Using Primo for Metadata from the Integrated Archives and Manuscripts System (IAMS): Experience and Issues
Bill Stockting: EPUG-UKI Conference: British Library, 15 October 2012
Introduction
Today:
An archivist’s view rather than one from a technical background
Some brief context: BL’s archives and manuscript collections Catalogued in the Integrated Archives and Manuscript System
– IAMS
Look at our separate PRIMO instance Search our Catalogue, Archives and Manuscripts – SoCAM – by demonstration:
What we’ve done Issues
Archives and Manuscript Collections
Extensive collections of unique archives and manuscripts:
Manuscripts: Western, Oriental and Music
Records of East India Company and its successors, and related private papers and manuscripts
Digitised collections from the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP)
British Library Corporate Archive
Cataloguing
IAMS:
Bespoke system developed internally to deal with our heterogeneous collections
Latest thinking in data modelling taken into account
System live in July 2009
Key legacy catalogues migrated
2 million records
Data published to separate PRIMO instance
IAMS: Data Model
Archive Institutions
held by
Persons, Families, Corporate
Bodies
created by
Archives & Manuscripts
Places, Concepts, Things,
Events &,Titles
have subjects
Projects &collections
catalogued and digitised by
User requirements
Implicit in the thinking behind the data model then is that users of this material need to understand the context of its creation and use: only then can the information contained in the material be used as evidence!
In which case we need a public system that satisfies all of the user requirements found in FRBR not just:
Find Identify Select Obtain
But also: Navigate!
Search our Catalogue, Archives and Manuscripts: SOCAM
http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library
SOCAM: Search
SOCAM: Find and Identify
SOCAM: Select
SOCAM: Navigate – Collection Hierarchy
SOCAM: Navigate – Collection Hierarchy
SOCAM: Navigate – Archives/Manuscripts and People Entities
SOCAM: Navigate – Archives/Manuscripts and People Entities
SOCAM: Navigate – Archives/Manuscripts and People Entities
…and Finally!
So PRIMO good at find, identify, select, and obtain but not so good at navigate!
Next steps to investigate: developing a hierarchical and/or finding aid view merging the archives and manuscripts data with the Library’s
main PRIMO catalogue – Explore the British Library
Please look at our system – feedback appreciated
Thank you!