MINERVA Project 1. The Minerva framework 2. Quality Handbook for Public Cultural Web Applications: – Recommendations and Guidelines Maria Teresa NataleBerlin,

MINERVA ProjectMINERVA Project1. The Minerva framework2. Quality Handbook for Public Cultural Web

Applications: – Recommendations and Guidelines

Maria Teresa NataleMaria Teresa Natale Berlin, 5th August Berlin, 5th August 20032003

Ministerial NEtwoRk for Valorising Activising in digitisation

The MINERVA project is the operative section of a wider framework made up with the Lund Principles, the LUND

Action Plan and the National Representatives Group (NRG)

The MINERVA framework

Lund Meeting – 4th April 2001 Representatives and experts

from the Member States gathered in order to identify

ways in which “a coordination mechanism for digitisation

programmes across the Member States” could be put in place

to stimulate European content on global networks.

Lund Principles: the major outcome of this

meeting They state that the Member States could make progress on the eEurope objective if they:

• established an ongoing forum for coordination of policies for digitisation;

• supported the developing of a European view on policies and programmes;

• exchanged and promoted good practice, guidelines and consistency of practice and skills development;

• worked in a collaborative manner to make visible and accessible the digitised cultural and scientific heritage of Europe.

http://www.cordis.lu/ist/ka3/

digicult/lund_principles.htm

Lund Action Plan

The Action Plan describes a first set of actions to be launched, and assigns responsibilities for them to Member States or to the European Commission.

The Lund Action Plan takes as its reference the Lund Principles, identifying four main areas where specific actions are needed:

Lund Action Plan

Area 1: Improving policies and programmes through

co-operation and benchmarking

Area 2: Discovery of digitised resources

Area 3: Promotion of good practiceArea 4: Content framework

National Representatives Group

The NRG is made up of officially nominated experts from each Member State.

It was set up to coordinate digitisation policies and programmes and to facilitate the adoption and implementation of the Lund Action Plan.

National Representatives GroupIt’s stated mission is to monitor

progress regarding the objectives encapsulated in the Lund Principles.

The NRG meets every 6 months to share national experiences and create a common platform for cooperation and coordination of national activities across the European Union, as well as for their follow up at national level.

What is MINERVA

Minerva is the spreading arm of the National Representatives Group.

It is financed by the European Commission in the ambit of the IST Programme.

It is a network of Member States’ ministries.

Original Partners• Italy, coordinator (Ministero per i Beni e le

Attività Culturali)• Belgium (Ministère de la Communauté

française)• Finland (University of Helsinky)• France (Ministère de la Culture et de la

Communication)• Spain (Ministerio de Educaciòn, Cultura y

Deporte)• Sweden (Riksarkivet)• United Kingdom (The Council for Museums,

Archives and Libraries)

New Members• Denmark• Greece• The Netherlands• Austria• Germany• Ireland• Portugal

MINERVA missionThe network has been created:The network has been created: to discuss, correlate and harmonise

activities carried out in digitisation of cultural and scientific content;

to create agreed European common recommendations and guidelines about:

– digitisation, – metadata, – long-term accessibility,– preservation.

ActivitiesMINERVA has demonstrated to have

contributed to the creation of a broad consensus on the European framework derived from the e-Europe initiative

In many countries, under the aegis of MINERVA, many new national programmes of digitisation of cultural heritage started up

MINERVA has contributed to creating a process of institutional collaboration among the various presidencies of the European Union

The “rolling agenda”

In order to guarantee the continuity of the initiatives undertaken, the past, present and future presidencies of the EU commonly define the so called “rolling agenda”.

How Minerva works• 5 Working Groups at European level• Publications (guidelines, reports,

etc.)• National Policy Profiles on

digitisation• Workshops• Co-operation with other projects• Harmonising activities• Enlargement of the network• Training courses

The Working Groups

• They provide political and technical framework for improving digitisation activities and scientific contents

• They contribute at the definition of a common European platfoprm for the harmonisation of national initiatives

Working Group: BenchmarkingAims

To exchange comparable information between Member States on programmes and policies;

To give visibility to national activities in order to share similar experiences and skills;

To promote the adoption of a benchmarking framework as a key tool for co-ordinating and harmonising national activities as well as to develop measures to show progress and improvement.

