User Advisory Group Minutes
Title:
User Advisory Group
Date of Meeting:
17 December 2013
Location:
The National Archives
Attendees:
Staff
Mary Gledhill (MG) – Commercial Director (Chair)
Caroline Ottaway-Searle (COS) – Director of Public Services and HR
Lee Oliver (LMO) - Head of Public Services Development
Caroline Kimbell (CK) – Head of Licensing (for item 2)
Chris Mumby (CM) – Head of Commercial Delivery (for item 2)
Jackie Marfleet (JM) – Head of Advice & Records Knowledge (for item 3)
Sarah Leggett (SL) – Marketing Manager (for item 3)
Emma Bayne (EB) – Head of Systems Development (for item 5)
Roger Kershaw (RK) – Head of Military, Maritime, Transport and Family History (for item 6)
Joanna Robinson (JR) – Customer Intelligence Assistant (Minutes)
Delegates
Professor Anne Laurence (AL) – Academic users
Gillian Stevens (GS) – Onsite personal interest users
Graham Woolgar (GW) – Onsite personal interest users
Professor Grace Ioppolo (GI) – Academic users
Susan Moore (SM) – Map Room Users
Margaret O’Sullivan (MO’S) - County/external archives
Nell Darby (ND) - Student users
Andrew Chapman (AC) – Online users
Dr Paul Dryburgh (PD) – County/external archives
Dr Nicola Phillips (NP) – Map Room Users
Else Churchill (EC) - Family History Societies
Rosemary Morgan (RM) - Independent Researchers
Apologies
Jackie Kirk (JK) - Independent Researchers
Item
Action
1.
Minutes and Matters Arising and general updates
1.1
MG welcomed attendees to the meeting. She introduced RM, a new delegate for
Independent Researchers. MG informed attendees that Jackie Kirk has also been
appointed as a new delegate for Independent Researchers, and will attend the
next UAG in March.
1.2
MG advised delegates that after the inspection in September, TNA has maintained
its Customer Service Excellence status for 2013.
1.3
(Item 1.3 17/09) The TNA Executive Team had discussed the reporting of annual
re-closure figures in November. A summary of the agreed approach was provided
to UAG delegates. Some changes to TNA's re-closure policy were also agreed by
the Executive Team and an updated copy of the policy will be available on the
website shortly.
1.4
(Item 1.5 17/09) This matter is ongoing.
1.5
(Item 1.6 17/09) SM said this item gave the wrong impression of her views on
Discovery. Though she has, over the last two years, found a way to use Discovery,
she is exasperated rather than satisfied with it as a system.
1.6
(Item 1.10 17/09) MG confirmed that the numbers provided in the minutes are
correct. Unfortunately the wrong numbers were read out in the September
meeting.
1.7
(Item 2.6 17/09) CM said that the series GW identified as being of a poor standard
were originally uploaded at 75 ppi. CM said images from BT 377 and ADM 340 on
Discovery are now of the usual 150 ppi standard. GW asked if images at 300 ppi
can be requested. CM confirmed that they can.
1.8
(Item 3.3 17/09) MG said there is no update at present on this matter.
1.9
(Item 4.2 17/09) EA will look into this suggestion as development of the site
continues.
1.10
(Item 4.5 17/09) PD and EA have discussed the audio-visual guides.
1.11
(Item 6.4 17/09) MG told attendees that both of the UAG Diversity and Inclusion
delegates have stepped down from the roles, as neither is currently able to commit
to regular UAG attendance.
2.
Transcription
EA
2.1
CM and CK gave a presentation on the transcription of digital images, explaining
how the extraction of key information from digital images can improve searches of
digitised documents. The expectation to be able to quickly and efficiently search
for information within digitised images is increasing, and transcription enables
faster and more accurate searches.
2.2
GS asked how transcription differs from indexing.
CM explained that the transcription of digital images involves taking information
directly from the image in order to facilitate searches, in contrast to indexing which
is a description of a record.
2.3
PD said that place names will need to be included in this process.
