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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 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 the system. ----- 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 This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. 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