BenchmarkingShort term strategy:•Elaboration of a data model to collect information (phase closing on August 2003; report on the results achieved so far, NRG meeting in Corfu (June 2003)

Long term strategy:

•Complete definition of the data base;

•to set-up methodology, shared data format and tool, for collecting data on a continuous base;

•to update constantly qualitative and quantitative information and to create a common database.

Working Group: Inventories, discovery

of digitised content, multilingual issues

Aims:

To share experiences, to discuss and to facilitate implementation of common actions concerning:

inventories of past, on-going and planned digitisation projects based on national observatories;

technical infrastructure for coordinated discovery of European digitised cultural and scientific content, including a common set of metadata for description;

multilingual issues;

Analysis of the French model of descriptive standards and its adaptability to the Italian requirements.

Working Group: Interoperability,

Service Provision and IPR Aims

• To analyse, identify and evaluate activities on metadata, registries and schemes;

• To discuss on standards, conformance testing centres, agreed terminologies, common metadata schema, middleware specifications;

• To examine of related legal issues, such as IPR and copyright.

Working Group: User needs, contents and quality

frameworkAims•To define quality criteria for the

digitised content (MINERVA Handbook expected by end of 2003);

•To encourage quality plan in cultural and scientific web sites;

•To support the initiatives launched by the European Commission with the provision of national digital content;

•To encourage training actions in cultural sites, to promote knowledge of multicultural issues.

Working Group: Good practicesAims

• To select and to promote good practice examples from Member State programmes and projects in order to exchange experiences, skills and to collect consensus from different communities of users.

• First selection presented in Alicante, June 2002

• First MINERVA Handbook on Good Practices to be published during the Italian Presidency.

Network enlargement

THE INSTRUMENTS• Membership agreementTo formalise the participation of

Ministries in the Minerva network• Co-operation agreementTo formalise the participation of

interested organisation in the Minerva Users Group

Minerva Web sitewww.minervaeurope.org

• To promote the Lund Principles, the acitivities and the results of the project

• To promote the project’s partners• To be a “gate” to other linked initiatives• To be an essential instrument on Web

quality, digitisation, metadata, long-term preservation, accessibility

TrainingA programme of training courses that uses opendistance learning methodologies has been set

up todiffuse the results of the project. Action lines:1. digitisation: process, cataloguing and

management, including metadata for the preservation;

2. legal aspects: IPR/copyright and data protection;

3. quality: criteria for design and development of cultural Web sites;

4. management of projects and services.

Publications

Minerva publishes handbooks and guidelines on digitisation, edited by its working groups, and an annual progress report of the NRG.

Already published• Progress report of the National

Representatives Group 2002

PublicationsNext publications• Good practice handbook with the

collection of the existing guidelines on digitisation

• Handbook for quality in public cultural applications: criteria, guidelines and basic recommendations

• Collection of the existing laws on IPR• II Progress report of the National

Representatives Group 2003

New toolsThe Newsletter:The subscription to the English

newsletter is now possible through the MINERVA web site: a constant updating about the MINERVA news.

The MINERVA mailing list:Soon available, the MINERVA mailing list

will distribute information to users interested in the digitisation issues

Italian Presidency EventsMinerva participation

• Florence, 16th-17th October: International Conference on Long Term Preservation of Digital Memories (organised by the MiBAC - DG for Libraries, in cooperation with MINERVA)

• Naples, 23rd-24th October: seminar Territorial information systems for the conservation, preservation and management of Cultural Heritage (organised by the MiBAC - DG for Archaeology, in cooperation with MINERVA)

Italian Presidency Events Minerva organization

• Rome, 29th October: workshop Digitisation: how to do in practice (in cooperation with AIB)

