Hi guys
glad people are responding to this - I haven't as we have just moved office (contact details still the same)
We are keen to sort this out at NYCC and hope to have a pilot for a local Society using ASPIRE to see how this works in practice.
I could get into a rant about how many EH (via NMP, Rapid Coastal Zone assessments, various one offs such as the Medieval Pottery Production Centre Project etc ) and ALSF projects we have had which have just given us a digital instead of hard copy backlog - but won't. Suffice to say, there's too many, and they're are still happening when the funders should be gearing up to avoid this. If the national body can't lead the way, what hope is there for others?
That said, I think MIDAS etc show at least some in EH are dealing with these issues, and we should support them as well as reminding their colleagues they exist.
best wishes
Nick Boldrini
Historic Environment Record Officer
Heritage and Environment Section
Development and Countryside Service
Business and Environmental Services Directorate
North Yorkshire County Council
County Hall
Northallerton
DL7 8AH
Direct Dial (01609) 532331
Conserving North Yorkshire's heritage - encouraging sustainable access
www.northyorks.gov.uk/archaeology
This email is personal. It is not authorised by or sent on behalf of North Yorkshire
County Council, however, the Council has the right and does inspect emails sent from
and to its computer system. This email is the sole responsibility of the sender
>>> Tom Evans <[log in to unmask]> 22/01/2008 19:12 >>>
Hi Nick,
I can only imagine the difficulties that everyone is facing in this process, and I am sure it only begins with the points you outlined. I did this myself for only 80 sites in France some years back, and the memory of it still haunts my darkest dreams. Doing it for a whole county.... yikes!
So, I guess my question is, since more and more sites are being recorded directly to a digital format from the excavation stage forward, what can be done by people in the field to help insure that they are saved in a format that will allow HERs to import them directly? If done properly (ha ha ha), this could cut out the need for person hours to be spent at the HER level.
Or am I just being idealistic again?
~~~~~~~~
Dr. Thomas L. Evans
MA, MPhil, MIFA
Research Fellow, Oxford Archaeology
------------------------------
The views and opinions contained within this email are not necessarily those of Oxford Archaeology.
------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nick Boldrini" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 21 January 2008 01:04:45 o'clock (GMT-0800) America/Los_Angeles
Subject: Re: HER for researchers
Hi Tom
in theory this could make life easier, but in practice what it means is that we now have a digital backlog as well as a hard copy backlog, as rarely do projects talk to us about how to make the records more compatible with HER requirements.
Also, bearing in mind the resource pressures and the original aim of HER's (ie to inform DC work) then intra site records are less of a priority for inputting than making sure we hae all sites in the system. At NYCC at last, we are still trying to make the HER comprehensive in coverage at a basic index level ie (What, where, when, and what sources), and only after we have made significant progress on that will be looking at enhancing records to give more specific detail on eg types and dates of finds to the sort of level you have mentioned in previous posts (eg detailing all the different types of find and dates for them from a site)
best wishes
Nick Boldrini
Historic Environment Record Officer
Heritage and Environment Section
Development and Countryside Service
Business and Environmental Services Directorate
North Yorkshire County Council
County Hall
Northallerton
DL7 8AH
Direct Dial (01609) 532331
Conserving North Yorkshire's heritage - encouraging sustainable access
www.northyorks.gov.uk/archaeology
This email is personal. It is not authorised by or sent on behalf of North Yorkshire
County Council, however, the Council has the right and does inspect emails sent from
and to its computer system. This email is the sole responsibility of the sender
------
Files attached to this email may be in ISO 26300 format (OASIS Open Document Format). If you have difficulty opening them, please visit http://iso26300.info for more information.
WARNING
This E-mail and any attachments may contain information that is confidential or privileged, and is intended solely for the use of the named recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, please be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken is prohibited and may be unlawful.
Any opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the view of the Council.
North Yorkshire County Council.
|