"Aggie" (Fall 2013) Release Demo 2: Collection Registry

This video demos the first iteration of the Collection Registry, an interface for UC Libraries staff to define, manage, and track collections in the UCLDC.

Welcome to part 2 of our Aggie demos for the UC Libraries Digital Collection Implementation Project.

As you probably know by now, the UCLDC comprises a number of different but related components.

What I’ll be showing in this video is our work to date on a part of the UCLDC called the Collection Registry.

The Collection Registry is the interface that UC Libraries collection owners will use to define, track, and manage information about the collections they will be adding to the system, either through the shared DAMS or the harvest.

It is also the way that any interested campus partners will be able to see what content is slated for the UCLDC, which we anticipate will support systemwide collection development and digitization initiatives.

In this release, we've developed the first iteration of the registry, and it's available at this URL. So, let’s dive in and see what this looks like so far.

As you can see, currently there are two main types of data in the Collection Registry: Collections and Units. Let’s start with units.

Units are the libraries, archives, and other groups within the UC Libraries that have added or plan to add digital resources to the UCLDC, and will steward those resources over time—for example by applying metadata and answering user requests.

In time, we will have a way to edit information in this section of the registry, for things like contact information.

That information would appear in the public interface so end users know what particular unit they should contact about a given resource, and how.

Collections are defined groups of digital objects in the UCLDC.

These could correspond to provenance-based collections, such as archival papers.

They could also represent “curated” or “virtual” collections of materials that are related by topic or project.

We have modeled collections in such a way that they can be affiliated with multiple units and even campuses. Additionally, objects in the shared DAMS can belong to multiple collections.

As you can see, on both lists—collections and units—you have the ability to limit by campus.

So, for example, you can see all of the collections that UC San Francisco is currently planning to add to the UCLDC.

We have started to build out a little information about each collection. Here you can see the collection’s title, and its affiliation with both campus and unit.

These fields and relationships will ultimately appear in the public interface, to indicate which collections, units, and campuses a given item is associated with, as well as to drive some facets.

You’ll also notice that we have some data about how the collection will be coming into the UCLDC, whether through the shared DAMS or a harvest.

For this release we have additionally made collection records editable. However those permissions are currently limited to our direct project collaborators, as we work out policies around editing permissions.

We'll be continuing to work on the registry, over subsequent releases.

In particular, we'll be building out the data model from its current sparse form, considering what additional information is needed -- for both the public interface, and for administering collections.

We'll also be adding to and correcting some of the data that's currently in the registry.

Thanks for watching this demo of the first iteration of the UCLDC Collection Registry!