Hi all,
I'm just back from the IMLS WebWise conference in Baltimore, which included some really useful discussions on this question of opening up cross-organisational collaborations around collections.
The idea behind the discussions towards the end of last year about COPE (Create Once, Publish Everywhere) was to start working with museums to create future-friendly systems very much along the lines that Jude and Andrew have described. The issue has traditionally been that each time a new platform, application or channel has come along, museums have had to create workarounds that are specific to that particular project.
This really came into focus for me when working last year with a national museum whose web team wanted to create a mobile application. Because it was seen as too fiddly to extract the data from the Collections Management System in a sufficiently rich form to populate the app, the app ended up being driven from a completely different database. The end result of this kind of bodging is that you end up with lots of isolated systems and the museum as a whole cannot benefit from the time and effort that goes into creating collections-based content as it moves through the cycle of collections management, conservation, interpretation, loan and exhibition.
For people with big budgets and in-house IT capability, a combination of legacy systems, API and middleware is clearly a popular way to go. For people who don't have this capability, configuring and running and API may be a bit too much like hard work.
This was why we created the Culture Grid in the first place - effectively to act as an API for cross-institutional collaborations where organisations don't want to run this infrastructure themselves. This has already been used successfully in projects like the previous version of Exploring 20th Century London and the University Museums in Scotland meta-search site (http://www.revealing.umis.ac.uk/).
Culture Grid is a lot less like Europeana than people seem to think, though. Our ambition is not really to provide a search box for collections. The ambition since the beginning has been to provide an open platform as a service to the UK museum sector, supporting exactly the kinds of cross-organisational sharing of collections data that has been the subject of this thread. The idea is that if you want to open up your collections, but you don't want to do it directly from your systems, Culture Grid acts as an intermediary where you park your data and from which you can choose where and how to share it.
More recently, we have been funded through the European Commission to lead the Europeana Inside project, which is creating a set of software modules called a 'Europeana Connection Kit'. This embeds the processes of selecting, validating and sharing collections records directly into Collections Management Systems. It's a huge step forward, because as well as Europeana, the Connection Kit can potentially be configured to manage your relationships with lots of other end-points and channels too. The aim is for most of the SPECTRUM-compliant Collections Management Systems to ship with this functionality embedded as standard over the next couple of years.
The Culture Grid is there as a free service to UK museums, funded by the Arts Council England, and it is designed to facilitate exactly this kind of collaborative approach to opening up collections. More information on what it can do and how it can help is available at http://www.culturegrid.org.uk/add-to-grid/ or do please contact me offlist about it.
Finally, though, Owen is right - we have built (with the expertise of Knowledge Integration) a platform which can help with the heavy lifting. You still need to have the ideas and the vision to develop the collaborative projects. I do genuinely urge any MCG'ers out there that are thinking of opening up collections for collaborative projects to come and have a chat with us - we have a lot of experience and we're funded to help!
All best,
Nick
Nick Poole
Chief Executive Officer
Collections Trust
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-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Owen Stephens
Sent: 12 February 2014 09:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MCG] Cross-organisation collaborations around digital collections
A project I worked on over the last couple of years did a series of case studies including the V&A and this highlights the use they make of their API internally http://guidance.discovery.ac.uk/archives/casestudies/vanda. The same project published some guidance on APIs and their potential use, especially in relation to 'discovery' http://guidance.discovery.ac.uk/guidance/releasing-data-through-apis.
I really like the API approach, but experience tells me it is (or at least feels) out of reach for many organisations (not wishing to cross the threads, but there seems to me to be an overlap here with the current discussion on integrated systems vs small pieces loosely joined). I've come across several examples where institutions have implemented systems that have APIs available, but they are not aware of them, or they don't have the right skills in place to exploit them in the way described by Andrew. Even if local systems do not have an API, you may well find that your data is already flowing to other systems that do provide an API (e.g. CultureGrid and Europeana).
I think the key thing I'd emphasise is that whatever use you want to make of APIs, the point is not the API but the skills and resources to be able to build on them. This goes whether you see an API as an internal interface to build on, or an outward facing interface available for 3rd parties to build on your data and services. This requires vision and strategic investment - which is the challenge!
