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A Silk Purse from a Sow’s Ear

A Silk Purse from a Sow’s Ear. Bringing NMAI Collections Information to the Web. The calm before the storm. EMu (CIS) went live in August 2006 Collections Information Program (CIP) team created to manage system and program

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A Silk Purse from a Sow’s Ear

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  1. A Silk Purse from a Sow’s Ear Bringing NMAI Collections Information to the Web

  2. The calm before the storm • EMu (CIS) went live in August 2006 • Collections Information Program (CIP) team created to manage system and program • Established 5-year plan for collections information and CIS development

  3. 5-year plan

  4. The other shoe… • Informed by senior managementthat ALL collections should be on the Web ASAP … 320,000+ records with sparse, inappropriate data • Expected to use CIS operating funds or raise money • No relief from other duties

  5. Work on the web site AND ? • Train new users • Migrate Conservation database • Design reports • Establish new workflows for data correction and enhancement and other work • Migrate 3+ TB of images • Establish and implement new data standards for cataloging • Everything else • (CIP Team is five individuals, three of whom only do it part-time)

  6. To EMu or not to EMu

  7. Got data?

  8. You can’t have your cake and eat it too • Internal expectations: • Web 2.0 tools: social tagging, user comments • Bells and whistles: My List, reports • Audience expectations: • Surveys to test project team’s assumptions • Unexpected results: 79% wanted to know how the museum got the stuff

  9. Rome wasn’t built in a day • Managing expectations: • 5000 records by launch • Fix records with most information first (items previously published/exhibited) • All items must have images • Tombstone data only • No bells and whistles • A database on the Web, not an online exhibit

  10. Ending “Garbage In, Garbage Out” • Data cleanup: • Standardize and scrub Materials, Sites, Techniques • Standardize Ethnology and Archaeology Culture via thesauri; Object Type and Object ID structure • Ongoing Parties cleanup (scrub duplicates, implement standards) • Enhance records with published references, exhibit, and other data • Tools: • Develop re-identification tools for Culture, Object ID, Associated Parties • Metadata tabs

  11. Our dirty laundry….

  12. The devil is in the details • Define roles: • KE handles export • Mediatrope handles import, website functions and design • NMAI staff responsible for technical specifications, content, usability issues • Develop tools and workflows: • Metadata tabs in EMu • Build Web-friendly data formats (Culture, ID, Parties) • Mark what doesn’t go to the Web

  13. Wishing for the moon

  14. Reality bites

  15. Thesaurus-izing • Realized (too late): • Special characters need specific XML tagging • Culture thesaurus wasn’t as friendly as we thought • How invalid terms might appear or be searched • Tree searches require lots of finagling • Multi-level hierarchies and general high-level terms may require adding non-functional sub-levels so they make sense to users

  16. No room/time for excuses • Define data cleanup using globals • Select initial record group (items previously published or exhibited) • Analyze and develop standards for fields that will go on the Web (Culture, Materials, Techniques) • Determine all standards before beginning implementation • Research, correct, and enhance data, including collection history (July to present, 2800 records: 5 to 20 minutes per record)

  17. CIWeb Project Timetable August 2006: Project assignment September 2006 - May 2007: Wrote grant application, discussed requirements, conducted survey May 2007: Change in technical direction September – November 2007: Selected web vendor; determined site architecture November 2007 – March 2008: Discovery phase – prepared specifications; conducted survey April 2008: Upgraded to EMu 3.2.04 (new tools and features for project) May 2008: Prototype delivered; server purchase & setup July 2008-now: Revisited specifications; correct/enhance records, testing, aesthetic redesign, tweaks February 2, 2009: anticipated site launch

  18. Back to the drawing board… • You can’t see some problems in functionality and content until you see a beta version • Too much focus on functionality can lead to clunky design • Good design can do the heavy-lifting for navigation and functionality

  19. Crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s • Quality Control is crucial • Manual/Visual checks • Reports to find missed data • Marking everything for publication to the Web • MM records • Parties • Thesaurus values • Sites • Records, etc.

  20. Woulda, coulda, shoulda • Agree on a site architecture early • Allow adequate time for planning, thinking-through, and decision-making • Assign roles and responsibilities • Don’t build too many tools • Build a prototype first • Ongoing maintenance: you’ll have to do it, so keep it in mind

  21. (After Launch day) Brought to you by… Ann McMullen, Curator McMullenA@si.edu DucPhong (Ducky) Nguyen, CIS Manager NguyenD@si.edu

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