museumsandtheweb.com - search

Providing Accessible Online Collections

RachaelRainbow — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:22:00 +0000

MW2012

Rachael Rainbow, Alex Morrison, Cogapp, UK; Matt Morgan, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections

Program Item Reference:

Providing accessible online collections

Using an RDF Data Pipeline to Implement Cross-Collection Search

dhenry — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 02:43:40 +0000

MW2012

David Henry and Eric Brown, Missouri History Museum, USA

http://www.mohistory.org

Abstract

This paper presents an approach to transforming data from many diverse sources in support of a semantic cross-collection search application. It describes the vision and goals for a semantic cross-collection search and examines the challenges of supporting search of that kind using very diverse data sources. The paper makes the case for supporting semantic cross-collection search using semantic web technologies and standards including Resource Descriptive Framework (RDF), SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL ), and an XML mapping language. The Missouri History Museum has developed a prototype method for transforming diverse data sources into a data repository and search index that can support a semantic cross-collection search. The method presented in this paper is a data pipeline that transforms diverse data into localized RDF; then transforms the localized RDF into more generalized RDF graphs using common vocabularies; and ultimately transforms generalized RDF graphs into a Solr search index to support a semantic cross-collection search. Limitations and challenges of this approach are detailed in the paper.

Program Item Reference:

Using an RDF Data Pipeline to Implement Cross Collection Search

Providing accessible online collections

RachaelRainbow — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:57:22 +0000

MW2012

Published Paper:

Providing Accessible Online Collections

Keywords:

collections

Keywords:

solr

Keywords:

vocabularies

Keywords:

metadata

Abstract:

Feedback from user research for the recently re-launched Metropolitan Museum of Art website made it clear that users need multiple routes into the collections. Visitors want to search across data, on multiple dimensions, and find other artworks that may interest them. To do this with the data available was a huge challenge. Museum collections data is not necessarily structured to support this, especially in a collection as diverse as the Met’s. In this paper we discuss the system we built to enable the Museum to analyse the data and construct rules to support these user journeys. With this system, Museum staff match terms against standard vocabularies (including AAT and TGN), provide contextual interpretation of terms by department, qualify terms such as locations, and define rules for common misspellings. A powerful Solr search system provides the quick and complex search functionality, establishes the relationships between artworks, provides free-text searching, and gives facet counts.

Type:

Paper - in formal session

Online finding

Site:

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections

Authors:

Alex Morrison

Rachael Rainbow

Matt Morgan

Scholarly Information Seeking Behaviour in the British Museum Online Collection

clairey.ross — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:49:55 +0000

MW2011

Published Paper:

Scholarly Information-Seeking Behaviour in the British Museum Online Collection

Keywords:

online collections

Keywords:

information seeking

Keywords:

user studies

Keywords:

usability

Keywords:

scholarly searching

Keywords:

search strategies

Keywords:

Abstract:

The vast amounts of digital museum resources available to support scholarship are changing the ways researchers work, offering convenient quick access to a wide selection of cultural heritage content. However, finding information in museums, as well as libraries and archives, is not an easy task. Collections database information systems can be overwhelming and daunting to many users. Designing intuitive systems that meet researcher’s needs requires a thorough understanding of the information seeking behaviour of collection database users. A proper understanding of how museum visitors use digital museum resources is critical for the success of museums in the information age. As museums cope with the challenges of ‘being digital’ (Hamma 2004), meeting the information requirements of online visitors has become an important part of the museum’s role (Marty 2004) and it is now critical for researchers and museum professionals to explore the use of museum digital resources, both in-house and online (Booth 1998; Sarraf 1999).

The British Museum shows continuing commitment to providing as wide virtual and physical access to their collections as possible, utilising different mediums to open up the museum collections to a wider, more diverse audience. This commitment is expressed in the British Museum’s online collection database. In October 2007, the British Museum launched Collection Online (COL[1]), an online version of the collection database. By the end of 2009, nearly 2 million records from the museum collections had been made available to the public worldwide. Despite the online availability of the British Museum Collection, very little is known about the COL’s users and whether and how they utilise the material provided, or if the online collection makes possible new kinds of engagement with museum objects.

This paper presents a collaborative study between UCL Centre for Digital Humanities[2] and the British Museum. This study considers the use and information seeking behaviour by scholars of the British Museum’s Collection Online. From May to September 2010 a series of analyses of users of the British Museum’s COL was undertaken: including log analysis and targeted surveys. This paper is predominately focused on the results of the survey of academic users. The online survey concentrated on gathering data specifically on users of the British Museum’s Collection Online; focusing on user perspectives of their use of the Collection Online, search strategies and general use of museum digital resources.

This paper explores the findings of the research so far, highlights the scholarly value of museum digital resources, examines the existing structures of presentation and representation of the British Museum Collection Online for aiding academic information seeking. This study provides an example of how a thorough detailed analysis of user survey data museums can acquire an awareness of the perceptions that academic user groups hold of the museum collection information environment, as well as understanding how the functionality and usability of museum's digital collection aids individual’s information searching. Additionally, we show how such user studies can provide concrete evidence to improve the functionality of online collections databases.

Booth, B. 1999. Understanding the information needs of visitors to museums. Museum Management and Curatorship 17:2, pp. 139-157.

Hamma, K. 2004. Becoming digital. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 30:5 , pp. 11-13.

Marty, P. F. 2008. Museum websites and museum visitors: digital museum resources and their use. Museum Management and Curatorship, 23:1, 81 – 99

Sarraf, S. (1999) A survey of museums on the web: Who uses museum websites?. Curator 42 , pp. 231-243.

[1] http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_c...

[2] http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dh/

Type:

Paper - in formal session

Info-Seeking

Site:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx

Authors:

Claire Ross

Melissa Terras

How to manage and build a web collections search project in a museum

biblio — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:10:49 +0000

Morgan, R. (2010). How to manage and build a web collections search project in a museum. (Trant, Jennifer, David Bearman, Ed.).Museums and the Web.

Discovering physical objects: Meeting researchers’ needs

jtrant — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:44:37 +0000

Research Information Network (2008). Discovering physical objects: Meeting researchers’ needs.