Owen
Owen Stephens
Owen Stephens Consulting
Web: http://www.ostephens.com
Email: [log in to unmask]
Telephone: 0121 288 6936
On 12 Feb 2014, at 09:44, Dicken, Jude <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello Andrew,
>
> Your API-approach at V&A I find really interesting - thanks for explaining it so clearly.
>
> I'm in the process here of designing a project for 2014/15 on how we improve delivery of our own 'collections online' through iMuseum (www.imuseum.im), key to this is making our data & images more nimble in terms of web delivery - we don't want to spend money on a re-design only to want to reconfigure it in 2yrs time as audience demand, web-style changes. API-approach sounds like it would put us in the driving seat. Did V&A develop their API in-house or did you (are there) developers already doing this for museums/heritage?
>
> We use MimsyXG as our collections management system - the API just
> draws data from it? (We currently use a bespoke CMS.)
>
> Are other museums already using API to deliver their collections online? I'd be keen to hear of them.
>
> Our challenge is to make our collections data not only feasible through a home 'collections online' site but ready for all other online channels - we already export data to Historypin, Magnolia Box, Your Paintings, but as data extractions. My aim is to get our collections data appearing on Wikimedia, etc, and able to respond as quick digital pop-up themed exhibitions (fully searchable) in support of actual exhibitions. Is API the way forward?
>
> Cheers again Andrew - illuminating.
>
> Jude.
>
> Jude Dicken (Miss)
> Documentation Officer
> Manx National Heritage
> Eiraght Ashoonagh Vannin
>
> Manx Museum, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 3LY
> t: +44 (0) 1624 648071
> e: [log in to unmask]
> w: manxnationalheritage.im
> manxheritageshop.com
>
> facebook.com/manxnationalheritage
> twitter.com/manxheritage
> flickr.com/groups/_mnh
> vimeo.com/manxheritage
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Andrew Lewis
> Sent: 11 February 2014 09:55
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [MCG] Cross-organisation collaborations around digital
> collections
>
> Hi Owen,
>
> interesting work.
>
> Here at the V&A, we have an API-based approach. This assumes that for digital services, the first thing you should do with content is convert it into web-portable data. Then you build services from the data. Our main use of this is to build our web features (although not the only one, we have some digital gallery labels based on it too).
> Our collections API was launched in 2008 and in 2009 we relaunched Search the Collections based on this. Although that service is not collaborative in itself, the important principle is that the front end service (managed by Digital Media) is decoupled from the back end asset management process (in this case, the collections management system updated by expert museum staff) - if you like, our collections data is "plugged in" to Search the Collections. The API is the enabling thing.
> However because web service and internal data management are
> decoupled, the same data can be plugged into any other service as
> required (and we do this is in at least 5 of our own services)
>
> So, open API exist, collaboration is, in principle fairly easy and can
> be rapid. Starting with an identifiable audience need, collaboration
> can be simply about designing a front end service to meet that need,
> and that plugs in data from more than one organisation. As the Meerkat
> says
> - simples!
>
> This model is similar to the interesting stuff British Museum are
> looking at with Linked Open data in RDF. They both use a data standard
> (Spectrum or CIDOC CRM) and make it web accessible (in our case a
> structured API, in their case a SPARQL end point)
>
> This model is good. Where a new user need is identified, you don't change the internal process or data service, just develop a new front end service. This is the model Twitter and Facebook and loads of others use.
>
> This differs from models that require organisations to upload all their data to a central CMS. This is double entry and creates a new resource data management cost per collaboration.
>
> So if you put all your data into collaborations such as Google Art Project or MyPaintings and so on, the decision to be made is whether you can afford to update each additional extra resource. If the end service makes it worthwhile, then it can be worth it, but the risk is that if the service is not what is required by users, then changing it means migrating data.
>
> As usual, other musings on this strategy and other such things are on the Digital Media blog. The Digital Explorer map is the best example of a new service built on two existing data sources. In that case to address changes in user uptake of tablets and mobile devices.
