JISC Circular 5/99 seeks proposals for the development of the Distributed
National Electronic Resource (DNER). A key motivation of the DNER is the
effective management of JISC's investment in information resources. For
this reason, funds will be concentrated for best effect, avoiding
redundancy and aiming for scale economies.
The Resource Discovery Network (RDN) is a JISC service which provides
resource discovery services through a set of Internet resource catalogues
(sometimes known as 'gateways', and clustered together in faculty-level
'hubs'). The RDN is also the means by which a subject approach to the DNER
will be articulated, potentially through the construction of 'subject
portal' services, which significantly enhance the services of the basic
gateways.
All JISC funded activities in the area of Internet resource catalogues
or subject portals will be channelled through the RDN, and successful
initiatives under this call will become integral parts of the RDN.
Accordingly, bids for subject gateways (resource catalogues) or subject
portals (brokers to distributed, heterogeneous network resources) will be
referred to the RDN, and the RDN Steering Committee will make
recommendations to JCEI about funding.
Services resulting from successful bids will be incorporated into the
funding, technical and service frameworks of the RDN. This means that they
will be managed through 'hubs' the faculty level organisations through
which the RDN is organised. 'Gateways' will be referred to the appropriate
hubs for negotiation. The RDN is currently planning its subject portal
activity. It has secured funding for an initial set of prototype portals.
Portals successful under this call will be part of a second stage
development to begin 9/12 months later, so that they can benefit from the
framework established in the first stage. (This means a start date of early
2001.) Subject portal bids will similarly be negotiated within the hub
framework.
Queries about the RDN subject portal activity should be addressed to:
Lorcan Dempsey ([log in to unmask])
ph: +44 (0)1225 826254 UKOLN (UK Office for Library & Info Networking)
fx: +44 (0)1225 826838 University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
--
Chris Rusbridge
Programme Director, Electronic Libraries Programme
The Library, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Phone 01203 524979 Fax 01203 524981
Email [log in to unmask]
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