Jeremy

Spot on! There will be a 'maquette' of the European Digital Library (and
the new name) online soon - and lots of feedback is wanted!!! I am sure
museums will have lots to say.

D

David Dawson
Senior Policy Adviser - Digital Futures
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)
Victoria House, Southampton Row, London WC1B 4EA
Email: [log in to unmask]
www.mla.gov.uk

-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Ottevanger, Jeremy
Sent: 06 February 2008 13:26
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: APIs and EDL

Hi Tehmina,

Well indeed, these are vital questions and I'm reserving judgement. 

<snip><--here was a bit that David Dawson has just made redundant. Thank
you for the explanations, David!

But I don't really want to get into the question of whether EDL is a
Good Thing overall at the moment. I think the answer is in part that we
have the opportunity to make it so, which is exactly why I've found
myself involved and want the thoughts of you and others on what shape
would be most useful for museums. There's a lot that AFAIK isn't really
fixed yet, and lots more that I'm just ignorant about - the kind of
content they'll accept, the role of content aggregators, the technical
architecture, the control that contributors will have over their
content, links to owners' sites etc. But I can tell you that Google
isn't really a replacement for what they have in mind, more a
complement. If we get it right, our content could be not only more
discoverable via search engines (in the case of many museums,
discoverable for the first time) but we could have an API that would let
us do tons that most museums can't contemplate at present: mash their
content with Google Maps, subset the data to search just UK stuff, embed
EDL search into our pages for our own collections (which would be a
massive boon to small museums that can't build their own collections
search engine) and so on. I'm sure you can come up with many more ways
to use an API onto a sophisticated multilingual(!) search engine for
large parts of Europe's cultural content. If you do, please let me know
as I geniunely would like be able to take a range of suggestions from
our sector to the next meeting. I am equally interested in suggestions
of use cases, or of specific functions you would like an API to offer.

Cheers,

Jeremy





Jeremy Ottevanger
Web Developer, Museum Systems Team
Museum of London Group
46 Eagle Wharf Road
London. N1 7ED
Tel: 020 7410 2207
Fax: 020 7600 1058
Email: [log in to unmask]
www.museumoflondon.org.uk
Museum of London is changing; our lower galleries will be closed while
they undergo a major new development. Visit www.museumoflondon.org.uk to
find out more.
London's Burning - explore how the Great Fire of London shaped the city
we see today www.museumoflondon.org.uk/londonsburning


-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Tehmina Goskar
Sent: 06 February 2008 11:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MCG] APIs and EDL

How does this fit into other 'initiatives' such as MICHAEL and the array
of other European-level digital projects?

Will those working on the Integrated Architecture Project be looking at
this?  Should UK initiatives be different from similar 'European'
ones?

What will EDLnet provide that is unique, wanted and usable that we can't
find elsewhere (e.g. via Google)?

Of course I am not being cynical.

Tehmina

On 05/02/2008, Ottevanger, Jeremy <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> Some of you will know of the European Digital Library, an EC project 
> that is currently in a prototyping phase (known as EDLnet 
> http://www.europeandigitallibrary.eu/edlnet/). It is part of the wider

> Digital Libraries Initiative 
> (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/digital_libraries/
> wh
> at_is_dli/index_en.htm) and shortly after that I get lost in the maze 
> of EC projects, initiatives, directorates etc. Anyway, its final form 
> is up in the air, but essentially it is hoped that it will aggregate 
> digital content from museums, libraries and archives across Europe. 
> Quite what will be held, the technical architecture, how the content 
> will be accessed and maintained and many other questions are working 
> their way through the system, but one day it may offer a partial 
> solution to cross-collection searching, at least for a subset of 
> European-owned material. Apologies to those who know more about this 
> subject, I'm almost certain I've misrepresented it!
>
> I got interested in the project when I attended a meeting late last 
> year, at which the organisers were brainstorming user requirements and

> ideas for the interface. I went along with a particular axe to grind, 
> which was the need for an API. The basic rationale was that EDL will 
> have limited appeal for users if they have to go to a single portal 
> site to search, whereas it would serve a lot more people if it was the

> engine behind many sites scattered around the web. For organisations 
> that might contribute content to the central repository, too, it would

> be a far more attractive proposition if they knew that they could then

> access the data themselves, embed EDL functionality in their sites or 
> mash it up with mediating content, maps etc. EDL could act as a 
> sophisticated online collections database for a small museum that 
> could never countenance building its own search engine, much as one 
> can embed google site search into your own page at present. This would

> be good for EDL because it could be quite a strong motive for
contributing content.
> Overall I think that an API could actually be much more useful than a 
> "portal" website.
>
> So to the purpose of this e-mail. An upcoming EDL "users and
usability"
> meeting, in March, will be looking more closely at the subject of 
> APIs, and in preparation for this I was hoping to get some thoughts 
> from the MCGers about:
>
> *       whether and why an API would be useful to them, or influence
> their decision on whether to contribute content to EDL
> *       what features might prove useful
> *       any examples of APIs or of their application that they think
> provide a model for what EDL's API could offer or enable
>
> It would be nice to feel I could represent the thoughts of a good 
> portion of the practitioners in the UK, or at least more than myself 
> alone. Thanks in advance,
>
> Jeremy
>
>
> Jeremy Ottevanger
> Web Developer, Museum Systems Team
> Museum of London Group
> 46 Eagle Wharf Road
> London. N1 7ED
> Tel: 020 7410 2207
> Fax: 020 7600 1058
> Email: [log in to unmask] www.museumoflondon.org.uk 
> Museum of London is changing; our lower galleries will be closed while
they undergo a major new development. Visit www.museumoflondon.org.uk to
find out more.
> London's Burning - explore how the Great Fire of London shaped the 
> city we see today www.museumoflondon.org.uk/londonsburning
>
>
>
> **************************************************
> For mcg information and to manage your subscription to the list, visit

> the website at http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk
> **************************************************
>


--
Tehmina Goskar, AMA

**************************************************
For mcg information and to manage your subscription to the list, visit
the website at http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk
**************************************************

**************************************************
For mcg information and to manage your subscription to the list, visit
the website at http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk
**************************************************

______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System.
For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email 
______________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________

Unless stated otherwise the information contained in this e-mail and any
attachments is confidential.   If you have received it in error, you are
on notice of its status.   It is intended solely for the addressee.
Any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited.  If you are not the
intended recipient please notify the sender immediately and delete the
email and any attachments from your system.

The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is a Company Limited by
Guarantee, Registered in England, with Company Number 03888251.  The
Registered Office being : Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, (MLA)
Victoria House, Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4EA. Registered Charity
number : 1079666.

This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System.
For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email
______________________________________________________________________

**************************************************
For mcg information and to manage your subscription to the list, visit the website at http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk
**************************************************