Peter E. Sidorko & Y.C. Wan University of Hong Kong Libraries 4 September 2012 The Hong Kong Memory Project: A Collaborative Journey into Hong Kong’s History
Jan 23, 2015
Peter E. Sidorko & Y.C. Wan
University of Hong Kong Libraries
4 September 2012
The Hong Kong Memory Project: A Collaborative Journey into
Hong Kong’s History
Build a digital repository for the collection, conservation, presentation and dissemination of Hong Kong’s history, culture and heritage
Collect from different sources materials in textual, graphic, audiovisual forms and present on the web to readers in an interactive and user-friendly way
Provide free and open access to the general public, students, teachers, and scholars, in Hong Kong and other parts of the world
The Hong Kong Memory Project
Hong Kong in briefKey CollaboratorsBackground The ProjectDeliverablesTasks AheadFeedback
Agenda
Hong Kong in Brief
Situated at the south-eastern tip of ChinaA total area of 1,108 square kilometres,
comprising Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsular and the New Territories
A population of about 7.1 million, mainly ethnic Chinese
A Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China
The world's most livable city, according to the Economist’s annual livability index, 2012
Profile
‘A barren rock with hardly a house upon it’, some 170 years ago
Ruled by the British for more than 150 yearsFrom a place of no particular importance to a
financial, trading and business centreA city with many histories, each written for
its age, with different audiences in mind and from different points of view
A Vanishing City
Hong Kong Government
Hong Kong Jockey Club
Centre of Asian Studies &
University of Hong Kong Libraries,
The University of Hong Kong
Key Collaborators
Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the government department which provides leisure and cultural activities for the people of Hong Kong
It operates the Hong Kong Public Libraries (76 libraries), Hong Kong Public Museum (18 museums), civic centres, parks, performing venues, etc. all over Hong Kong
Education Bureau helps coordinate the School Memories Programme
Hong Kong Government
One of the largest racing organizations in the world
Operates on a not-for-profit business model whereby its surplus goes to charity
Over the past decade, it has donated an average of US$128 million every year to charities and community projects
Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC)
A research facility established in 1967 to promote interdisciplinary research on Asian topics within the University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Culture and Society programme was one of the Centre’s three flagship programmes
CAS was incorporated by the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences on 1 July 2009
Centre of Asian Studies (CAS)
Established in 1912 to contribute to the teaching, learning, research and knowledge exchange pursuits of the University of Hong Kong
Its collection of Hong Kong materials, particularly print ones, is the largest in Hong Kong
Has been digitizing its contents since the mid-1990s (http://lib.hku.hk/database/)
Partnered with CAS on a number of Hong Kong-related projects
University of Hong Kong Libraries (HKUL)
From a Government Initiative
to a Collaborative Project
Background
Project initiated by Dr Patrick Ho, former Secretary for Home Affairs of the Government, in 2002
Conceived as Hong Kong’s response to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme which calls for the preservation of valuable archive holdings and library collections all over the world through digitization to guard against collective amnesia
LCSD was asked to take up the ‘Hong Kong Memory’ project in mid-2004
A Government Initiative
LCSD started the project by setting up a small project team
Proceeded with a feasibility study; awarded the contract to a multinational hardware and software company after conducting a tendering exercise
The company took up the IT part and commissioned a historian from CAS to look into content development
Feasibility Study
Feasibility study report accepted in 2005 by LCSD, which to our surprise, did not proceed with the project with government funding
HKJC was asked to fund the Hong Kong Memory project instead
HKJC was supportive to the funding request but insisted that content development of the project should carry more ‘weight’
Recommendations set forth in the feasibility study report were abandoned
Funding
In early 2006, CAS & HKUL proposed to HKJC taking up the project for 5 years: CAS handling contents and HKUL providing IT support
In August 2006, HKJC approved funding of up to US$6.8 million to the project for the first 5 years (Nov 2006 to Oct 2011)
At the same time, LSCD agreed taking up the project after the first 5 years
In 2011, HKJC agreed funding the project for 2 more years (until Oct 2013) using the unspent balance of the 2006 allocation
Collaborative Project
Six Years On
The Project
Project coordinators from CAS and HKUL are responsible for daily administration of the project; submit quarterly report to HKJC
Hong Kong Memory Working Group advises on the project’s development
Joint Meeting on the Hong Kong Memory Project, quarterly meetings coordinated by LCSD and attended by representatives from LCSD, HKJC, CAS and HKUL
Management Framework
Mostly full-time contract staff13 full-time staff are now working on the