CM said that information needs to be machine readable and place names are not
easy to transcribe. Transcription works well on structured information like the
Census. Checks are in place to ensure accuracy: text is input by two people and
this is subsequently matched electronically. If the transcriptions do not match, this
will be highlighted and re-examined by a supervisor. TNA cannot usually afford to
transcribe all fields and therefore tends to concentrate on the main information
likely to be consulted by readers.
2.4
GI asked if spelling would be modernised.
CK said peoples' names will stay as recorded on each document, though place
names and job titles (where applicable) will typically be consolidated. There was a
discussion about the extent to which this decreases the value of the transcription
for researchers interested in 'big data'-type projects as opposed to the use of
transcription as a finding aid to locate individual records.
2.5
CM and CK spoke about OCR, Optical Character Recognition. They explained that
OCR software is evolving; for example, scientific terms can be input to help pick up
particular references. OCR programmes are being developed to read handwritten
text, though TNA is not currently utilising this particular aspect of the software.
They explained that OCR software can pick up a lot of information but it does still
rely on manual intervention to improve accuracy.
2.6
CM advised delegates that due to relative labour costs most transcription is carried
out overseas in countries such as India and Mauritius. TNA only uses contractors
that have qualified to be on our 'framework contract'. These companies have to
demonstrate their capability to meet our requirements in areas such as employee
training, IT security and quality of transcription.
2.7
CM explained that when a contract is awarded to a licensing partner such as
FindMyPast or Ancestry, the transcription is produced by the licensing partner and
therefore can be searched exclusively on their site.
2.8
GW asked if the information is then owned by that commercial partner.
CK explained that when the period of exclusivity within the license of the images to
one commercial partner ends, TNA can resell the images to another commercial
partner. The information in the images will then need to be transcribed from
scratch by the new partner.
2.9
SM said that there is some inconsistency across commercial partner websites;
some sites do not include images which other sites have included from the same
series.
CK said both TNA and the commercial partner site in question should be informed
in such cases, and we will then liaise with them. CM said that if images have been
missed out we can check the original records or microfilm and find out why they
haven't been captured. The commercial partners are required to provide channels
for user feedback of this type.
2.10
EC said this is retrospective improvement. TNA has learnt a lot from experiences
with commercial partners, so can TNA encourage commercial partners to improve
their quality?
CK said there have been cases where TNA has insisted that partners make
corrections. Market demand also encourages companies to keep up with industry
standards.
3.
3.1
First World War Centenary plans
SL and JM gave a presentation on the first phase of our First World War centenary
plans. The project is evolving all the time as we get closer to the start of the
centenary in 2014. The Imperial War Museum is leading the cultural sector's
response to the centenary. TNA's unique 'selling point' is that we hold the original
records here; therefore the anniversary is an opportunity to focus attention on
TNA's collection. The project is led jointly by Marketing and ARK, with the
Centenary Task Force collating all ideas from across TNA. SL said the project is a
good way to engage people with archives in general as well as with our unique war
records. TNA intends to approach WWI coverage from a number of different
perspectives and themes, to ensure that we engage a range of audiences, and
don't limit ourselves to 'just the Western Front'.
3.2
SL spoke about WO95, the France and Flanders war diaries. These records have
around 10,000 productions a year, and are very fragile. They will begin to be
released on Discovery from January 2014 and will finish by the end of the year.
WO 95 France and Flanders has been TNA's biggest ever volunteer project.
SL said that TNA has teamed up with the Imperial War Museum and Zooniverse
on a project to extract searchable data from the diaries. This platform is being beta
tested.
3.3
JM gave an update on digital and catalogue projects. She explained that work on
BT 99 was completed remotely, using volunteers. The new WWI portal will bring all
WW1 projects together.
3.4
JM said that centenary content would be featured on various platforms, including
the My Tommy's War blog, webinars, social media and Twitter feeds. She said that
14 March is the official launch of the centenary project. WWI conferences will take
place in June of each year during the centenary.
3.5
MG assured delegates that other anniversaries occurring between 2014 and 2018
will be marked.
3.6
AC asked how the timetable for the project will be set out.
SL said that the phasing of the commemorations will follow the pattern of events of
the war.
