About UKOLN
UKOLN is based at the University of Bath and is part of the University's Division of Access
and Continuing Studies. It is directed by Dr Liz Lyon and currently has a staff of 27.
UKOLN is a national focus of expertise in digital information management. It provides
policy, research and awareness services to the UK library, information and cultural heritage
communities. UKOLN is funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives &
Libraries; the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the funding bodies for higher
and further education in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland; as well as by project
funding from the JISC and the European Community. UKOLN also receives support from the
University of Bath where it is based. More details on UKOLN activities can be found on its
Web site at: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/. UKOLN aims to inform practice and
influence policy in the areas of: digital libraries, metadata and resource discovery, distributed
library and information systems, bibliographic management, Web technologies, and public
library networking. It provides network information services, including the Ariadne and
Cultivate Interactive magazines and runs workshops and conferences.
A selection of our significant areas of activity include:
Interoperability Focus: This activity explores, publicises and mobilises the benefits and
practice of effective interoperability across diverse information sectors, including libraries and
the cultural heritage and archival communities. A key aspect of this work is the identification
and exploitation of synergies with existing UKOLN and external projects, with a view to
maximising returns on the ongoing work of projects.
UK Web Focus: The UK Web Focus advises UK higher and further education about
emerging Web technologies and acts as the JISC representative to the World Wide Web
Consortium. A range of support activities and materials are produced. UKOLN’s own
information services are being used as a test bed for innovative developments and good
practice.
Public Library Networking: UKOLN provides a focus for information and research activity
about public library networking. We are involved in several collaborative projects including
Stories from the Web, which is looking at children’s use of the Web in a storytelling
environment.
Bibliographic Management: This activity is concerned with the standards used to create
bibliographic records; the formats in which bibliographic data are stored, exchanged and
retrieved and the quality of bibliographic records in terms of currency, accuracy, consistency
and functionality. Current activities include participating in a project to develop and maintain
the National Union Catalogue of Alternative Formats (NUCAF), which was set up to assist
visually impaired people and developing a simple tool that libraries can use themselves to
assess the quality of their catalogues.
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Metadata and resource discovery: UKOLN has established significant bodies of project
work in this area. We are currently involved a number of European Commission funded
projects in this area, including the Open Archives Forum.
OA-Forum will provide a Europe-based focus for dissemination of information about
European activity related to open archives and the Open Archive Initiative (an initiative to
develop and promote interoperability standards that aim to facilitate the efficient
dissemination of content) bringing interested parties together to build a community of interest.
It will facilitate communication among other EC funded projects projects, national initiatives
and others interested in the open archive approach. It will stimulate European involvement in
the OAI and aims to ensure that validation of OAI specifications are co-ordinated within
Europe, that the European perspective is fully articulated within the OAI, and that European
organisations are ready to exploit the benefits of the OAI approach.
We have also been involved in the CEDARS project, a UK digital preservation project
funded by the JISC’s Electronic Libraries (eLib) Programme. Part of our work on this project
was to identify the descriptive metadata elements that should be gathered to maximise the
continued accessibility of digital resources, and a preliminary review of metadata models and
formats for preservation is now available. Other projects we are currently members of include
the IMesh Toolkit: an architecture and toolkit for distributed subject gateways and
Renardus: and academic subject gateway service for Europe.
Our research and development work has an International reputation and we are active
contributors to the ongoing development of the Dublin Core.
Distributed library and information systems: A previous UKOLN project, MODELS,
explored the applications architecture necessary to construct the distributed digital library. It
has progressed through workshops and research and has generated a range of subsidiary
studies and initiatives, which now includes our contributions to the JISC’s Resource
Discovery Network (RDN) and our advisory role to the Distributed National electronic
Resource (DNER). UKOLN also carries out a range of awareness activities regarding the
Z39.50 protocol.
Information management technologies: We are building on our toolkit and demonstrator
work in the areas of metadata management, Z39.50, and directory services. DC-dot, a Dublin
Core metadata generator, has attracted significant interest.
Information services: UKOLN is a leading international site for information about digital
library research. It provides the Ariadne and Cultivate Interactive magazines and maintains
the eLib information pages. In addition to descriptions of our own work, our web site includes
pages, which complement our research and awareness interests: on metadata, on public library
networking and on interoperability.
Ariadne has been published since January 1996. Initially funded by the eLib programme, it
continues to provide a valuable dissemination function within the UK HE community
primarily.
Cultivate Interactive is funded by the EU’s DIGICULT Programme and was launched on 3
July 2000. As well as providing high quality articles, a number of services have been
developed including a Web-based voting system and links to an automated translation service.
Events Management: UKOLN is experienced in arranging conferences, workshops and other
events in support of its own work and on behalf of its funders, particularly the JISC. These
include the prestigious Follett lectures, the Networking and the Future of Libraries conference
series, and the annual CNI/JISC/BL conferences.
For further information contact: UKOLN, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY,
Tel: + 44 (0) 1225 38 6580, Fax: + 44 (0) 1225 38 6838, http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/
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