or ones:
To bring Public Libraries, FE, Cult ural "Players", and ot hers who are ready int o CAI RNS, SCONE and SCAMP
To develop t he CAI RNS dynam ic clum per t o allow landscaping based on a wider range of elem ent s -
subj ect s, cooperat ive organisat ional, geographical, user levels, educat ional levels, alt ernat ive look and feel t em plat es.
To build an infrast ruct ure t o support t he creat ion and ongoing developm ent of a "Scot t ish Dist ribut ed
Digit al Library" or SDDL based init ially on Cult ural Port al m at erial, BUBL LI NK, SLAI NTE, Glasgow Digit al Library, and Public Library "Whit e Pages". I t will also aim t o incorporat e m at erial from HaI RST and ot her digit al init iat ives such as NOF- Digi.
To develop CAI RNS, SCONE, SCAMP and t he SDDL int o cent ral support services for dist ribut ed port als -
Nat ional Library of Scot land, t he Glasgow Digit al Library and ot hers will ensure t hat t he support is generic.
To encourage and develop collaborat ive cat aloguing t hrough t he SLI C Connexion subscript ion and work
wit h CI GS and collaborat ive collect ing t hrough SCAMP and work wit h Public Libraries and organisat ions like SHERAL.
To provide support services for LI S professionals t hrough t he collaborat ive work of SLAI NTE and BUBL.
To det erm ine, in conj unct ion wit h t he various Aut horit ies, t erm inology requirem ent s for Public libraries
and t o draw up a t erm inologies server specificat ion for Scot land as a whole.
To t urn t he em bryonic Scot t ish Cooperat ive I nfrast ruct ure in figure # 1 ( which m any of you know and
love) , int o t he equally em bryonic, but m uch m ore com plicat ed SCI in figure # 2.
The int ent ion, however, is t hat t he out com e of t his work will be m uch m ore t han t he sum of t hese part s. I n part icular, t here is a recognit ion t hat t he t echnical aspect s of t his infrast ruct ure - im port ant t hough t hey are - are only one facet of t he environm ent t hat SPEI R seeks t o creat e. Of equal im port ance are t he creat ion of online and offline m echanism s t o support t he professionals, organisat ions, and groups who will operat e in t he environm ent and collect ively m anage t he dist ribut ed resources, ret rieval t ools and user landscapes. The aim , in ot her words, is t o creat e, not j ust t he t echnical infrast ruct ure needed t o support a coherent virt ual Scot land, but t he
organisat ional, int er- organisat ional, and professional cult ure needed t o t ake Scot land forward int o t he I nform at ion Age.
Figu r e # 1
[image:3.612.51.576.67.668.2]Figu r e # 2
Who?
I n addit ion t o being funded by SLI C, SPEI R is support ed by COSMI C, t he Confederat ion of Scot t ish
Mini-Cooperat ives, and t he organisat ion's "COSMI C Task Group" provides a St eering Group for SPEI R. COSMI C is a group of independent organisat ions, services and proj ect s working t oget her t o fost er and sust ain co- operat ion bet ween Libraries, Archives, Museum s, Elect ronic Learning Services and ot hers act ively engaged in building and developing "virt ual Scot land".
m em bers are:
The Scot t ish Library and I nform at ion Council ( SLI C)
The Scot t ish Confederat ion of Universit y and Research Libraries (SCURL)
t he Glasgow Colleges Group (GCG)
[image:4.612.71.545.29.406.2]t he Ayrshire Libraries Forum (ALF)
Gram pian I nform at ion (GI)
t he Sout h East Scot land Library I nform at ion Net work ( SESLI N)
The Tayside and Fife Library I nform at ion Net work (TAFLI N)
t he Universit y of t he Highlands and I slands (UHI)
The Glasgow Digit al Library ( GDL)
The Cent re for Digit al Library Research ( CDLR) .
The Scot t ish Archives Net work (SCAN) is a possible fut ure m em ber, and discussions wit h ot hers in t he Archives and Museum s com m unit ies are an aim .
