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www.llgc.org.uk/research

RESAW

Ioan Isaac-RichardsIngest Processes ManagerHead of Web Archiving

iir@llgc.org.uk

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National Library of Wales

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Digital Collections and the National Library of Wales

• Access to Welsh and Celtic materials by global audience

• Preservation• Collections enhancement• Community engagement

• A cohesive, national collection

• Underlying principle: free access to digital content

• www.llgc.org.uk

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Web Archive

• Permission Based– Collection Development Policy– Web Curator Tool (WCT)– 1,500 Websites– 10,000 Gathers– 3.5 TB

– http://www.webarchive.org.uk

• Legal Deposit– Collaboration with Legal Deposit Libraries– Harvest entire UK domain– URLs Crawled: 1,385,535,284 – Size: 31 TB– Access only in reading rooms

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Aims of the NLW Research Programme

UNDERSTANDING USE

Understand use of existing digital

content

ENHANCING CONTENT

Identify ways of making existing digital content more useful for

research, teaching or community engagement

DEVELOPING NEW DIGITAL CONTENT

develop new digital content that addresses

specific research or education

needs, in partnership with academics and

other key stakeholders

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Activities: NLW Research Programme in Digital Collections

PhD students developed in partnership with HEIs and based at NLW

Funded projects and activities with national and international collaborators

New projects in development, and funding applications

National and international networks

Programme of workshop, publications, and activities around digital collections and research

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A brief history of the programme

• January 2011: Programme established with appointment of Prof Lorna Hughes as University of Wales Chair in Digital Collections (based at NLW)

• October 2011: 1st PhD students recruited (currently 4)

• February 2012: JISC funds WW1 digitisation project

• May 2013: appointment of 2 full-time digital collections staff:• Owain Roberts (e-Cloud, 18 months)

• Paul McCann (AHRC University of Wales projects, 24 Months)

• 2011-13: development of significant collaborative projects…

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Digital Scholarship at NLW: Scope

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Conservation and Digital Exchange

• Increase Capacity– Storage– Resources for analogue and digital preservation– Public engagement

• National Conservation Service– Providing information on documentary heritage

maintenance– Training in conservation skills– Collaboration

• Trusted Digital Repository– Scalable technical infrastructure– Business models for service provision– Sharing of expertise and best practice– Strategic direction for Wales

YmchwilResearch   

YmchwilResearch   

www.llgc.org.uk/research

RESAW

Ioan Isaac-RichardsIngest Processes ManagerHead of Web Archiving

iir@llgc.org.uk

YmchwilResearch   

Preserving Digital Collections

• Fedora/Vital– Commercial product supplied by VTLS– Fedora with add-ons:

• Front End• Client• Support

• Implementation– Installed in 2005– Works in line with Open Archive Information System

(OAIS)

• Metadata– Catalogue (Descriptive Metadata, MARC)– DAMS VITAL (Technical Metadata, File Structure,

XML/METS)

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Aims and objectives of the Research Programme in Digital Collections

• Developing an evidence base for the use, value and impact of the digital collections of NLW

• Embedding these collections in research, education and community engagement

• Providing a focus for digital humanities in Wales• Developing significant new national and international

collaborations. • Implementing the convergent practices that are embedded in

digital humanities in NLW collections-based work• The research focus of the programme: • Developing an understanding of use of our existing digital

content, to make it more valuable for use in research, teaching, or community engagement

• Building projects that develop new digital content that addresses specific research or education needs, in partnership with academics and other key stakeholders

• Bringing Digital Humanities to the Digital Library

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The Collections

• Unique, rare and distinct collections– Manuscripts– Works of Art– Archives– National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales

• Born Digital– Web Archive– Etheses

• Digitised Collections– Welsh Journals Online– Welsh Newspapers Online– Cymru 1914 – Welsh Experience of the First World War

YmchwilResearch   

NLW Research Programme in Digital Collections: a brief history

• January 2011: programme established with appointment of University of Wales Chair in Digital Collections

• October 2011: 1st PhD students recruited (currently 4)• May 2013: appointment of 2 full-time digital collections staff:

Owain Roberts; and Paul McCann • 2011-13: development of significant collaborative projects…• Project partners include: The European Library; University of

Wales; Oxford University; Yale University; Stanford University; the Met Office; ITHAKA S&R; Glasgow University; Swansea University; performer Eddie Ladd; BBC Cymru Wales; Archives and Records Council Wales; the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales; University College, London; Queen’s University, Belfast; History of Parliament Trust; Institute of Historical Research; Sheffield University Humanities Research Institute; the Open University; King’s College, London; Aberystwyth University; Bangor University and Cardiff University

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The Collections

• Published Output of the UK and Ireland– Printed Material– Electronic Material (new and growing)

• Unique, rare and distinct collections– Manuscripts– Works of Art– Archives– National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales– 267 Languages represented in the NLW catalogue

• Digitised Collections– Welsh Journals Online– Welsh Newspapers Online– Cymru 1914 – Welsh Experience of the First World War