• Parma, 19th November: NRG meeting

• Parma, 20th-21st November: International Conference Quality for Cultural Web Sites (organised with MiBAC, City of Parma, Emilia-Romagna Region, Parma local authorities, University of Parma)

The Parma Conference Quality in cultural Web sites -

Online Cultural Heritage for Research, Education and Cultural Tourism Communities

The Parma Conference (20-21 November)Quality in cultural Web sites - Online Cultural Heritage

for Research, Education and Cultural Tourism Communities

The conference intends to debate the main themes connected to the aspects of the online accessibility of cultural heritage to facilitate its access to a wider public all over the world, and to promote the development and valorisation of cultural tourism services.

• I session: Accessibility and communication: principles - best practices

• II session: Guidelines on quality for cultural Web sites• III session: IPR, copyright and data protection

“Web quality for cultural Web sites” - Poster session

4 themes1. Content quality for

cultural Web Site 2. Accessibility 3. IPR issues 4. Communication and

language

The WP5 Quality Framework

March 2002 Beginning of the Minerva project

May 2002 Set up of the Minerva Quality Working Group

February 2003 First Deliverable on quality

March 2003Index of the «Quality Handbook for Public Cultural Web Applications – Recommendations and Guidelines »

June 2003Draft version of the « Quality Handbook » (Corfu)

November 2003Definitive version of the « Quality Handbook » (Parma)

2004Dissemination

WP5 – Results achieved

• A definitive Quality Framework, basis of

the Quality Handbooka set of criteria to be used at the difference stages of development of a cultural web site, i.e.:

• for the development of new cultural web sites

• to measure the quality of a project under development, in order to restyle weak components

• to validate and assess complete projects

WP5 – Quality handbook

Quality Criteria for Public Cultural Web

Applications

a new approacha new approach

beyond the user-defined beyond the user-defined

WebWeb

WP5 – Quality handbook contents

RATIONALE INTRODUCTION1. Definitions, Principles and basic

Recommendations2. General Quality Criteria for Web

Applications3. Specific Quality Criteria for Public Cultural

Web Applications ANNEXES

• Validation methods Framework• International rules on public web Repertory• Italian document on IPR and privacy issues

WP5 – Quality handbook contentsChapter 1

Definitions, principles and recommendations

The complex issues coming from the crossing of the cultural world with the Web revolution needs:

Synthetic and efficient definitionsdefinitions : classes, notions and subjectsGeneral prprinciplesinciples, acting like basic premises in the Web project

Recommendations on policies and Recommendations on policies and

strategies strategies to be followed during the Web project phase

WP5 – Quality handbook contents1.1. DefinitionsDefinitions

1. Public Cultural Entity (PCEPCE)• PCE identity• PCE categories• PCE goals

2. Public Cultural Web Application (PCWAPCWA)• PCWA goals

3. PCWA Users• PCWA Users’ needs• PCWA Users’ routes

WP5 – Quality handbook definitions1. Public Cultural Web Application

(PCWAPCWA)Every Web application whose services and contents concern

cultural heritage in all its sectors, and which provides cultural information and promotion and/or offers didactic and scientific services.

2. PCWA UsersEveryone, professional or non professional, who uses in a

systematic, casual, incidental or finalised way a PCWA, satisfying different needs depending on his cultural profile, his aspiration to a personal growth or his incidental curiosity.

3. Public Cultural Entity (PCEPCE)An institution, organisation or project of public interest whose

mission is to produce, conserve, safeguard, valorise and diffuse culture in any sector (archives, libraries, mobile and immobile heritage, archaeological, artistic, architectural, historical, demo-ethnological, anthropological).