3.7
NP asked if there will be any themes reflecting gender issues. ND added that it
could be off putting for some if the centenary activity is entirely male dominated.
MoS said that the global perspective is important. She said this is a major selling
point and a move away from only dealing with army records.
SL said we want to include women's experiences of the conflict, and we have
aspects of the project based around this. The Education department in particular
has a variety of plans to expand on the centenary period, including issues
concerning women, minorities, and mental health.
3.8
SL said TNA will have a WW1 stand at the 'Who Do You Think You Are' show in
February, alongside the Imperial War Museum. We hope to use the opportunity to
get people involved with the War Diaries, and also involved in volunteering at TNA.
She said we are aware that this is a great opportunity to promote archives and to
include other archives in our projects.
3.9
AL pointed out that by 2019, the release of the 1921 Census will be coming up,
[release due January 2022] which will provide information on how WW1 affected
the population.
SL said we will be planning for this very important time.
4.
Delegate submitted items.
4.1
AL asked about TNA's response to the ONS Beyond 2011 survey.
MG said this was a public consultation and not something to which TNA would
normally contribute at length as we have other channels available to us due to our
formal relationship with ONS as a government body. However we supported ONS
in publicising the survey to our users and did submit a short statement to the
consultation which reflected TNA's commitment to ensuring that the public records
of the future are preserved and made available to the generations of researchers
to come.
4.2
SM asked what the impact of the Friends Room at TNA has been. She asked who
financed the room and said that people who contribute money to the Friends would
prefer their money to be spent on cataloguing projects. She noted that the room is
often empty as Friends of TNA are not allowed to invite non-Friends into the room.
COS said that it was necessary to find a new room for the Friends so that a space
previously used in the basement could be freed up for other purposes. TNA
wanted to enable the Friends of TNA to become a more visible presence within the
public area at Kew. The Friends did contribute financially to the room. She said the
Friends have a very important relationship with TNA and we felt it was important to
recognise their value. Since the creation of the Friends Room, and the recent
'membership drive' in the restaurant, the number of Friends has gone up
significantly. COS suggested that the question as to whom may be invited into the
room should be put to the Friends.
4.3
GW referred to a letter regarding the transfer of WW2 Armed Forces personnel
records.
MG said that she was not aware of the letter in question, and asked that the
conversation be taken offline due to pressure of time in the meeting. (Post
meeting note: MG and GW spoke after the meeting and a copy of the letter has
now been sent to MG following an email exchange with GW).
4.4
SM asked if the £30.9m expenditure forecast for next year is the total amount TNA
has been allocated by Treasury, and what impact income from commercial
partners would have on this figure.
MG confirmed that we do expect to receive £30.9m from Treasury next year and
explained that across the period from 2010 to 2016 this represents a 35% cut in
our budget in real terms. We have been able to make up for some of the decrease
in Treasury funding by generating income from commercial partners, however if
we earn more money than we expect to use within a particular year we have to
return it to HM Treasury at the end of that year.
4.5
How does TNA manage its continuing relationships with commercial partners?
We remain in very regular contact with all of our commercial partners. If a
particular company was seriously underperforming, we could terminate their
commercial licenses.
4.6
GS asked if we sell microfilm copies of the Census to institutions.
LMO said we had sold copies of microfilms to institutions.
5.
Discovery Update
5.1
Emma Bayne gave an update on Discovery. Among other points, she said that the
next release on Discovery in January will implement a number of fixes, including
improvements to how dates are displayed on the research results page. There has
been an agreement to freeze Discovery's functionality after this release for
approximately four months. A new version of Discovery, Discovery II, has been
created. Enhancements to functions like Image Viewer and the development of
new search functions are currently being worked on. Improvements to download
function are being developed, which should reduce the number of issues users
encounter. Improvements to content searches, especially of digital microfilm, are
also being developed.
5.2
EB also said that we are currently working on putting the reader registration
process onto the website so users can register at home prior to visiting.
LMO pointed out that part of the new process will reinforce the need for readers to
ensure they bring correct ID.
5.3
MoS said it was excellent that the Cataloguing Grants programme had increased.
