Kate Fernie, kmf2@york.ac.uk

1. Fishing for content:how standards are helping people create a historic environment information landscape Kate Fernie, kmf2@york.ac.uk HEIRNET

2. Fishing for content • The information environment • Finding resources • User needs • Standards, standards • People matter

3. The information environment • Rich and diverse information content • Broad range of information providers

4. A user wants information about Westerwood, where there is a Roman fort and a stretch of the Antonine wall near Glasgow They could go to Google and find some information on the site … and a lot else besides! Finding resources but this data is not authoritative, may be out of date or irrelevant and is incomplete

5. Finding resources … alternately the user could use Canmore, the on-line database of the RCAHMS www.rcahms.gov.uk

6. Finding resources … or the user could have gone to the online catalogue of SCRAN and searched for Westerwood … and found pictures of the Antonine wall and aerial photographs of the fort www.scran.ac.uk

7. Finding resources… • Or they could have gone to the West of Scotland Archaeology Service SMR (www.wosas.org.uk) • Or the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University where the Romans in Scotland are listed (www.gla.ac.uk/museum) • Or the Portable Antiquities scheme to find any metal detector finds (www.finds.org.uk) • Or to the Archaeology Data Service (ads.ahds.ac.uk) • Or Cornucopia (www.cornucopia.org.uk) HEIRNET Register http://britarch.ac.uk/heirnet/

8. PAS NMRS WOSAS SCRAN Museum The hunt for resources… Content providers shout loud to promote their web sites but services offer mix of access and use functionality, have different authentication procedures and… User has to go to every service manually – and learn how the system works

9. Using resources • Users can end up tired, confused – and disappointed • Users just want to find information So can we find a better way of joining up services…

10. http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/heirport.html Westerwood

11. Joined-up services • Users go to HEIRPORT to find out information about Westerwood • HEIRPORT does the work and serves up results from several information providers • The results are authoritative and up-to-date • Users can easily go to the information provider to find out more

12. Joined up doing = interoperability Content Providers co-operating (High Impact!) ADS Canmore SCRAN PAS X Y Z Z39.50, Bath Profile, CIMI Profile, XML, RDF, Dublin Core Metadata, HTTP, HTML. A single enquiry point HEIRPORT End-user (Blissfully unaware) = Happiness!

13. Standards

14. Interoperability = people “to be interoperable, one should actively be engaged in the ongoing process of ensuring that the systems, procedures and culture of an organisation are managed in such a way as to maximise opportunities for exchange and re-use of information, whether internally or externally.” Paul Miller See: www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue24/interoperability/

15. People make it happen! • Information providers choose to find ways of working together • Deciding to adopt and implement common standards and • Providing easier ways for users to access their resources What is HEIRNET doing to help this process?

16. HEIRNETHistoric Environment Information Resources Network HEIRNET is a consortium of organisations with an interest in historic environment information systems. http://www.britarch.ac.uk/HEIRNET/

17. HEIRNET HEIRNET aims to find ways of enabling access to Historic Environment Information Resources for conservation, research, learning and general interest. • Developing a register of HEIRs • Experimenting with HEIRPORT • Offering technical advice • Evaluating user needs http://www.britarch.ac.uk/HEIRNET/

18. In conclusion • The information landscape offers rich and diverse content • More and more services are becoming available • Technology allows us to create joined-up services • Standards and people make it possible! Kate Fernie Kmf2@york.ac.uk