Into The Cloud

INTO THE CLOUD: NETWORKING MUSEUM INFORMATION

04.06.09

ContentsContents

Re-introducing the Collections Trust

Cultural Publishing – the last decade

Beyond your website – aggregation & syndication

What is the Cloud?

Collections Management as a Service

Semantics and Linked Data

Challenges and Opportunities

Re-introducing the Collections Trust

Cultural Publishing – the last decade

Beyond your website – aggregation & syndication

What is the Cloud?

Collections Management as a Service

Semantics and Linked Data

Challenges and Opportunities

Campaigning for the public right to access and engage with collections by:

•Promoting best practice•Encouraging innovation•Working with the sector

Campaigning for the public right to access and engage with collections by:

•Promoting best practice•Encouraging innovation•Working with the sector

Our role...Our role...

CollectionsCollections LawLaw

CommerceCommerce TechnologyTechnology

KnowledgeKnowledgeConsumersConsumersCollections

Trust

10 years in development...10 years in development...

1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012


1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

The transition from manual systems towards electronic documentation well advanced.

Structural and procedural standards beginning to emerge


1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Early development of museum ‘brochureware’ websites

Some innovative work presenting virtual experiences based on collections

The heyday of digitisation begins


1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Increasingly sophisticated and complex interactive websites

Collections data increasingly integrated into the user experience

Starting to blur the boundaries via federated search, RSS feeds, mobile platforms


1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Less and less about ‘your’ website and increasingly about multi-platform, multi-channel content

Reaching a larger and non-traditional audience by syndicating content to media partners

Moving from content proliferation to content on-demand, and scalable economic models

Beyond your Website: Aggregation and SyndicationBeyond your Website: Aggregation and Syndication

The underlying principle of Content Management

Publish once, re-use many times

That re-use is no longer limited to your website

Enables us to move from being single-channel to multi-channel

BUT

You no longer control the context in which users consume your information

Puts us in the same competitive environment as publishers and broadcasters

The underlying principle of Content Management

Publish once, re-use many times

That re-use is no longer limited to your website

Enables us to move from being single-channel to multi-channel

BUT

You no longer control the context in which users consume your information

Puts us in the same competitive environment as publishers and broadcasters

Mass-market audiences

Mass-market services

Grid

Cultural databases

Sector-specific services

Sector-specific audiences

What is the Cloud?What is the Cloud?

The Internet

Your organisation

Infrastructure Storage Software

What is the Cloud?What is the Cloud?

The Internet

Your organisation

Infrastructure

Storage Software

Collections Management as a ServiceCollections Management as a Service

Based on the principle of Software as a ServiceBased on the principle of Software as a Service

Buy disk & install software

Install on a server and roll out via a network

Purchase and download software online

Access and use software via the Web

Collections Management as a Service...from this...Collections Management as a Service...from this...

Museum A Museum B Museum C Museum D Museum E

Procedures Procedures Procedures Procedures Procedures

CMS CMS CMS CMS CMS

Content Content Content Content Content

To this...To this...

Museum A Museum B Museum C Museum D Museum E

Procedures Procedures Procedures Procedures Procedures

CMS (as a hosted application)

Content Content Content Content Content

Potential benefits...Potential benefits...

Cheaper software (because of reduced support costs)

Features developed for one client can cascade to all

Smoother upgrade path & version control

Less demand for technical maintenance on the client side

Inherently interoperable systems and data

Access to shared resources such as terminology & help

Data hosted remotely & outside Local Authority domains

Cheaper software (because of reduced support costs)

Features developed for one client can cascade to all

Smoother upgrade path & version control

Less demand for technical maintenance on the client side

Inherently interoperable systems and data

Access to shared resources such as terminology & help

Data hosted remotely & outside Local Authority domains

Potential risks...Potential risks...

