Historic Environment Information Resources Network

HEIRNET

Minutes of the fifth meeting, held on 12 April 2000 in York

Apologies for absence: Mr D Baker (consultant), Mr S Catney (ALGAO), Mr N Clubb (EH), Mrs D Murray (RCAHMS & IFA), Ms J Owen (SMA) & Dr M Stiff (mda).

Dr G Chitty & Dr J Richards (consultants) were in attendance.

1 Introductions

Professor Harding welcomed everyone to the meeting, especially Ms Francis from Cadw, Ms Moloney from RCAHMS (standing in for Mrs Murray) and Ms Nuttall from mda (standing in for Dr Stiff) who were all attending their first HEIRNET meeting.

2 Minutes of the fourth meeting, held on 11 January 2000

The minutes were AGREED.

3 Membership of the Network

Dr Heyworth reported that that the Irish Heritage Service Dúchas had decided not to join the Network as they were already fully stretched with existing commitments. It was AGREED that Irish colleagues should be kept in touch with developments from around the Network where appropriate and that minutes of HEIRNET meetings should be sent to Dúchas and the Irish Heritage Council for information. Dr Richards noted that Dúchas had already provided partial funding for the ADS survey of digital data needs so that it could cover Ireland.

Mrs Malaws reported that the Welsh Archives Council were happy to be kept in touch with developments through her attendance at  HEIRNET meetings.

Mr Dawson reported that he was now officially representing Resource: the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council, following the merger of the Museums & Galleries Commission and the Libraries & Archives Council.

4 Reports from around the Network

Prof Harding invited contributions from HEIRNET members on ongoing and new projects and recent developments.

Dr Richards reported that the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) had upgraded the interface to its online catalogue and that new areas had been included, such as the virtual library with links to journals with web pages and monograph series (such as the digitised CBA Research Reports and Occasional Publications). The digital library web pages had been accessed over 20,000 times in the first month. The digital archives pages which allowed users to download files from excavations at sites such as the Royal Opera House in London and Eynsham Abbey had been accessed over 15,000 times and the data sets were already being incorporated into teaching within the university sector. The Special Collections interface had also been upgraded to provide more specific searches of the CBA's Radiocarbon Index and the Vernacular Architecture Group's dendrochronology database, and a database of dates relating to the Neolithisation of SE Europe, the first dataset from an AHRB project, had also been mounted.

Dr Richards reported that a number of projects were currently underway within the ADS. In particular, the first draft of an online collection form relating to the OASIS project was about to be announced. Good progress was also being made towards the establishment of a Z39.50 gateway for historic environment resources linking together the ADS catalogue with SCRAN, CANMORE, and the portable antiquities scheme database.

Mr Shepherd reported that a Scottish SMR Forum had been established by the Association of Regional & Island Archaeologists (ARIA), following the recommendation in David Baker's review of Scottish SMRs, and had met for the first time in February in Stirling. A number of working groups had been established to look at data structures and joint working with RCAHMS. More work was needed however to encourage local authorities in Scotland to take ownership of their SMR.

Mrs Malaws reported that the restructuring of staffing within the Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), following the departure of Terry James, was now complete. A new RCAHMW web site would be launched shortly with an electronic archive catalogue and the Welsh chapels database. A revised version of ENDEX was under discussion with Cadw and the Welsh trusts. Funding had been found for a digitisation project under the life-learning banner, and further funding was being sought for a project entitled `Gathering the jewels'. The Welsh Archives Council were also trying to find funding for a Welsh version of SCRAN and to act as a gateway to all archive repositories in Wales.

Ms Francis reported that Cadw was working with RCAHMW on ENDEX, and that a new Cadw web site had been launched where it was hoped to include the Schedule of Ancient Monuments in Wales.

Mr Dawson reported that he was now working as part of the Learning & Information Society team within Resource and within this remit he was advising the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) on funding proposals relating to content creation. The Cornucopia pilot project would be coming to an end in the near future with the database available through the 24hourmuseum web site. Considerable funding was now being made available to support designated collections, much of the funding going into ICT projects, many of which involved Z39.50 servers.

Mr Badcock reported that the Institute for Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) had upgraded its web site. It was planning to publish the August issue of its journal Context with the theme of IT resources, and he hoped to be able to include an article on HEIRNET.

