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Circular 5/00: Moving Pictures and Sound
16th March 2000
| To: |
Heads of institutions funded by the HEFCs, FEFCs or by DHFETE |
| CC: |
Librarians and Directors of Information Services of institutions funded by the HEFCs, FEFCs or by DHFETE, Members of the JISC and its Sub-Committees |
Summary
- This circular invites expression of interest for the provision of two services in the area of moving pictures and sound:
- A Managing Agent to acquire and promote the use of electronic moving picture and sound resources in the JISC's distributed national electronic resource (DNER)
- An advisory service for electronic moving pictures and sound in the UK further and higher education community as part of the DNER.
- The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is 12:00 noon on 20th April 2000.
Background
- The DNER is the JISC's strategy for providing high quality electronic resources to students and staff. The resources are geographically distributed - some are hosted within the UK further or higher education sectors, but others are delivered over the Internet by commercial or public sector suppliers. Key to the DNER is the requirement that these distributed resources be accessible easily and seamlessly. This requires a commitment to interoperability and international standards plus development of tailored portals through which users can find, access, retrieve, and use material relevant to their needs.
Managing Agent to Acquiring Moving Picture and Sound Resources for the DNER
- This circular invites expressions of interest for the provision of a Managing Agent to acquire and promote the use of electronic moving picture and sound resources in the JISC's distributed national electronic resource (DNER) for the UK further and higher education community. The managing agent will be funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee for an initial period of five years. The Managing Agent will actively engage with other stakeholders to help achieve the DNER vision.
- The main role of the Managing Agent will be to assist the JISC in its objective to lead the development of delivering appropriate, high-quality electronic moving picture and sound resources and supporting metadata into UK further and higher education in order to meet learning, teaching and research needs. In doing so, the Managing Agent will acquire moving picture and sound content for the DNER; will recommend strategies to JISC for delivery of the material selected under the initiative; and will liaise with rights holders, suppliers, digitisation services, delivery services and others to enable access to materials and supporting title-level metadata. Delivery strategies will include one or more of the JISC data and subject services plus remote commercial services, and the Managing Agent will oversee delivery of data to JISC data and subject services. The Managing Agent will oversee the day to day operation of its programme to ensure that it provides value for money through cost-effective operation.
- The Managing Agent will be responsible to the JISC Secretariat and will also report, via a Steering Committee, to the JISC's Committee for Electronic Information (JCEI). A Steering Committee will be established to guide the work of the Managing Agent, and members of this committee will act as advocates for educational access to moving picture and sound resources. The JISC is also establishing an advisory service in relation to the digital creation, storage and networked delivery of moving image and sound information and a separate procurement exercise is underway for this service. The Managing Agent will be expected to work closely with the Advisory Service.
- The main tasks of the Managing Agent will be to:
- identify moving picture and sound resources for use based on the advice of the relevant JISC committees, consultation with subject specialists including the LTSN and RDN, and advice on user needs;
- acquire content for the DNER by negotiating access to moving picture and sound resources;
- liaise with digitisation services to arrange, when necessary, the digitisation of materials according to standards agreed with JCEI and the Advisory Service for Moving Pictures and Sound;
- arrange for provision of title level metadata for licensed materials according to standards agreed with JCEI and the Advisory Service for Moving Pictures and Sound;
- examine and report on the cost of electronic moving image and sound resource provision and negotiate with information providers regarding prices, pricing models, licensing terms, copyright clearance, delivery schedules, delivery formats, and arrangements, and monitor these accordingly;
- actively and regularly raise awareness in the FE and HE sectors about the titles or collections of digital moving picture and sound material available as part of the initiative, and any conditions governing their use in learning, teaching and research activities;
- gauge and report on customer satisfaction with the materials and services provided through appropriate means such as usage statistics, questionnaires, site visits and attendance at user group meetings;
- collect, audit and review payments – either subscription based or pay-per-view -- over the five year period;
- maintain a database recording all correspondence relating to copyright clearance activities;
- test and advise on appropriate business models to make the Managing Agent self-sustaining after five years.
- Respondents will be expected to meet the following qualifications:
- Evidence of a good knowledge of UK higher and further education;
- Evidence of a good knowledge of time based media and the communities which use them;
- An understanding of how large-scale electronic moving picture and sound provision fits within the vision for the DNER and the overall strategy of the JISC;
- An understanding of the electronic information requirements of the UK higher and further education communities;
- Ability to act as a clearing house dealing with negotiations, contracts, subscription collection, and payment transactions;
- Understanding of issues relating to VAT on electronic information;
- Understanding of current issues relating to the Joint Academic Network (JANET);
- Understanding of the outcomes of the Imagination/Universities Network Pilot Project, Project Patron, and other relevant projects funded by JISC;
- Evidence of the applicant's technical facilities and quality assurance measures;
- Evidence of the applicant's understanding of copyright clearance, contracts, and other legal issues for electronic moving image and sound resources;
- Proven track record in negotiating access to moving image and sound material for educational purposes;
- Evidence of the applicant's financial standing over the last three years;
- Flexibility in this new and rapidly changing area of activity, and responsiveness to changing user requirements.
- The JISC proposes to fund the Managing Agent for an initial period of five years, providing at least £120,000 per annum, reflecting the national importance of the service which is envisaged. A review will be held after three years at which point either party reserves the right to end the agreement.
- Expressions of Interest to establish a Managing Agent for moving pictures and sound should be around 4 pages (A4) in length and should cover the following points:
- nature of the service being offered;
- proposed start date;
- relevant expertise, experience, and infrastructure located at the institution concerned;
- proposed milestones and deliverables;
- estimated costs and any other resource implications;
- any further information proposers see fit to include;
- name of a key institutional contact point.
Advisory Service for Moving Pictures and Sound
- This circular also invites separate expressions of interest to provide an advisory service for electronic moving pictures and sound in the UK further and higher education community as part of the JISC's distributed national electronic resource (DNER). The service will be funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) for an initial period of five years.
- The DNER is the JISC's strategy for providing high quality electronic resources to students and staff. The resources are geographically distributed – some are hosted with the UK further or higher education sectors, but others are delivered over the Internet by commercial or public sector suppliers. Key to the DNER is the requirement that these distributed resources be accessible easily and seamlessly. This requires a commitment to interoperability and international standards plus development of tailored portals through which users can find, access, retrieve, and use material relevant to their needs. The service will actively engage with other stakeholders to help develop guidelines and standards for the DNER.
- Following conclusion of the Imagination/Universities Network Pilot Project, Project Patron and related projects it is proposed to provide an advisory service in relation to the digital creation, storage and networked delivery of moving image and sound resources. The service will be responsible through a steering committee to the JISC's Committee for Electronic Information (JCEI). The JISC is also establishing a managing agent to acquire and promote the use of electronic moving picture and sound resources and a separate procurement exercise is underway for this service. The Advisory Service will be expected to work closely with the Managing Agent.
- The Service will be expected to:
