1. Development of a relational database schema for collection- level descriptions in SCONE for archives, libraries, and museums Gordon Dunsire Presentation at the ALM seminar, Nov 26-28 2003, Porec, Croatia

2. Overview n SCONE: Scottish Collections Network n Development and initial data sets n Incorporation of museums data (and archives) n Implications

3. Confusing terms n Collection-Level Description (CLD) u The complete metadata for a collection u The process of creating a CLD n Collection-Description u A finding-aid for the collection (e.g. catalogue) n Description u An attribute of a Collection giving a short summary of the collection history and contents, etc.

4. SCONE n Scottish Collections Network n Collection-level descriptions service n > 4000 collections in libraries, museums, and archives n Uses: u Finding collections, connecting to online catalogues u Landscaping Z39.50 “clump” (CAIRNS) u Scottish cultural portal subject searches

6. Development context CAIRNS Co-operative Academic Information Retrieval Network for Scotland Z39.50 “clump” [Collection title; access conditions; server details] SCONE Scottish Collections Network (Extension) Collaborative collection management [Collection descriptions > Collection-level description!] CC-interop COPAC/Clumps interoperability Physical & distributed union catalogues [CLD schemas for libraries] HaIRST Harvesting Institutional Resources in Scotland Testbed OAI harvested union catalogues [CLD landscaping] HILT High Level Thesaurus Cross-walking terminologies [Subject landscaping and item discovery] CASS Collaborative Academic Store for Scotland SPEIR Scottish Portals for Education, Information and Research Scottish Cultural Portal

7. Development of SCONE n Initial collection-level descriptions from work on describing Z39.50 catalogues in CAIRNS (1999) u B.H. (Before Heaney) n An Analytical model of collections and their catalogues / Michael Heaney (2000) n Entity-Relationship model of a single collection and its associated catalogue or finding aid u Basis of RSLP/UKOLN schema, and SCONE

8. Heaney’s Analytic Model

9. Entities > RDBMS Tables Collection Title System of arrangement … AgentLocation Physical Address Postcode … Electronic URL … Personal Name Biography … Corporate Name History …

10. Collection-Collection relationships Collection-Description (Catalogue) is a sub-set of Collection attributes (collection of metadata) CollectionIsDescribedByCollection(- Description) Sub-collections CollectionHasPartCollection Other CollectionIsRelatedToCollection

11. Annie S. Swan collection

12. Voyage of the Scotia 1902-04

13. Content standards n LCSH; LC Name Authority File n Heaney analysis u E.g. Categories of accrual status n RSLP schema u Collection types u ISO 639-2 languages n Others (in development) u Metadata in Education Group education levels

14. Data sets n Scottish Library and Information Resources u Annual printed directory of library Locations and contacts (Agents) F Collections implicit; derived from organizations n Scottish Working Group on Official Publications u Directory of library sub-collections of International Governmental Organizations and Governments F Up to 6 levels of granularity n Research Collections Online (Conspectus) u Collection strengths: National Library and universities n + Web pages; printed guides; other directories

15. Exploring Scottish history n Directory of genealogical and local history resources held in Scotland u also North Berwick, England (x Scotland) n Mainly bibliographic resources u BDM registers; gravestone inscriptions; local history; military lists; clans; property registers n Selected and described by the Scottish Local History Forum u Independent expert user group

16. Scottish Museums Council n MS Access database driving a web-based directory of Scottish museums n 330 museums, ranging from a croft (peasant farm) to the Museum of Scotland n Flat-file disaggregated and incorporated into SCONE in Oct-Nov 2003 n Overlap (locations and agents) with 80 SCONE collections = 25%

17. Libraries and Museums n Overlap is a result of the Exploring Scottish History directory n Local history resources distributed between libraries and museums u Museums better for interpretation and context n Clan and military regiment information in museums n Books and manuscripts in “birthplace” museums

18. Common data n Overlap mainly occurs with physical location (address, opening hours, etc.) and contact details (telephone, website, email) n Significant errors in Museums data u But sometimes more up-to-date than SCONE/ESH n SCONE location and contact details for libraries checked and updated annually u Immediate benefit to museums

19. Archives? n Scottish Archives Network (SCAN) u www.scan.org.uk www.scan.org.uk u 20 000 collections in 52 archives u EAD for collection descriptions (compatible with SCONE) n Includes directory of location and contact details for each archive u 80% overlap with SCONE (informal analysis) u Again, mainly because of ESH!

20. Implications n Users do not make the same distinctions between library and museum collections as professionals for print-based resources u Same for digital resources? (Of course!) n Location and agent data have significant overlap u The most volatile data (opening hours, URLs, email addresses) - difficult to maintain n Integrated national or regional information service will benefit citizens and cultural tourists u Also less costly to maintain

21. Thank you n g.dunsire@strath.ac.uk n SCONE service u http://scone.strath.ac.uk/service/index.cfm http://scone.strath.ac.uk/service/index.cfm u “About SCONE” for more information n CDLR (other projects) u http://cdlr.strath.ac.uk http://cdlr.strath.ac.uk n Scotland’s Culture (portal) u http://www.scotlandsculture.org/ http://www.scotlandsculture.org/