Dr Barrett reported that the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO) was hoping to complete the SMR manual in the near future with a possible launch in July. It had been written to encourage best practice within SMRs in England and Wales. An SMR strategy had been produced to set out national and local aims and implementation points for the development of SMRs. Copies would be mailed out to all HEIRNET members in the coming weeks. Finally, the joint working party with English Heritage had been revived to look at strategic issues relating to SMRs.

Dr Bland reported that the bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a 3 year portable antiquities scheme to cover the whole of England and Wales had been submitted in March and a response was expected from the HLF in September. If successful the new posts would start in April 2001. Meanwhile the portable antiquities scheme web site was being upgraded with more data being made available. The second annual report for the portable antiquities scheme had been published and was accessible on the scheme's web site.

Dr Chitty reported that the church heritage project that she had undertaken with David Baker had been completed and the sponsors' views were awaited. She also reported that she was undertaking a review of the CBA's conservation database which should be completed in May.

Mr Ashmore reported that the Historic Scotland intranet enhancement had been completed. The radiocarbon dates database would soon be available on the Historic Scotland web site. The pilot project for the Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports (SAIR) was proceeding and the refereeing of the text had now been completed.

Ms Nuttall reported that within the mda work was about to begin on the 3rd edition of Spectrum, and an XML DTD to facilitate archiving and the exchange of information between collections management systems. A number of terminology groups were ongoing, with a thesaurus relating to railways to be published in the near future. Finally, a curriculum navigator was being produced for the Department for Education & Employment to link museum web sites with educational relevance.

Ms Moloney reported that the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was moving to the ARCVIEW GIS system. The provision of material for SCRAN was ongoing, with work on the thesaurus of site types underway. The bid to the HLF for Accessioning Scotland's Past was to be submitted in the near future.

Dr Heyworth reported that the Council for British Archaeology was coming to the end of the Publication User Needs Survey and it was hoped to publish the final report later in the year.

On behalf of Mr Clubb from English Heritage Dr Heyworth read out a progress report that had been supplied by email:

Images of England
Three consultancy reviews addressing the security implications of putting photographs of private dwellings on the Internet have now reported to EH as part of a security review requested by the Commission. We were extremely pleased with the review produced by the CBA on the extent to which information about historic buildings is already disseminated on the Internet. The reports will be discussed and policy and implementation plans will be agreed in the next few weeks. The next survey programme for the project will begin in May and we are aiming to appoint the IT contrators by the end of the month. More information can be obtained from Nigel Clubb and Vikki Fenner.

Umbrella Programme
This programme is a means of bringing together EH’s heritage data assests (ie textual data, catalogues, spatial data and images) so that they can better meet the needs of internal and external users. The overall objective is to deliver an improved heritage data information service in terms of both content and means of access to both internal and external customers. The programme will embrace all projects initiated within the Conservation Directorate whose primary pourpose is the capture, maintenance and/or dissemination of heritage data. It is proposed that these are managed and resourced as a single, cohesive programme of work within the Umbrella framework. Contact Nigel Clubb and Gillian Grayson for more information.

HSIS
The main components of the Heritage Spatial Information System have been delivered by IBM and we are currently in a transition period in which staff are being trained and familiarizing themselves with the system prior to it going live.

NEWHIS
The second phase of the NMR’s NewHIS project is underway with the development of a new archives module for cataloguing and curation. There is a strong focus not only on the application of international archival standards (ISADG) but also on outputs and dissemination.

Mr Ashmore queried the impact on other organisations of the Government's targets for digital enabling? He understood that 25% of all Government and Government-sponsored services had to be available online by 2002, and 100% by 2005. This would impact on all local authorities and non-governmental public bodies. It was AGREED that this could have a significant impact for the historic environment sector, although Mr Dawson suggested that services could be provided via, for example, telephone call centres and did not have to be accessible via the Internet. Mr Dawson drew attention to the People's Network initiative (details available at http://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk) which aimed to ensure access to the Internet for all by linking all public libraries to the Internet by the end of 2002.

