Date: 2nd
October 2000




JISC DNER  - Geo-data Browser Project Workshop and
 Geo-Crosswalk Project Workshop


EDINA and the History Data Service are seeking additional participants for
two 1-day workshops to be held on the Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th October
2000 at Wivenhoe House Hotel, University of Essex, Colchester. If you would
like to put your name on the list of potential participants, please send
your name, title, organization, and other contact information, along with a
statement of your interest in the topic of either or both of the workshops
to [log in to unmask]

The workshops are part of the requirements generation stage of two
feasibility studies. The first is into the provision of a Z39.50 compliant
geo-data portal and metadata browser for UK HE and FE as part of the
Distributed National Electronic Resource (DNER). This project is a 10-month
project. The second feasibility study is into the provision of a British and
Irish Gazetteer Service. The project, called 'Geo-Crosswalk', is a 6-month
project.

Both projects are collaborative between EDINA, based at the Data Library,
University of Edinburgh and the History Data Service, based at the Data
Archive. The projects are funded by the UK Joint Information Systems
Committee (JISC). MIMAS and the Archaeological Data Service are assisting on
the projects. 

Geo-data Browser Project Workshop 
Increasing amounts of geo-data are being created within UK HE and demand for
access is growing within academia. However, two major barriers confront the
potential user of geo-data resources: first, how to find out what geo-data
exist given the high scale, diversity and complexity of data available;
second, having located it, how to ascertain its quality and suitability for
use.

The solution to overcoming these barriers, which will be investigated by
this project, is to provide comprehensive, standardised metadata, available
via a geo-data browser, which in turn will form the core of a geo-data
portal for UK HE. A geo-data browser would provide researchers and teaching
staff with a way of identifying what geo-data exists within UK HE.  It is
hoped that the resulting service would form a node of the National
Geo-spatial Data Framework (NGDF) Gateway (http:// www.ngdf.org.uk/).

The workshop is designed to bring together individuals within HE who are
generators of geo-data, providers of geo-data services, or potential users
of a geo-data portal and browser.

We are looking for individuals who can contribute to discussions about how
both the portal and browser might best be developed.  The primary objectives
of the workshop are to identify the scope, needs and general requirements of
a geo-data portal, to then focus on the specific requirements of a geo-data
browser and to inform the future work of the project in designing,
populating and implementing the system. It is hoped that a representative of
the NGDF will be present to talk about the NGDF Gateway.

Geo-Crosswalk Project Workshop
A gazetteer service (server) would assist metadata creators by providing a
'processing engine' for converting geographic names to a standard spatial
coding scheme. It would parse metadata records to identify geographic names
(current and historical), and convert them into geographic 'footprints'
expressed in a standard spatial coding scheme such as latitude and longitude
or the Ordnance Survey National Grid.  A gazetteer service would also make
it possible for information retrieval systems to support a full range of
geographic search options without holding vast amounts of geo-spatial data.
It provides the ability to use geography to refine searches for resources
with the DNER

The workshop is designed to bring together individuals with an interest in
gazetteers, gazetteer servers or those who might be interested in gaining
access to a gazetteer server to add a spatial search component to an
existing information service.  We are looking for individuals who can
contribute to discussions about how this gazetteer service might best be
developed.  The primary objective of the workshop is to identify the scope
and requirements of such a service.


We look forward to hearing from you.

With best wishes


Dr David Medyckyj-Scott						Cressida
Chappell
Project Manager 							Head
of Service
EDINA Digimap
History Data Service
Data Library
Data Archive
Edinburgh University
University of Essex
Main Library Building
Colchester
George Square
CO4 3SQ
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ, Scotland

Phone: 0131 651 1308						Phone: 01206
872326
email: [log in to unmask]
email: [log in to unmask]









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