Dear Dylan
Thank you very much for your comments, clarifying the role of your checklist
and also pointing to resources and sources of information about copyright
and rights management which are available to museums with regards to the
process of digitisation.
If I could also just take this (sneaky) opportunity to let members know that
the deadline for submitting responses to the questionnaire about a DACS
licensing scheme for museums, archives and libraries, covering the
non-commercial on-line use of artistic works has just been extended to the
end of November 2005. The questionnaire can be found at:
http://www.museumscopyright.org.uk/question.htm. and I would urge as many
organisations as possible to take the time and submit it. This is an
extremely important initiative as it has the potential to cover all artistic
works regardless of whether or not DACS represents the rights holders. In
other words, if we get enough responses to the questionnaire, we can make
the case to DACS to implement a scheme that indemnifies museums, libraries
and archives for the online reproduction of ANY artistic work in their
collection. If you have any queries about the questionnaire, please do let
me know and I'll do my best to help
With kind regards and many thanks
Naomi
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dylan Edgar" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 9:45 AM
Subject: Re: Museums, Galleries and Digitisation
Hi Naomi,
Thanks very much for your comments on the Museums, Galleries and
Digitisation report we recently published. You are of course absolutely
right, copyright and rights issues are in many cases overlooked in the
planning stages of digitisation projects.
When we set out to produce the report, we wanted to exclusively look at the
impact that digitisation projects have on their target audiences. For this
reason, we deliberately decided to leave out any discussion of the actual
processes involved in digitisation, documentation and copyright. As you
point out, we did not mention copyright issues or SPECTRUM, and neither did
we make any mention of other relevant standards in digitisation, metadata,
web accessibility and so on.
Consequently, the checklist at the end of the document is designed to help
museums ensure that their digitisation projects have a positive impact on
users, and that the impact can be measured and demonstrated effectively to
funding bodies and other stakeholders. It should not be read as a best
practice checklist for the whole process of digitisation, or for the many
issues surrounding copyright.
Our rationale for this was that there are already a number of good resources
and sources of advice that museums can turn to for help with the process of
digitisation (SPECRTUM, advice and training from the Museums Copyright Group
and MDA, NOF digi standards and so on). However, there does not appear to be
as much to help museums with planning how to evaluate impact.
I have seen many instances of projects where a great deal of time and effort
has been taken to make sure that the digitisation process is right. This is
of course absolutely correct, and should be encouraged. However, beyond
counting web page hits, much less consideration is usually given to planning
how to evaluate the impact that these projects have on end users.
The aim of producing the report was to get museums thinking about the impact
that the outputs from their projects have on the people that use them. We
wanted to get the message across that in order to evaluate the true success
of a digitisation project, the twin factors of good digitisation processes,
combined with a qualitative evaluation of the project's impact are both
necessary. The checklist was designed to begin to provide some practical
help with the latter.
I hope this helps to answer some of your concerns, and I'm sorry if any
confusion was caused. On re-reading our press release I think it is a bit
misleading, and it does seem to imply that the recommendations are a
one-stop shop for best practice advice on all aspects of digitisation. This
was never our intention, and I think that the distinction is explained more
clearly in the reports themselves.
Best regards,
Dylan
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Naomi Korn
Sent: 27 October 2005 19:09
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Museums, Galleries and Digitisation
Dear Dylan
Thank you very much for letting us know about the report and it is certainly
very impressive in its detail and broad consultation. My concern is that the
"best practice" checklist (on pages 49 - 51) - which you have promoted in
your message, does not mention best copyright practice nor related rights
issues in general. Nor does it use the opportunity to mention the use of
MDA's SPECTRUM (www.mda.org.uk/stand.htm), which contains key rights
management standards for museums etc, giving them the ability to manage
rights that will exist in any digitisation project. Of course, rights issues
are much broader than just those existing within the digital (and physical)
objects themselves. These will include rights granted to third parties that
may be conditions of funding agreements, and may also include all sorts of
other rights such as trademarks, rights of privacy, data protection, human
rights etc etc.
My experience is that copyright and rights issues have to be embedded within
initial project planning for all digitisation projects, else at the very
least, projects run the risk of either clearing rights retrospectively
(which can be a nightmare!) or else removing or replacing material. I would
therefore stress that a best practice checklist for digitisization projects
has to explicitly mention rights issues and address the imbalance of it
being continually overlooked, in order to prevent museums placing themselves
at risk from infringement of third party rights and related legal and
ethical problems.
With best wishes
Naomi
Naomi Korn
Secretary, Museums Copyright Group
& Copyright Consultant
Tel: (020) 8886 1764
Mobile: 07957 761 032
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
website: www.naomikorn.com
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Dylan Edgar" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2005 4:26 PM
Subject: Museums, Galleries and Digitisation
Museums, Galleries and Digitisation:
Current best practice and recommendations on measuring impact
A new report from the Scottish Museums Council (SMC) entitled 'Museums,
Galleries and Digitisation:
Current best practice and recommendations on measuring impact' has
identified a simple checklist that museums and galleries can use to ensure
that their digitisation of collections is as effective as possible.
The publication of this report marks the culmination of research
commissioned by SMC into measuring the impact that digitisation projects in
Scottish museums have had on their target user groups. During the research
we set out to highlight case studies that represent current best practice in
user impact, and to identify the common success factors that characterise
them.
The findings have been translated into a set of recommendations for museums.
These illustrate practical ways in which museums can ensure that
digitisation projects will have the best chance of making a positive impact
on end users, and that this impact can be properly measured, evaluated and
communicated.
Summary and full versions of the report are available to download from the
SMC web site, and the summary report is also available as a hard copy. The
full version includes more information about our methodology, detailed case
studies, and an extensive analysis of the findings.
You can download both reports from this URL:
http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/members_services/ICT/digitisation.asp
If you would like a hard copy of the summary report, please contact Helen
Raine at SMC on 0131 476 8456.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in the report, please
don't hesitate to get in touch with me.
Best regards,
Dylan
Dylan Edgar
ICT Adviser
0131 476 8457
[log in to unmask]
Scottish Museums Council
20-22 Torphichen St, Edinburgh EH3 8JB.
Tel +131 229 7465. Fax +131 229 2728.
www.scottishmuseums.org.uk
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