I n line wit h t he aim of developing online and offline m echanism s t o support t he professionals, organisat ions, and groups who will operat e in t he Scot t ish dist ribut ed inform at ion environm ent , COSMI C bot h sponsors, and is a recognised elem ent of, t he developing Scot t ish Co- operat ive I nfrast ruct ure. I t aim s, t hrough SPEI R and a range of ot her m eans, t o build or develop:
A CAI RNS- based dist ribut ed Scot t ish union cat alogue wit h a dynam ic landscaping m echanism driven by
an associat ed collect ion descript ions dat abase and pot ent ially capable of generat ing virt ual port als for m em ber organizat ions where t his is desired
A SCONE- based collect ion descript ions dat abase wit h an associat ed st aff port al ( SCAMP) t hat will
ult im at ely offer st aff updat ing facilit ies and support for collaborat ive collect ion m anagem ent and user landscape m odeling.
Coordinat ion of work on t erm inologies int eroperabilit y
A collaborat ive approach t o collect ing and cat aloguing elect ronic resources based on SCAMP ( collect ing)
and t he OCLC connexion service ( cat aloguing) , and aim ing t o creat e a dist ribut ed digit al library for Scot land
Cent ral co- operat ive support for dist ribut ed, ot herwise independent , Scot t ish port als based on t hese
core services
A pilot 'int eroperabilit y advice service' t hat aim s t o ensure int eroperabilit y wit hin t he port al environm ent
at all levels, including, in part icular, t echnical st andards such as Z39.50, m et adat a st andards and t erm inologies
A j oint research and developm ent plan t o help im prove t hese em bryonic services and generally t ake
forward a range of init iat ives of value t o COSMI C and COSMI C m em bers
Through t his plan, t he int egrat ion of ot her services relevant t o t he developing environm ent - for
exam ple, t he plan in t he JI SC funded HaI RST proj ect t o im plem ent a pilot OAI harvest ing service and int egrat e t his wit h t he CAI RNS Z39.50 based dist ribut ed cat alogue.
Com m unicat ion channels wit h appropriat e professionals, organisat ions and int er- organisat ional groups,
Where?
This m ay seem like a dum b quest ion - what part of Scot t ish Port als for Educat ion, I nform at ion and Research don't
you underst and? - but it 's a lit t le m ore int elligent t han it sounds. Yes, SPEI R does focus on Scot land, but t here are facet s t o t his t hat m ay not be im m ediat ely obvious. On t he one hand, alt hough t he aim of SPEI R is t o facilit at e cooperat ion t hrough cent ralised coordinat ion, t here is also ( as you m ight expect ) a st rong whiff of devolut ion about it - a recognit ion t hat , whilst cent ralised coordinat ion is one requirem ent of a coherent m anaged dist ribut ed
inform at ion environm ent serving all Scot t ish cit izens, so also is inclusiveness. The infrast ruct ure m ust m eet t he needs of every local inst it ut ion, every professional group, every sect or and dom ain, every region, every kind of user. I n t his sense, t herefore, t he answer t o t he quest ion w h e r e ? is ( geographically, cult urally, educat ionally,
polit ically, econom ically) e ve r yw h e r e t he Scot t ish "landscape". On t he ot her, t he Scot t ish virt ual landscape is only
one sm all corner of t he int ernat ional virt ual landscape and m ust int eroperat e wit h t he wider world if it is t o m eet t he needs of it s users. I n t his sense, t herefore, t he answer t o t he quest ion w h e r e ? is in t h e Scot t ish fa ce t of t h e de ve lopin g globa l in for m a t ion e n vir on m e n t . The world - virt ual or ot herwise - doesn't end at t he Scot t ish
border.
When?
Alt hough it isn't m uch in evidence yet , SPEI R is already underway. I t began officially on February 1st 2003 and will end ( as a proj ect at any rat e) in July 2004. The first t hree m ont hs have been spent set t ing up various groups, m aking cont act s, preparing t he SPEI R proj ect plan, set t ing up t he websit e, buying a new server for CAI RNS, SCONE and t he SDDL, invest igat ing how best t o use t he soft ware t o provide t he required facilit ies, t hrashing out det ails of t he syst em archit ect ure, and beginning t o get t he dissem inat ion program m e underway ( t he present art icle being t he lat est out put on t his front ) .
When will SPEI R act ivit ies reach your neck of t he woods? As soon as possible. Wat ch t his ( and any ot her appropriat e) space.
Why?
Here are m ost of t he quest ions and som e of t he answers:
W h y do w e n e e d a coope r a t ive in fr a st r u ct u r e ?