Perceived loss of ‘ownership’

Depends on good, consistent connectivity

Localised/individual development is harder

Local Authority firewalls

Perceived loss of ‘ownership’

Depends on good, consistent connectivity

Localised/individual development is harder

Local Authority firewalls

Semantics and Linked DataSemantics and Linked Data

The Internet is dumb about its own content

But all the information it needs is there in the web pages and PDFs

Linked data is the next evolution of metadata

Metadata is data within your system which describes your information

Linked data is data within many other systems which can describe your information

The Internet is dumb about its own content

But all the information it needs is there in the web pages and PDFs

Linked data is the next evolution of metadata

Metadata is data within your system which describes your information

Linked data is data within many other systems which can describe your information


Your Database A record

On the 2nd June 2009, Nick Poole spoke at the KE Emu User Group meeting in Bristol




A record

Events in the UK on the 2nd June 2009

•Event A•Event B•Event C

Someone else’s ‘Events’ databaseRefers to...

Enriches




A record




Enriches

Collections Trust’s Website CMS

A record

Nick Poole’s Online Biography on the Collections Trust website




A record




Enriches

Collections Trust’s Website CMS

A record

Nick Poole’s Online Biography on the Collections Trust website

A record

Product description of KE Emu on the KE website

KE website

ChallengesChallenges

These developments are all about the trade off between relinquishing control now in the belief that it will drive greater usage of your content in the future.

Website statistics are a blunt instrument, but at least they exist. The world of aggregation and syndication is very light on evidence.

There is a belief among funders that the value of investment in ‘digital culture’ is locked away in storage (sound familiar?). Aggregation and syndication are regarded as the way to unlock this value.

These developments always raise issues of organisational change, including lack of trust, loss of confidence, perceived loss of connection to the ‘real’ stuff.

The pace at which we have moved from ‘stock control’ to ‘content’ is faster than our ability to keep up – with the result that much of our content isn’t ready to be aggregated

These developments are all about the trade off between relinquishing control now in the belief that it will drive greater usage of your content in the future.

Website statistics are a blunt instrument, but at least they exist. The world of aggregation and syndication is very light on evidence.

There is a belief among funders that the value of investment in ‘digital culture’ is locked away in storage (sound familiar?). Aggregation and syndication are regarded as the way to unlock this value.

These developments always raise issues of organisational change, including lack of trust, loss of confidence, perceived loss of connection to the ‘real’ stuff.

The pace at which we have moved from ‘stock control’ to ‘content’ is faster than our ability to keep up – with the result that much of our content isn’t ready to be aggregated

OpportunitiesOpportunities

Reach a lot more people

Reduce the operational overhead on information creation and management

Reduce the operational overhead on maintenance and infrastructure

Open up new sources of funding and new partnerships

The potential to explore a Web 2.0 style collaborative approach to meaning

Reach a lot more people

Reduce the operational overhead on information creation and management

Reduce the operational overhead on maintenance and infrastructure

Open up new sources of funding and new partnerships

The potential to explore a Web 2.0 style collaborative approach to meaning

Shameless plug...Shameless plug...

Come and find out more about our work, the state-of-the-art in CMS development and see the KE team at Collect, the free Collections Management trade fair

Date: 26th June 2009

Venue: Commonwealth Club, London

Time: 10.00 – 16.00

Register at: http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/collect

Come and find out more about our work, the state-of-the-art in CMS development and see the KE team at Collect, the free Collections Management trade fair

Date: 26th June 2009

Venue: Commonwealth Club, London

Time: 10.00 – 16.00

Register at: http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/collect

Thank you!Thank you!

Nick PooleChief ExecutiveCollections Trust

www.collectionstrust.org.ukwww.collectionslink.org.ukhttp://openculture.collectionstrustblogs.org.uk

Twitter: www.twitter.com/collectiontrust (#collectionstrust)

Nick PooleChief ExecutiveCollections Trust

www.collectionstrust.org.ukwww.collectionslink.org.ukhttp://openculture.collectionstrustblogs.org.uk

Twitter: www.twitter.com/collectiontrust (#collectionstrust)