Collection Description Focus, Workshop 2UKOLN

Multi-purpose metadata for collections

creating reusable CLDs

Friday 8 February 2002
Aston Business School, Birmingham

Discussion Group 2 : CLDs and their audiences

All over the country there are a wealth of collections held in museums, libraries and archives. These collections are increasingly being made visible to a wider audience by means of collection level descriptions. One of the ongoing challenges of collection description work is how to ensure these descriptions are both accessible and understandable to a varied range of user groups and audiences. This can be achieved in a number of ways e.g. reuse and /or annotation of clds or through specially designed navigational tools. This session examined the creation and use of CLDs from a user perspective.

There were 4 major themes to emerge from the discussion:-

Audiences
Three groups were identified:-

1. Public
2. Professionals/Researchers
3. Academic - Education/Lifelong Learners

Can one record fit all and if so, how?

  • interfaces
  • terminologies
  • levels of search criteria
  • use of different languages

Impact/User Studies
Measure the use of CLDs via consultation/focus groups
Ongoing evaluation of CLD services with continual feedback not just a "snapshot" approach.
What impact do partners and contributors have on the use of clds
Study of non-users.

Dissemination
Important to disseminate project outcomes and experiences
(contributors/CLD creators are an audience as well)
Disseminate to audiences/user groups to let them know that CLDs are available
Contextual help for non-targeted user groups?

Access to data
Physical access difficulties - logistical and staffing issues
Social Inclusion
Reuse and rights management issues - who owns the data and can it be shared?

  

Information

Web page by Pete Johnston of UKOLN.
Last updated on 19-Feb-2002

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