5.4
(Item 1.8 09/13) SM asked if TNA will be keeping A2A references. They are old
references and unhelpful and many people are worried about the situation as they
are out of date. What is happening with this? EB said that part of Finding Archives
is to update and work with the archive sector on this issue. EB said we have had
feed back and we will be supporting different archives. MG said we have had
generally positive responses to this. MoS said most concerns are with the process
and archives will need support. The transition will be difficult. She said that
anything TNA can do to help with the transition will be welcome and said that it is
in TNA's interest to help. RM said A2A consists of old data and therefore old data
will be being added to Discovery. MG and EB agreed that this is a risk but it is one
that we are addressing as part of the project.
5.5
EC asked if WO 65 will still be free. LMO said it will be charged.
5.6
GW asked if UAG members can have a workshop for the new Discovery. EB said
they could.
6.
The Red Lists Project
6.1
RK gave an update of the Red Lists Project, which involves the removal of paper
series where the descriptions have been: superseded by richer digitised versions
as a result of digitisation and/or catalogue enhancement; where the total number
of piece description is fewer than 100; and where there have been fewer than 20
productions in one calendar year of the document to which the paper list relates.
He said around 4,500 series lists were removed since January 2013, which
equated roughly to around 200 red binders or 20 metres of shelving space. He
said there have so far been nine requests to review removed lists. The removal
plan should be completed by October 2014. From 2 January 2014, we will be
carrying out a new survey of usage and identify new criteria for removal.
RK said delegates were welcome to email him if they had any further queries.
6.2
GS asked if any of the nine review requests were related.
RK said one request was from someone who had difficulty browsing references in
ED 269, another request was because links for WO 96 had gone down, and
another was from a reader who had difficulty using Zoomtext.
6.3
On behalf of JK, GW asked if there is any indication in the catalogue where a
paper series has been removed. RK said this would be marked as no longer being
available on paper, with a recommendation to try Discovery. GW asked if this also
indicates that it is still possible to look on paper. RK said we can make this more
obvious.
6.4
GW asked on behalf of JK, if there is a viable way for those users who are unable
to use computers to be able to search. RK said that most of what is being removed
are modern and short-lived series. People having difficulty can ask staff here. RK
explained the process whereby users can request access to paper copies of lists
removed
6.5
SM asked if lists are being removed from the Map Room. RK said no, as there has
been less work carried out on online description of medieval series than more
modern ones.
7
Business Planning
7.1
MG summarised the business planning process for the next year. She explained
that the Executive Team are currently reviewing progress this year, and making
EB
plans for next year. She invited delegates to suggest any business priorities that
might be considered by the Executive Team for 2014/15. She told delegates that
further digital projects will be high up the agenda over the next few years. She said
that we are also planning the digitisation of the 1939 Health Register.
8
UAG new delegate recruitment and dates for next year's meetings
8.1
MG said the response rate for the new delegates was disappointing. We currently
have no equality and diversity representative and have struggled to find alternative
candidates. However we will continue to look into this. She said had one response
from someone who wanted to put themselves forward for the on-line user
representative, however, this person was an ex-staff member. MG asked
delegates what their thoughts were on ex-staff members joining UAG.
GS suggested that it depends on the position that needs fulfilling, for example a
specialist position may need to be filled urgently, for example the Equality and
Diversity vacancies. The group discussed a time limit for former staff members
moving to UAG; a suggestion was made for a possible break period of 18 months
to 2 years would be appropriate. MG will consider how this might be incorporated
into the UAG terms of reference and proposed a further discussion on UAG
membership in March.
SM asked how many people applied for the Independent Researcher position. MG
said there had been five applications. GI suggested moving meetings to a later
time may be more attractive to potential delegates. MG said that further
suggestions on UAG recruitment would be welcome.
9
Any other Business
9.1
RM said that many people very much appreciate having the London Family History
Centre housed at TNA, and asked for an update on their residency here. LMO said
that their contract runs until December 2014, although they may move before that.
SM asked if there was any chance that they may stay at TNA permanently. LMO
said he could not say, but the strength of positive feeling about having them here
was noted.
Next meeting: Tuesday 18 March 2014, 12:00 – 14:30
MG