WP5 – Quality handbook contents Categories

1. Archives

2. Libraries

3. Monuments / Sites / Parks

/Reserves

4. Museums

5. Conservation departments

6. Research/training institutes

7. Exhibitions

8. Temporary projects

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2.2. PrinciplesPrinciplesa Public cultural entity (PCE) should provide to:

1. Promote the widest diffusion of culture2. Share the whole community of cultural

entities3. Use innovative channel of

communication’s effectiveness4. Adopt a suitable use of web applications5. Conceive quality as a process with the

agreement between PCE and Users’ goals

the WP5WP5 Quality Framework

Quality Handbook contents

3.3. Recommendations: Recommendations: ppolicies and olicies and strategiesstrategies

1. Networks and thematic access points2. PCWA domain and validation 3. PCE coordination between internal and

external information flow4. PCE communication channels coordination5. PCWA process management: project,

development and financial management 6. IPR and privacy control for PCWA contents7.7. Long-term preservationLong-term preservation of PCWA of PCWA contentscontents



Chapter 2Basic Quality Criteria for Web Applications

The quality criteria framework is composed by two main groups : basic basic and specific specific criteria.

Chapter 2 is dedicated to the basic framework, a synthesis built according to the widely accepted criteria on web quality.

Each criterium will be explained with definition, commentary and examples.



Content criteriaConsistency, Currency, Accuracy, Content responsibility, Advertising

policy, Objectivity, Content organization evidence, Content membership evidence

Navigation criteria Link evidence, Link soundness, Link coverage, Backtracking

soundness, Context evidence, Media control soundness, Media control evidence

Presentation criteriaScannability, Similarity, Proximity, Consistency, Minimalism

Application evidence (technical) criteriaApplication mission evidence, Application responsibility, Maintenance

strategy evidence, Technical strategy evidence

Accessibility criteria(from WAI Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 - W3C Recommendation

-1999)



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Chapter 3 - Specific Quality Criteria for Public Cultural Web Applications (PCWA)

Contents1. Premises2. PCWA goals / quality criteria crossing table3. PCWA goals definitions4. PCE categories and the Web5. PCWA goals / quality criteria cards



Chapter 3

Specific Quality Criteria for Public Cultural Web Applications (PCWA)

• Besides the respect of basic quality criteria, the specificity of Public Cultural Web Applications require specific quality criteria.

• Those criteria may change according to each PCWA goals.

• Each of the 12 PCWA goals must descend from the agreement between PCE goals and users needs.



Chapter 3

Specific Quality Criteria for Public Cultural Web Applications (PCWA)

• For each of the 12 PCWA goals are defined and commented the proper quality criteria, both for PCWA content and for its technical characteristics, intended as valid for all PCE categories.

• When necessary, the criteria will be better clarified according to the specificity of each of the PCE categories



1. Presenting PCE identity2. PCE activity transparency 3. PCWA mission transparency 4. Promotion of PCWA role in thematic

networks5. Presenting legal rules and standards6. Spreading cultural contents 7. Promoting cultural tourism8. Educational services9. Scientific research services 10. Services for culture-related professional11. Reservation and e-commerce services12. Promotion of thematic communities



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Contents1. Completeness2. Comprehensiveness3. Conciseness4. Richness of information5. Multilinguism6. Authority / Responsibility7. Uniqueness

Content organisation8. Appropriateness of grouping 9. Appropriateness of nesting 10. Appropriateness of splitting

Query/Search usability11. Appropriateness of query/search forms12. Completeness of query/search results13. Possibility to bookmark/save query/search results

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• Collection of comments and observations before 1st September so as to complete the handbook before the meeting in Brussels on 24th September. It is common knowledge that the first stable version will be presented at the Conference of Parma on 20th-21st November.

• The draft showed an advanced level of processed text; all the points in the Index have been considered and further developed, even though some parts are still in the phase of deeper study and completion.

• Please send all contributions and comments to the editorial board ([email protected])

www.minervaeurope.org/publications/qualitycriteria1_0.htm


Quality Handbook work programme

Thanks for your attentionfrom

Documents

MINERVA Project 1. The Minerva framework 2. Quality Handbook for Public Cultural Web Applications: – Recommendations and Guidelines Maria Teresa NataleBerlin,