5 Mapping information resources report

i) to receive a report on the publication of the report

Dr Heyworth reported that the synopsis and main report, including appendices, had been mounted on the HEIRNET web pages and were available for public access. The synopsis had been circulated in hard copy form to all key organisations relating to the historic environment in the UK, together with a covering letter from Prof Harding which asked for organisations to sign up to the conclusions and recommendations contained within the report. To date only one organisation had responded in the affirmative (the National Museums & Galleries of Wales).

ii) to discuss the implementation of the report's recommendations

Network members agreed that the conclusions and recommendations in the report were to be welcomed and should be acceptable to their organisations.

Dr Richards reported that the ADS Advisory Panel had noted that there was considerable synergy between the proposed database of HEIRs and other ADS projects, such as the proposal to develop a catalogue of quality resources available on the Internet for the higher education Resource Discovery Network (details available at www.rdn.ac.uk). They had also suggested that the ADS was well placed to offer technical advisory services as appropriate, in partnership with other organisations. He also reported that the Arts & Humanities Data Service (AHDS) and UK Office for Library & Information Networking (UKOLN) had approached the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) with a proposal to set up a technical advisory service to cover areas such as interoperability and use of metadata.

Dr Heyworth reported that Mr Clubb (English Heritage) had suggested that there was a need to identify the resource implications of the principal recommendations and had recommended a further study to address this key issue and provide further definition of what is required. It was AGREED that this would be a useful further step in taking the report's recommendations forward. Prof Harding suggested that Mr Baker & Dr Chitty should be asked to undertake the further consultancy work, subject to agreement on funding from English Heritage and other Network members. Dr Richards felt unable to play any further part in the consultancy work as the ADS would hope to be involved in the implementation of the recommendations. It was AGREED that Dr Heyworth would put together a brief for the further consultancy work and then discuss funding with Mr Clubb in the first instance. Mr Ashmore offered a small financial contribution from Historic Scotland which was welcomed with thanks by Prof Harding.

Prof Harding suggested that a day conference should be organised, probably in London in the autumn, with a high profile politician to give the keynote address or possibly speakers from the UK Government, Scottish Executive, Welsh & Northern Ireland Assemblies. The aim would be to secure political commitment for the implementation of the report's recommendations, and also to seek the endorsement of professionals working on aspects of the historic environment. The early part of the conference would be devoted to high level strategic papers, with more practitioner-related detail following. It was AGREED that a conference would be useful  to promulgate the work of HEIRNET and the thinking behind the report's recommendations to ensure that the proposals were acceptable to the wider community. Prof Harding & Dr Heyworth undertook to begin planning the meeting, involving other HEIRNET members as necessary through email discussions.

6 English Heritage review of policies relating to the historic environment

Dr Heyworth reported that a number of working groups had been established by English Heritage to produce discussion documents related to the review. The second working group was looking at public involvement and access and its remit included the opportunity to "examine the disparate information systems that have been created for the understanding and management of the historic environment, will consider provision for access to information, focussing on the role of new technologies, and will consider whether our 20th century databases and archives will be able to meet 21st century expectations."

It was AGREED that it was particularly unfortunate that no members of HEIRNET had been invited to join the Working Group. Dr Heyworth undertook to represent this concern to English Heritage and to stress that the Mapping information resources report should be taken as the starting point for any discussion on information systems.

7 A National Information Policy for the UK

Dr Heyworth reported on a proposal to develop a National Information Policy (details available at www.lic.gov.uk/publications/policyreports/keystone.html).

Mr Dawson noted that a series of national information framework policies were being developed within Government. These would cover issues such as interoperability, data standards, web sites and Government gateways. A web site was to be established at me.gov.uk to promote interoperability and help people access a wide range of Government services through a single electronic point of entry (details available at www.iagchampions.gov.uk/megov_press.htm). A further working group of note was the Information Age Champions (details available at www.iagchampions.gov.uk) which had been set up "to lead work in support of the development and implementation of the e-government strategy, taking ownership on behalf of Government. The e-government strategy will have reference to the wider public sector and local government and will have implications for information services, business processes, information and knowledge management."

8 Virtual Heritage Network

Prof Harding reported that a new international heritage-related network had been established, with English Heritage as one of the founding partners. Details were available on the network's web site at www.virtualheritage.net.

9 Date of next meeting

It was AGREED that the next meeting would take place in York in late September/early October (date to be arranged), with the following meeting to be held in Cardiff.

Document last revised: 25 August 2000 by Mike Heyworth

HEIRNET index page