project, most of them in content developmentDesign work mostly outsourcedHigh staff turnover
Staffing
Guidelines for applicants to prepare funding proposal and budget
7 assessment criteria for all funding proposals, regardless of the amount of funding sought
Funding evaluation and approval by a 6-member evaluation committee
An external assessor is required for funding request exceeding US$25,000
Funding Application and Approval
A key concern of the GovernmentEngaged a legal consultant to compile a set of
copyright guidelines, based on copyright issues that may be encountered by the project
License agreement that allows the transfer of copyrights from the University to the Government
Copyrights
Project staff as contributorsIndividual researchers contribute, compile
and organize contents for the project with its funding support
Institutions/individuals contribute as content owners; project staff compile and organize the contents for the project
HKUL as a contributor
Contents
School Memory Programme, to promote the idea of ‘learning history by doing history’ to secondary school students, by providing them training in collecting, compiling, organizing and sharing school memories
Our Digital Stories, to facilitate ordinary citizens to record and share their real life history through digital technology by providing a simple and user-friendly digital tool and training workshops
Community Outreach
Developed by Beijing TRS Information Technology Limited
Hardware solutions from IBM
Web Portal System
System Components
25
Information
Retrieval System
Content Management System
Other Optional
Applications
e.g. Tagging,
blog, forum
Portal Administration System
12 production servers, 1 backup server and a testing and development server
Support 500 concurrent users in the initial stage
99.9% availability6T SAN storageFirewalls, with anti-virus, IPS and anti-spam
More Details
2 Usability tests of the mock-up website (created by the Greenstone software), conducted in 2009 in 2010 respectively
The third usability test, conducted in 2011, was a trial run of the production website
Usability Tests
Learning by doingSet up a company to host the website and
transfer it to LCSD after the first 5 years?Receive government subvention to continue with
the project after the first 5 years?Get LCSD involved in making major decisions?Involve in other Hong Kong history-related
projects at the request of HKJC?Cope with changes over the past 6 years
The Tough Part
Hong Kong Memory
(https://www.hkmemory.hk/)
Deliverables
Four Major Components
The website acts as a depository of source materials in different formats.
The 30 thematic collections are categorized by subject into 4 broad themes: (1) history and society, (2) geography and environment, (3) art and culture and (4) communication and media
1. Collections
History & Society (11 Collections)Local Festivals Around the Year
Geography & Environment (11 Collections)
Hong Kong Places
Art & Culture (5 Collections)Calendar Posters of Kwan Wai-nung
Communication & Media (3 Collections)
Shaw Brothers’ Collection
Formed with materials selected from one or more collections and organized around a topic or a story
2. Exhibitions
An Adventure in Kowloon City During the Victorian Era
A digital oral history archive which collects the life experiences, perceptions and sentiments of Hong Kong individuals
Interviewees come from different age groups, places of origin, ethnic backgrounds, social classes and occupations
Interviews cover a wide range of subjects such as industry, education, community, housing, art and culture, and social life in Hong Kong under the Japanese occupation.
3. Oral History
Hong Kong Voices
Featured Stories
2 satellite websites: one for schools (School Memories) and the other for inter-generational activities (Our Digital Stories)
Encourage members of the community to use its materials and to contribute to the project in various ways
4. Communities
School Memories Programme
Next Year Will Be Crucial to the Project
Tasks Ahead
Roll out the collections and exhibitions in 2 to 3 phases until the project is handed over to the government
Work closely with HKJC and LCSD to publicize and promote the website
Engage the collaborators to help promote the website
Meet the government’s timeframe/requirements in handing over the web portal system
Prepare and organize documentations of the project to facilitate handing over
In the Next 14 Months …
Wrap up the project by completing the collections, exhibitions, etc.
Further enhance the website in response to user comments in the remaining time
Get LCSD staff prepared to take over the website and further develop its contents
Manage the ‘feelings’ of our project staff
More …
“And Now, the End is Near …”
The Website Has Yet to Go Public
Feedback
From the StudentsIt took me several dollars to go to schoolI had already dressed up to go to the game centre to play Street FighterWhy did you call me urgently? Luring me to school to spend time on history Why don’t we invite teachers and alumni to sit down and have a chat?Unveil the secrets of our schoolThe noble memories of our school will not be lost for everDidn’t I love gaming? No more gaming for the rest of my life?Now I spend time at home on the history webpage until my PC is hungI forgot adding garlic whilst cooking, eating baked beans insteadI have my heart in history now