Coherent dist ribut ed virt ual 'libraries' won't j ust happen - we m ust co- operat e t o m anage ret rieval and
user environm ent s
Dist ribut ed net worked collect ions need collaborat ive m anagem ent
Our users increasingly need and use dist ribut ed resources and finding t ools - so co- operat ion is now
essent ial as well as desirable
W h y a Scot t ish coope r a t ive in fr a st r u ct u r e ?
Like Wales, Nort hern I reland, and t he English regions, we are t he right size t o m ake t he people and
organisat ion level st uff work ( Sm all but beaut ifully form ed! ) .
As m uch as we need t o int eroperat e and cooperat e wit h t he rest of t he UK, and Europe, and t he world
at large, we also need t o ensure t hat t he global web has a Scot t ish presence, reflect ing our different cult ure, hist ory, legal and educat ional syst em s, languages, and so on ( a Scot t ish global village)
For a' Jock Tam son's bairns - t o ensure t hat t he UK, European, and global web m eet s t he part icular ( do
we m ean peculiar?) needs of all Scot t ish cit izens.
W h y ope r a t e be yon d in st it u t ion a l bou n da r ie s?
I nst it ut ional and ot her boundaries are becom ing a barrier t o providing what users need
Coherent dist ribut ed virt ual 'libraries' won't j ust happen, dist ribut ed net worked collect ions need
collaborat ive m anagem ent , our users increasingly need and use dist ribut ed resources and finding t ools
W h y a ce n t r a l su ppor t se r vice for dist r ibu t e d por t a ls?
Organisat ions need port als t ailored t o t he requirem ent s of t heir own users and t he users need facilit ies
t hat support t heir part icular perspect ives and t asks, but cent ral support services t hat im prove int eroperabilit y, reduce duplicat ion of effort and expense, and im prove coherence are sensible.
W h y do w e n e e d on lin e a n d offlin e m e ch a n ism s t o su ppor t t h e pr ofe ssion a ls, or ga n isa t ion s, a n d gr ou ps w h o w ill ope r a t e in t h e e n vir on m e n t a n d colle ct ive ly m a n a ge t h e dist r ibu t e d r e sou r ce s, r e t r ie va l t ools a n d u se r la n dsca pe s?
People int eroperabilit y a pre- requisit e of t echnical and m et adat a int eroperabilit y
We increasingly inhabit t he dist ribut ed net worked environm ent , so do our users
LI S professionals need t o change t heir working perspect ives, t o learn t o "Think globally before act ing
W h y ge t in volve d in SPEI R, COSM I C a n d t h e SPI ?
I t m at t ers - educat ion, inform at ion and research port als have a role in social inclusion and cohesion
SPEI R provides an inclusive safe pat h for everyone int erest ed in developing an effect ive,
globally-int eroperable, inform at ion environm ent for Scot land.
Why a distributed, voluntary, inclusive, confederated approach?
I t provides t he right balance bet ween t he independence we need t o support our own users and t he
coherent access t o resources elsewhere we need t o support our own users
I t 's t he Scot t ish way
Not hing else will work - t his is m ore t han j ust a t echnical problem
Why "SPEI R"?
Tell us about your projects
WI DWI SAWN aim s t o cover research and developm ent proj ect s in Scot t ish Archives, Libraries and Museum s. We are also int erest ed in cross- sect oral and cross- dom ain proj ect s and non- Scot t ish proj ect s covering areas not well-covered by Scot t ish proj ect s or proj ect s t hat inform t he developm ent of t he Scot t ish inform at ion environm ent (JI SC proj ect s being one obvious exam ple) . Writ e about t hem yourself for a WI DWI SAWN m ain art icle or brief report or t ell us about t hem and we'll do at least a brief report and som et im es a m ain art icle.
The cont act for WI DWI SAWN is george.m acgregor@st rat h.ac.uk.
Brief reports: MetaMap
Has m et adat a been causing you sleepless night s? I f so, you obviously haven't been using Met aMap.
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bibliot héconom ie et des sciences de l'inform at ion ( EBSI ) in Mont real, Canada. Aim ing t o help t hose int erest ed in library and inform at ion science t o underst and "m et adat a st andards set s and init iat ives" ( MSSI s) , Met aMap looks like a subway/ underground m ap in which MSSI s are represent ed as subway st at ions. By m oving t he m ouse over a st at ion t he user will be t reat ed t o an explanat ion of t he MSSI , links t o official web sit es and ot her relat ed
inform at ion resources. Met aMap current ly cont ains 184 st at ions but is updat ed regularly t o reflect int ernat ional m et adat a developm ent s. As well as being able t o browse t he Map, users can also browse t he acronym index.
