JISC

The aim of this case study was to investigate the potential for aggregating digital image collections in the visual arts from across the education, museum and commercial sectors, for use within the UK higher and further education community. The research was conducted by VADS, and is one of several subject-based case studies commissioned by JISC and the HEA to investigate some of the recommendations made in an earlier report by the CLiC project

Executive Summary

The case study consulted with collection owners from across the three sectors about the issues, barriers and motivations for sharing access to their images. The methodology employed included an online questionnaire circulated to 200 image collections and interviews with a selection of collection owners as well as interviews with several aggregator projects.

This case study coincided with a raft of new projects and initiatives, such as the European Digital Library portal and the Strategic e-Content Alliance, that are exploring ways to connect and aggregate museum and cultural heritage collections online, and the report starts with an overview of these initiatives.

The questionnaire received responses from 89 image collections across the UK. Most of these collections (75%) had not participated in any cross-search services or prototypes, but the overwhelming majority (88%) were willing to explore this in future.

In addition to this, the following findings were drawn:

• The majority of respondents, including a number of subscription-based and commercial collections, said part of their remit was to provide image resources for educational purposes, including for formal HEIs, schools and colleges, and more general public educational consumption
• Notwithstanding commercial and subscription-based image providers, several respondents from small institutions felt there was little leverage in actually making profit from their image collections by licensing them for commercial purposes
• The general consensus was that most aggregator projects haven’t taken off and haven’t attracted a large user base
• There was some feeling that end-users were unlikely to be attracted to large, potentially unrelated, difficult to cross-search image collections, simply because there were potentially a greater number of images to choose from, and that aggregators should be subject-led
• To date, most respondents had not taken part in sharing initiatives but 88% (74 collections) were willing to explore this in future
• Copyright was the most frequently expressed concern amongst collection owners
• Marketing and publicity were given as a major reason for collections being willing to participate in sharing their data in the expectation that it would draw new potential traffic to their websites
• Technical concerns are less of an issue amongst larger image collections. Smaller collections showed the most concern regarding technical expertise, and many felt unable to contribute to sharing on the basis that it would cost them money and time to outsource technical expertise
• While most people used a recognised standard schema such as DC or VRA, Spectrum and ITPC, or at least customised one as a basis for their schema, respondents felt that the way in which they used the data would differ quite markedly from other collections ostensibly using the same schema
• Thus cross searching between collections in a systematic and managed way would be impossible without further enhancement made to data.

The report recommends the following:

• More user research and consultation is needed to identify users’ specific needs and to ensure that the development of aggregator services is properly user-led
• Rather than setting up new services to aggregate image data, established image collections – that already have a known user base – would seem the most appropriate place to start
• Larger image collections could partner with small institutions that can fill gaps in their coverage, and provide small institutions with the technical support for sharing their content
• More consideration and investment should be made into the marketing of collection sharing initiatives, with clear evidence of how they can benefit collection owners and fulfill their educational remit
• Collections need clearer advice and strategies to deal with the IPR issues with sharing their content. This is currently being considered as part of the Strategic e-Content Alliance IPR Consultancy Project
• There is a need to research ways of enhancing metadata for cross-search purposes, such as the use of taxonomies and folksonomies

Download the full report