iDAH- Consolidating the Museum Data Service as research infrastructure

在英国博物馆拥有的约8000万件文物记录中，目前只有2500万件左右在网上。其中，符合公平原则要求的仍较少。2023年11月，博物馆数据服务(MDS)将推出测试版，它将独特地解决这两个问题，为任何想要大规模使用英国博物馆藏品数据的人提供原材料。在五年内，MDS的目标是在一个地方将英国至少一半经过C.1.7K认证的博物馆的文物记录集中在一个地方，并在十年内将几乎所有博物馆的文物记录集中在一起。在他们之间，MDS的三个合作伙伴(艺术英国、收藏品信托基金和莱斯特大学)拥有实现这一目标所需的联系和社区信任，并真正在网上联合英国大大小小的博物馆。此外，MDS(以及未来的艺术英国2.0)将确保这些数据对研究人员来说变得：可查找的(摄取整个英国博物馆部门的数千万件物品记录，并将这些数据转换为可上网的数据集)；可访问(首次为博物馆部门提供可信的“最后手段的备份”)；可互操作(首次支持跨英国数字文化记录的交叉搜索)；并可重复使用(首次为每个对象分配了唯一的持久标识符--对参考和长期研究至关重要)。MDS合作从彭博慈善机构获得启动资金(通过Art UK)，直到2024年5月底。彭博社的拨款正在建设核心技术基础设施，并为英国艺术展和CT的工作人员提供时间来管理该项目，并从第一批100家机构获取藏品数据。到初创阶段结束时，创始组织将共同建立一家新的非营利性公司，能够对MDS承担长期责任。核心MDS为希望大规模收集数据的研究人员提供了原材料。伊达建议的WPS 1-6侧重于巩固启动服务：将现有博物馆数据集的数量增加一倍以上；确保满足研究人员的需求；完善低成本运营模式，这是长期可持续性的关键。WPS 7-10侧重于将原始MDS数据转换为提供丰富图像记录和引人入胜的相关内容的增强资源的更大且成本更高的挑战。尤其是，在Art UK现有平台的成功基础上，WP 9中Art UK 2.0的规划和设计将展示将HE设计的工具和研究成果强有力地结合在一起面向受众的潜力，对公众和研究人员都具有重要价值，并支持和展示研究影响。本提案寻求AHRC的支持(通过UOL)初步用于MDS到2025年3月的巩固阶段，从启动项目到运营的第一年，勾勒出迈向稳定状态的路线图，并最终实现MDS的长期可持续性。该提案支持了ART数据转换服务首个主要用例的成功；使英国艺术展能够将这项服务转换为一个更通用的工具，允许其他人转换和增强来自MDS的原始数据供自己使用；同时也为Art UK 2.0和衡量ROI的框架奠定了基础。虽然彭博社启动项目与AHRC资助的拟议合并阶段之间存在时间重叠，但没有重复或重复计算资助活动；附录1描述了彭博社的投资和AHRC资助的附加值。

Of the estimated 80 million object records held by UK museums, only 25 million or so are currently online. Of these, fewer still meet the requirements of the FAIR principles. November 2023 will see the beta launch of the Museum Data Service (MDS) that will, uniquely, address both problems, providing the raw material for anyone wanting to work at scale with collections data from UK museums.Within five years, the MDS aims to bring together online, in one place, the object records of at least half the country's c.1.7K accredited museums, and almost all of them within a decade. Between them, the three MDS partners (Art UK, Collections Trust, and the University of Leicester) have the connections and community trust needed to achieve this goal and truly unite UK museums large and small online.Moreover, the MDS (and the future Art UK 2.0) will ensure for researchers that this data becomes: Findable (ingesting tens of millions of object records across the UK museum sector, and transforming these into web-ready datasets); Accessible (for the first time providing the museum sector with a trusted 'back-up of last resort'); Interoperable (for the first time enabling cross-searching across the UK's digital cultural record); and Re-usable (for the first time a unique persistent identifier being assigned to every object - essential for reference and long-term research).The MDS collaboration has start-up funding (via Art UK) from Bloomberg Philanthropies to the end of May 2024. The Bloomberg grant is building the core technical infrastructure and providing staff time from Art UK and CT to manage the project, and ingest collections data from the first 100 institutions. By the end of the start-up phase, the founding organisations will have jointly established a new non-profit company capable of taking long-term responsibility for the MDS.The core MDS provides the raw material for researchers wanting to work at scale with collection data. WPs 1-6 of this iDAH proposal focus on consolidating the start-up service: more than doubling the number of museum datasets available; ensuring the needs of researchers are met; and refining the low-cost operational model key to long-term sustainability. WPs 7-10 focus on the greater, and costlier, challenge of transforming raw MDS data into an enhanced resource offering image-rich records and compelling related content.In particular, building on the success of Art UK's present platform, the planning and design of Art UK 2.0 in WP 9 will show the potential for powerfully combining HE-designed tools and research outputs into a compelling audience-facing offering, of great value to members of the public and researchers alike, and one that underpins and demonstrates research impact.The present proposal seeks AHRC support (via UoL) initially for the consolidation phase of the MDS to March 2025, taking it from start-up project through the first year of operation and outlining a roadmap towards steady-state and, ultimately, long-term sustainability for the MDS. The proposal underpins the success of the first major use case of the (raw) art data transformation service; enables Art UK to convert this service into a more generic tool allowing others to transform and enhance raw data from MDS for their own uses; whilst also laying the foundations for Art UK 2.0 and a framework for measuring ROI. While there is a timing overlap between the Bloomberg start-up project and the proposed AHRC-funded consolidation phase, there is no duplication or double-counting of funded activity; Appendix 1 delineates the Bloomberg investment and value added by the AHRC's funding.