Collection Description Focus
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Programme details

Contributors to the workshop include:

Bridget Robinson, Collection Description Focus, University of Bath

Bridget Robinson joined UKOLN in January 2000 to work on the Agora project. Agora was one of the five elib hybrid Library projects which began in January 1998. It formed part of Phase 3 of the elib programme investigating issues of digital library implementation and integration.

Collection Level Descriptions were used within the Agora interface as a way of matching users to resources. Agora used the collection schema drafted by the national working group and edited by UKOLN. Bridget has worked in both Public and HE libraries and with a range of Commercial Information Providers.

Bridget is now working as part of the Collection Description Focus

Ann Chapman, Bibliographic Management, UKOLN, University of Bath

Ann Chapman joined UKOLN in October 1989 as Research Officer for Bibliographic Management. Work in this area focuses on the quality, standards and formats of records for bibliographic materials in both current and retrospective cataloguing and on performance measurement of bibliographic databases.

In 1998-1999 she was a member of the team who produced the national strategy for retrospective conversion 'Full Disclosure' which identified the need for collection level descriptions. From 1999 she has been a member of the team working on the Reveal project to improve library and information services to visually impaired people. For this project she has recently been working on the development of the Reveal Collections Register which is based on the collection description schema.

Presentation: [Powerpoint] | HTML]

Chris Batt, Director, Libraries and Information Society Team, Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries

CHRIS BATT OBE is the Director of the Libraries and Information Society Team at Resource. He is responsible for strategic advice on the delivery of services to users of museums, archives and libraries. As part of his remit to advise on the use of ICT he is responsible for the implementation of the Government's People's Network programme. His task is to connect all 4,300 public libraries to the Information Superhighway by the end of 2002, giving universal public access to the rich information and learning resources that are now being created in Cyberspace.

He also leads the development of strategic planning for public libraries, working closely with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and other government departments to position public libraries at the heart of national policy.

Until August 1999 Chris was Director of Leisure Services for the London Borough of Croydon where he had worked for over 20 years. Closely involved in the development of Croydon Clocktower, the award winning cultural centre, his responsibilities as Director of Leisure Services included libraries, museums and heritage, the arts, sport and recreation, parks and open spaces, and tourism.

In 1999 Chris advised the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on the creation of the new Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries. He has a keen interest in the development of information technology for public use having been involved with the development of computer systems since the mid-seventies. He continues to lecture in many countries around the world and has written many books and papers on the subject.

Peter Dowdell, Technical Advisor and Systems Developer, UKOLN, University of Bath

Peter Dowdell is a Technical Advisor providing technical support and advice to projects in the NOF-digi programme. He has also been responsible for managing the technical implementation of the www.enrichuk.net portal website. Peter comes from an engineering background and spent many years in petroleum engineering and data analysis. He has worked in the new media industry since 1999 and for UKOLN at the University of Bath since January 2002.

Presentation: [Powerpoint] | HTML]

Chris Anderson, Head of Programmes, New Opportunities Fund

Chris Anderson has been UK Head of Programmes at the New Opportunities Fund since 1999 with responsibility for environment and ICT programmes, including the people's network and digitisation programmes. He previously worked at the London Borough of Newham, where he held a number of posts managing services for children and for a number of London based voluntary organisations.

Neil Thomson, Head of Systems & Central Services, The Natural History Museum

Neil has been with the NHM for around 27 years, occupying a succession of differing posts, but always around the provision of what is now known as biodiversity information. Highlights have included installation of the Museum's data network and helping it to be the first UK museum with its very own Website. Currently Neil is involved in a number of projects that promote the sharing of biodiversity data through the use of standards.

Summary of Presentation: Current trends in biodiversity collection description This presentation will summarise some of the reasons that collection-level descriptions are being applied to collections of biodiversity material and how this is being achieved at the institutional, national, European and global scales.

Presentation: [Powerpoint] | HTML]

Gordon Dunsire, Depute Director, Centre for Digital Library Research

Gordon Dunsire joined the CDLR as Depute Director in November 2002, after many years working at Napier University. He has been involved the CAIRNS and SCONE projects and services since 1999, and directs Work Package B of the CC-interop project as well as the HaIRST and SAPIENS projects. His research interests include the use of metadata for landscaping and retrieval in distributed, online information environments.

Dennis Nicholson, Director, Centre for Digital Library Research

Dennis Nicholson is Director of the Centre for Digital Library Research at Strathclyde University and Director of Research in Strathclyde University's Information Resources Directorate. Since 1991, he has managed a range of funded projects, either directly or in his role as CDLR manager. Included amongst these are the CAIRNS, Co-operative Information Retrieval Network for Scotland clumps project (1998-2000), the SCONE, Scottish Collections Network Extension Project (1999-), the HILT, High Level Thesaurus Project (2000-), and the SPEIR, Scottish Portals for Education, Information and Research project.

Summary of Gordon and Dennis's Presentation: The CC-interop project is researching interoperability issues between physical and virtual union catalogues, using COPAC and the Z39.50 "clumps" as test beds. The presentation will focus on Work Package B which looks at the use of collection-level description (CLD) as a landscaping mechanism allowing the selection of catalogues prior to cross-searching. The findings of a report on the compatibility of various CLD schemas in use or under development in the UK will be presented, along with recommendations for extending the structure of SCONE, the Scottish Collections Network, in the context of the SPEIR (Scottish Portals for Education, Information and Research) project. A number of issues affecting the use and development of CLD schemas in general will also be discussed.

Presentation: [Powerpoint] | HTML]

Susi Woodhouse, Senior Network Adviser, Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries

Susi Woodhouse is one of the Senior Network Advisers within the People's Network Development Team, a part of the Libraries and Information Society Team at Resource.

She is primarily responsible for leading on the New Opportunities Fund ICT training of public library staff and NOF-digitise programmes, and on the evaluation programme for the People's Network.

Susi joined the team from EARL: the consortium for public library networking where she worked as Development Manager helping to raise awareness in the public library community of the new ways of working that the People's Network will bring.

She began her career at the British Library, later moving to the London Borough of Ealing as Music Librarian. In 1992 she took up the post of Project Officer for IAML(UK)'s Music Library & Information Plan and following its completion, joined the Library Clientside Team at Westminster City Council contributing to the development of their Quality Assurance programme.

Susi is active on the professional scene as Library Association Councillor for the Cataloguing & Indexing Group, and in the 1990's was the LA's representative on the Dewey Editorial Policy Committee. In her capacity as LA Councillor, she chairs the Adult Learning and Libraries Sub-Committee, and has been a member of the LA Publishing Board.

She keeps up her links with the music library world having been a member of the International Association of Music Librarians UK Branch (IAML UK) Executive Committee, for some years running the Branch annual study weekend, and is currently President of the UK Branch. Susi is a trustee of the Music Libraries Trust, a steering group member of the e-Lib Clumps project Music Libraries Online and Project Director for the Cecilia project to map the UK's music resources which is funded by the British Library Co-operation and Partnership Programme.

Nick Poole, ICT Adviser, Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries

As ICT Adviser at Resource, the focus of Nick's work is on promoting awareness of current standards in digital services, including those for digital accessibility and preservation as well as copyright and interoperability. Nick is also website and email list manager for the Museums and Galleries Disability Association.

Prior to taking up his current role, he worked as Website manager for Resource and project manager for the Cornucopia online database of museum collections. Nick has also worked as a freelance web designer and programmer.

Nick has published articles and papers on digital accessibility and presented to a wide range of museum, archive and library organisations.

Presentation: [Powerpoint] | HTML]

Rachel Bruce

Presentation: [Powerpoint] | HTML]