> http://www.vam.ac.uk/b/blog/digital-media/tablet-optimised-digital-map
>
> Good luck. sound very interesting
>
>
> Andrew Lewis
> Digital Content Delivery Manager
>
> Digital Media department
> Victoria and Albert Museum
> South Kensington
> London SW7 2RL
>
> 020 7942 2373
> [log in to unmask]
> Digital Media blog: www.vam.ac.uk/digital http://linkd.in/andrewlewis
> @rosemarybeetle ( https://twitter.com/rosemarybeetle )
>
> Andrew Lewis
> Digital Content Delivery Manager
>
> Digital Media department
> Victoria and Albert Museum
> South Kensington
> London SW7 2RL
>
> 020 7942 2373
> [log in to unmask]
> Digital Media blog: www.vam.ac.uk/digital http://linkd.in/andrewlewis
> @rosemarybeetle ( https://twitter.com/rosemarybeetle )
>
>
>
>>>> MCG automatic digest system <[log in to unmask]> 11/02/2014
> 00:00 >>>
> There are 24 messages totaling 5180 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
> 1. MCG Digest - 7 Feb 2014 to 9 Feb 2014 (#2014-30) 2. Seeking sound
> walk advice (2) 3. Cross-organisation collaborations around digital
> collections (17) 4. Open access Wi-fi in Museum (3) 5. Invitation to
> Darwin or Bust
>
> ****************************************************************
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> ****************************************************************
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2014 21:17:08 -0800
> From: Rich Cherry <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: MCG Digest - 7 Feb 2014 to 9 Feb 2014 (#2014-30)
>
> Owen,
>
> You might want to chck this out:
> http://www.balboapark.org/bpoc/blog/balboa-park-commons-launches-more-
> 20000-digitized-materials-seven-san-diego-museums#.UvhglfldWSo
>
>
> Rich
>
>
> On Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 4:01 PM, MCG automatic digest system <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> There are 2 messages totaling 100 lines in this issue.
>>
>> Topics of the day:
>>
>> 1. Cross-organisation collaborations around digital collections 2.
>> Seeking sound walk advice
>>
>> ****************************************************************
>> website: http://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/
>> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ukmcg
>> Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/museumscomputergroup
>> [un]subscribe: http://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/email-list/
>> ****************************************************************
>>
>>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2014 11:02:31 +0000
>> From: Owen Stephens <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Cross-organisation collaborations around digital
> collections
>>
>> I'm currently writing a web resource about improving
> 'discoverability' of
>> digital collections as part of a Jisc project. The resource is meant
> to
>> give small pieces of 'actionable' advice looking at a wide range of
> aspects
>> - SEO, UX, metadata schemas, data formats, APIs, collaboration with
> others
>> etc. etc. The things being recommended are based on looking at a
> range of
>> digitisation/digital collection projects have done successfully.
>>
>> For each thing recommended I try to include:
>>
>> How it can help improve discoverability A broad idea of cost
>> Skills/knowledge required What relevant measures of success might be
>> Real life examples Links to more information
>>
>> I'm looking for some help on one of the recommendations, which is to
>> "Collaborate with partner organisations (e.g. schools, museums, other
> HE
>> institutions) to exploit your digitised content". An example of this
> is how
>> the Royal Maritime Museum and the University of Cambridge have
> collaborated
>> on the Board of Longitude Archive - with Cambridge hosting the
> archive, and
>> the Royal Maritime Museum contributing material, expertise and
>> building/promoting classroom resource packs which draw on the
> archive
>> materials.
>>
>> I'd be interested in other examples of collaborations around digital
>> collections if anyone can supply them. However, what I'm really
> struggling
>> to find is any more information I can link to that might guide
> institutions
>> interested in embarking on collaborations of this type. If anyone
> has
>> pointers on examples, or guides to, or papers/articles on, starting
> and
>> making a success of such collaborations then I'd be very interested.
>> Generally I'm trying to link to freely available online resources
> for
>> further information.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Owen
>>
>>
>> Owen Stephens
>> Owen Stephens Consulting
>> Web: http://www.ostephens.com
>> Email: [log in to unmask]
>> Telephone: 0121 288 6936
>>
>
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