Dear List Members,
We are delighted to announce that the Archives Hub now has a new Website: https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/
As well as this, behind the scenes, we have implemented a new architecture, with a new workflow, more automated data processing, which allows for more standardisation and interoperability, and we are currently implementing a new EAD Editor cataloguing tool and a new administrative interface.
The new Archives Hub:
* has much faster response times, usually less than one second
* is increasingly comprehensive, with over 300 contributors and plans to ingest more descriptions at scale
* enables more effective searching through type ahead suggestions and various filtering options
* introduces ’subject starters’ as suggested places to start searching
* allows the hit list of results to be expanded to include more information, which can help with assessing relevance
* highlights digital content through a digital filter option
* presents more meaningful relevance ranking
* represents hierarchy through an expandable tree with a new ‘mini map’ for a quick overall sense of the scale of the description
* includes ‘search within’ a description with highlighting
* has themed collection descriptions, for digitised collections of resources,
* has standardised repository descriptions using EAG (based on ISADIAH), and shared with the Archives Portal Europe
* sends descriptions directly to the Archives Portal Europe through monthly harvesting
* has a modern, professional look and feel in line with the Jisc family of services
* provides persistent identifiers for all units of description
* provides an API for more open data
* enables quicker data processing, so that uploaded descriptions go live within an hour
A particularly attractive new feature is a map interface, so that users can see where the collections are held. The map is responsive to the selection of descriptions through the filter options or the user can simply select one description to view its location.
Find out more about the architecture and site design on our blog:
http://blog.archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/2017/02/16/the-website-for-the-new-archives-hub/
http://blog.archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/2016/12/09/the-new-archives-hub-building-blocks/
We continue to provide very successful monthly features, https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/featureslist/. The latest features cover a wide range of subjects, from the Nuclear Disarmament Symbol to Church Music, from cotton manufacturing to the police force. All reflecting the great wealth of materials within UK archives.
We also continue to offer advice and guidance to researchers, and maintain a popular Guide to Using Archives which is aimed at the new researcher: https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/guides/usingarchives/
We are moving to a completely new ‘EAD Editor’ for the creation and editing of EAD descriptions, with more functionality and validation and a VIAF name lookup. We are also working on taking in exports from archival systems.
To mark this year of launching the new Archives Hub we are organising a roadshow for our contributors, advertised through our contributors email list, so if you are interested in attending an event and joining the Hub, please do get in touch.
If you'd like to see how working with the Archives Hub can make a difference, can we take this opportunity to point you to our ‘why contribute’ page: https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/whycontribute/ and also to some of the comments we have received over recent years: https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/usercomments/
We think that the new site offers some big improvements for our contributors and our users and we hope you agree. We'd love to know what you think, so if you have any comments or feedback you can contact us at [log in to unmask]
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our contributors for working with us over the past 16 years - we have built up a great feeling of community and collaboration, and this is reflected in the end results.
with all best wishes,
Jane
Jane Stevenson
Archives Hub Service Manager
[log in to unmask]
Tel: 0161 413 7555
Web: archiveshub.jisc ac.uk
Skype: janestevenson
Twitter: @archiveshub, @janestevenson
jisc.ac.uk
Jisc is a registered charity (number 1149740) and a company limited by guarantee which is registered in England under Company No. 5747339, VAT No. GB 197 0632 86. Jisc’s registered office is: One Castlepark, Tower Hill, Bristol, BS2 0JA. T 0203 697 5800.
Jisc Services Limited is a wholly owned Jisc subsidiary and a company limited by guarantee which is registered in England under company number 2881024, VAT number GB 197 0632 86. The registered office is: One Castle Park, Tower Hill, Bristol BS2 0JA. T 0203 697 5800.
Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask]
For information about joining, leaving and suspending mail (eg during a holiday) see the list website at
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=archives-nra
|