Apologies for cross-postings MDA, the UK's lead organisation in the management of information about collections has been awarded a contract by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) to develop a Collections Description Manual for MICHAEL, a project which will create the first multilingual inventory of collections in museums, libraries and archives across Europe.
MLA is the UK partner in the European MICHAEL consortium, which also includes representatives from France and Italy. In the UK, MLA has been working to develop the Collections Description Service, a unique set of tools which will draw together descriptions of physical and digital collections. MDA has been commissioned by MLA to support MICHAEL and the Collections Description Service by creating a manual for culture- sector professionals who will be creating descriptions of their collections. The manual will be launched in October 2005 as an online browsable resource providing guidance and case studies illustrating best practice in describing collections. Kate Fernie, ICT Adviser: EU Projects at MLA commented: "MICHAEL is a ground-breaking project, which will open up worldwide access to our shared European cultural heritage. MDA has experience in helping cultural organisations get to grips with standards and new technologies. They were a natural choice to develop the manual to support MICHAEL." Nick Poole, MDA Director, commented: "In recent years, digitisation initiatives have supported the creation of millions of digital versions of objects, documents and artefacts across Europe. MICHAEL and the Collections Description Service have a vital role to play in ensuring these resources are available to all. MDA is very excited to have the opportunity to use our skills and experience to support the sector in realising this potential." Further information about MICHAEL is available from: http://www.michael-culture.org/project.html ******************************************************* Gordon McKenna e-mail: gor...@mda.org.uk MDA The Spectrum Building, The Michael Young Centre, Purbeck Road Cambridge CB2 2PD, UK Tel: +44 1223 415760 Fax: +44 1223 415960 Setting the standard for managing collections information *************** http://www.mda.org.uk/ **************** --- You are currently subscribed to mcn_mcn-l as: rlancefi...@mail.wesleyan.edu To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-mcn_mcn-l-12800...@listserver.americaneagle.com