Glossary
ALF
Ayrshire Libraries Forum . See ht t p: / / library.paisley.ac.uk/ alf/ alfohom e.ht m BUBL
BUBL I nform at ion Service. See ht t p: / / bubl.ac.uk/ CAI RN S
Co- operat ive I nform at ion Ret rieval Net work for Scot land. See ht t p: / / cairns.lib.st rat h.ac.uk/ CD LR
Cent re for Digit al Library Research. See ht t p: / / cdlr.st rat h.ac.uk/ CERL
Consort ium of European Research Libraries. See ht t p: / / www.cerl.org/ CI GS
Cat aloguing and I ndexing Group in Scot land. See ht t p: / / www.slaint e.org.uk/ CI GS/ cigshom e.ht m CoSM iC
Cu lt u r a l Por t a l
For m ore inform at ion cont act Penny Robert son at scot earl@slaint e.org.uk GD L
Glasgow Digit al Library. See ht t p: / / gdl.cdlr.st rat h.ac.uk/ GI
Gram pian I nform at ion. See ht t p: / / www.gram pianinfo.co.uk/ H a I RST
Harvest ing I nst it ut ional Resources I n Scot land Test bed. See ht t p: / / hairst .cdlr.st rat h.ac.uk/ H I LT I I
High Level Thesaurus - Phase I I . See ht t p: / / hilt .cdlr.st rat h.ac.uk/ JI SC
Joint I nform at ion Syst em s Com m it t ee. See ht t p: / / www.j isc.ac.uk/ JI SC I E
JI SC I nform at ion Environm ent . See ht t p: / / www.j isc.ac.uk/ index.cfm ?nam e= ie_hom e LOCSCOT
Local St udies Group of Scot land. See ht t p: / / www.cilip.org.uk/ groups/ lsg/ M I TS
Mult im edia, I nform at ion & Technology Group in Scot land. See ht t p: / / www.slaint e.org.uk/ Slam it / slam hom e. ht m
N LS
Nat ional Library of Scot land. See ht t p: / / www.nls.uk/ SAPI EN S
Scot t ish Academ ic Periodicals - I m plem ent ing an Effect ive Net worked Service. See ht t p: / / sapiens.cdlr.st rat h. ac.uk/
SCAM P
Scot t ish Collect ions Access Managem ent Port al. See ht t p: / / scone.st rat h.ac.uk/ scam p/ SCAN
Scot t ish Archive Net work. See ht t p: / / www.scan.org.uk/ SCI
Scot t ish Cooperat ive I nfrast ruct ure. See ht t p: / / speir.cdlr.st rat h.ac.uk/ progress.ht m SCON E
Scot t ish Collect ions Net work. See ht t p: / / scone.cdlr.st rat h.ac.uk/ SCOTSLI N K
Em ail list for m em bers of t he library, m useum and archive com m unit ies of Scot land. Join by visit ing ht t p: / / www.j iscm ail.ac.uk/ list s/ SCOTSLI NK.ht m l
SCURL
Scot t ish Confederat ion of Universit y and Research Libraries. See ht t p: / / scurl.ac.uk/ SESLI N
Sout h East Scot land Library & I nform at ion Net work
SH ERAL
Scot t ish Higher Educt ion and Research Acquisit ions Librarians. See ht t p: / / scurl.ac.uk/ about / sheral.ht m l SLAI N TE
I nform at ion and Libraries Scot land - CI LI PS/ SLI C. See ht t p: / / www.slaint e.org.uk/ SLI C
Scot t ish Library and I nform at ion Council. See ht t p: / / www.slaint e.org.uk/ SLI C/ SPEI R
Scot t ish Port als for Educat ion, I nform at ion and Research. See ht t p: / / speir.cdlr.st rat h.ac.uk/ TAFLI N
Tayside and Fife Library and I nform at ion Net work. See ht t p: / / www.dundeecit y.gov.uk/ t aflin/ m ain.ht m UH I
Universit y of t he Higlands and I slands. See ht t p: / / www.uhi.ac.uk/ W I D W I SAW N
Developing t he Scot t ish cooperat ive infrast ruct ure |Tell us about your Archives, or Libraries, or Museum s proj ect s |
Brief report s: Met aMap |Glossary
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