ADS+: Enhancing and Sustaining the Archaeology Data Service digital repository

考古数据服务(ADS)以高质量和可靠的数字资源支持研究、学习和教学。它通过长期保存数字数据以及促进和传播考古学中的广泛数据来做到这一点。ADS促进在考古学中使用数字数据的良好做法，向研究界提供技术咨询，并支持部署数字技术。它成立于1996年，自1998年以来一直得到AHRB/AHRC的支持。ADS现在拥有超过100万个元数据记录，提供指向涵盖英国考古的数字资源的指针。它还保存着AHRB/AHRC资助的25个研究项目的数字成果，以及由其他机构资助的项目的250多个数字档案，这些机构包括英国遗产、CADW、历史苏格兰、NERC和英国学院。这些藏品代表了不可重复的挖掘和研究的主要数据。它们对于支持英国考古学的研究环境是必不可少的，无论是在学术领域还是在其他领域。自其基金会以来，ADS已经开发了一个强大的储存库基础设施，基于Oracle数据库、基于Java的收藏管理系统和一套Unix服务器，具有现场和非现场备份，并与埃塞克斯的英国数据档案同步。然而，随着广告持有量的增长和数量的增加，以及用户期望的增加，这种技术基础设施已经成为增强对广告集合的访问的限制，并且按照目前的形式，从长远来看，扩展和维护将是昂贵的。在过去的2-3年里，数字保存社区已经接受了被称为Fedora(或灵活可扩展数字对象存储库体系结构)的软件应用程序。Fedora是一种数字资产管理(DAM)架构，许多类型的数字图书馆、机构储存库和数字档案馆都建立在该架构之上。在ADS实施Fedora将简化对现有档案的长期管理，并减少摄取新档案的成本。它还将以一种极其强大的方式增强对所有广告集合的访问。目前，用户可以在收藏水平上搜索数字档案，然后可以向下钻取到每个档案，以搜索与他们特定研究问题相关的特定文件。Fedora是围绕收藏和个人文件构建的，允许用户在收藏中搜索个人数字对象。因此，所有广告用户将能够在档案内和档案之间进行搜索，探索和创建各种丰富的数字资源之间的链接。此外，Fedora还将增强ADS的能力，允许外部系统(包括谷歌等搜索引擎以及其他数据聚合器)在单个数字对象级别询问并链接到广告持有物。然而，尽管“开箱即用”的Fedora包括摄取、管理和提供对象的基本交付所需的软件工具，但它几乎没有定制的工具，需要广泛的软件开发来根据特定档案的数据结构和用户需求进行定制。它是一个开源解决方案，这意味着虽然它可以免费下载和安装，但特定的实现需要大量的编程投资。如果要实现其全部功能，在ADS上实施Fedora还需要大量迁移现有的编目数据和增强元数据。因此，ADS+项目需要为两个人--一名应用程序开发人员和一名策展干事--提供一年的资金，以便将ADS转变为符合国际ISO标准的Fedora储存库。

The Archaeology Data Service (ADS) supports research, learning and teaching with high quality and dependable digital resources. It does this by preserving digital data in the long term, and by promoting and disseminating a broad range of data in archaeology. The ADS promotes good practice in the use of digital data in archaeology, it provides technical advice to the research community, and supports the deployment of digital technologies. It was founded in 1996 and has received support from AHRB/AHRC since 1998.The ADS now holds over one million metadata records providing pointers to digital resources covering the archaeology of the UK. It also holds the digital outputs of 25 AHRB/AHRC funded research projects, along with over 250 digital archives from projects funded by other bodies, including English Heritage, CADW, Historic Scotland, NERC, and the British Academy. These holdings represent primary data from unrepeatable excavations and research. They are essential to support the research environment of Archaeology in the UK, both in the academic sector, and beyond.Since its foundation ADS has developed a robust repository infrastructure, based around an Oracle database, a Java-based Collections Management system, and a suite of Unix servers, with onsite and offsite backup, and synchronization with the UK Data Archive in Essex. However, as ADS holdings have grown in size and number, and user expectations have also increased, this technical infrastructure has become a constraint upon enhanced access to ADS collections and, in its current form, would be costly to extend and maintain in the long term.Over the last 2-3 years the digital preservation community has embraced a software application known as Fedora (or Flexible Extensible Digital Object Repository Architecture). Fedora is a digital asset management (DAM) architecture, upon which many types of digital library, institutional repositories, and digital archives, are now being built. The implementation of Fedora at ADS would streamline the long-term curation of existing archives and cut the cost of ingest of new archives. It would also enhance access to all ADS collections in an extremely powerful fashion. Currently, users can search for digital archives at collection level, and can then 'drill down' onto each archive to search for specific files of relevance to their particular research question. Fedora is structured around collections and individual files and would allow users to search across collections for individual digital objects. Therefore all ADS users would be enabled to search within and across archives, exploring and creating links between a wide range of rich digital resources. Furthermore, Fedora would also enhance the ability of ADS to allow external systems (including search engines such as Google, as well as other data aggregators) to interrogate and link to ADS holdings at the level of individual digital objects.However, whilst 'Out-of-the-box' Fedora includes the necessary software tools to ingest, manage, and provide basic delivery of objects it has few customised tools and requires extensive software development to tailor it to the data structures and user needs of specific archives. It is an Open Source solution, which means that whilst it is freely available to download and install, a specific implementation requires significant programming investment. The implementation of Fedora at ADS would also require significant migration of existing cataloguing data and metadata enhancement, if its full power is to be realised.The ADS+ project therefore requests funding for two people - an Applications Developer and a Curatorial Officer - for one year, in order to turn ADS into a Fedora repository consistent with international ISO standards.