Linked Conservation Data
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the Arts London
Department Name: CCW Grad School
Abstract
This project focuses on improving access to knowledge about collections in memory institutions (e.g. museums, galleries, libraries). Much of this knowledge is held in documentation about conservation: this includes records/data created when a) making observations about the production and condition of an object, and b) treating an object as part of conservation work. Conservation Documentation also includes records created as part of scientific analysis of the materials, planning for storage of objects and assessing related risks.
Conservation records are rich in technical detail and observations of historical evidence. However, these records are not accessible to either researchers or visitors to memory institutions. Researchers require access to such records. For example, a researcher investigating the origin (provenance) of a book is likely to find information in conservation documentation helpful, as previous treatment documentation may contain binding descriptions, scientific analysis, or other material documentation which indicates provenance. In addition, memory institutions require new ways of engaging with audiences both online and on-site and unlocking conservation data can provide new ways in which to do this.
This project establishes a Network of experts working on Conservation Documentation. The Network includes primarily conservators and computer/data scientists but also philosophers, scientists, archaeologists, librarians. They are recognised professionals working in leading memory institutions primarily from the UK and the US as well as from other countries.
The Network will investigate current web technologies known as Linked Data to enable accessibility to conservation records. Linked Data (https://www.w3.org/standards/semanticweb/data) technologies allow the publication of records/data in such a way that they can be linked to other resources and enable re-use and discovery. By re-using conservation data, researchers can extract better conclusions because they have access to larger samples and material evidence from expert observations. We believe this will lead to transformative research projects in a) conservation, for assessing the impact of methods and materials, b) history/archaeology, for enabling provenance studies based on material evidence and c) curation/museology, for enabling new ways of engagement based on rich content. By re-using conservation data, memory institutions will be able to tell new stories about their collections to the wider public and engage with audiences through material evidence of objects.
The Network will focus on two areas which are essential for implementing Linked Data solutions:
a) Terminology, i.e. discussions on agreeing and naming the types of records created (e.g. lists of terms describing possible materials for paintings). An important standard for this work is the Simple Knowledge Organisation System (SKOS - https://www.w3.org/TR/2009/REC-skos-reference-20090818/).
b) Modelling, i.e. discussions on how best to store/encode data so that they reflect real-life observations and therefore are reliable sources for research and engagement. The Network will examine existing work in these areas and identify gaps in research which can be addressed in future work. An important standard for this work is the Conceptual Reference Model (CRM - Information and documentation: a reference ontology for the interchange of cultural heritage information, ISO 21127) maintained by a special interest group (CRM-SIG) of the Committee of Documentation (CIDOC) of the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
The Network will disseminate its findings through engagement with stakeholders which include conservation professional bodies and relevant departments in partner institutions.
Conservation records are rich in technical detail and observations of historical evidence. However, these records are not accessible to either researchers or visitors to memory institutions. Researchers require access to such records. For example, a researcher investigating the origin (provenance) of a book is likely to find information in conservation documentation helpful, as previous treatment documentation may contain binding descriptions, scientific analysis, or other material documentation which indicates provenance. In addition, memory institutions require new ways of engaging with audiences both online and on-site and unlocking conservation data can provide new ways in which to do this.
This project establishes a Network of experts working on Conservation Documentation. The Network includes primarily conservators and computer/data scientists but also philosophers, scientists, archaeologists, librarians. They are recognised professionals working in leading memory institutions primarily from the UK and the US as well as from other countries.
The Network will investigate current web technologies known as Linked Data to enable accessibility to conservation records. Linked Data (https://www.w3.org/standards/semanticweb/data) technologies allow the publication of records/data in such a way that they can be linked to other resources and enable re-use and discovery. By re-using conservation data, researchers can extract better conclusions because they have access to larger samples and material evidence from expert observations. We believe this will lead to transformative research projects in a) conservation, for assessing the impact of methods and materials, b) history/archaeology, for enabling provenance studies based on material evidence and c) curation/museology, for enabling new ways of engagement based on rich content. By re-using conservation data, memory institutions will be able to tell new stories about their collections to the wider public and engage with audiences through material evidence of objects.
The Network will focus on two areas which are essential for implementing Linked Data solutions:
a) Terminology, i.e. discussions on agreeing and naming the types of records created (e.g. lists of terms describing possible materials for paintings). An important standard for this work is the Simple Knowledge Organisation System (SKOS - https://www.w3.org/TR/2009/REC-skos-reference-20090818/).
b) Modelling, i.e. discussions on how best to store/encode data so that they reflect real-life observations and therefore are reliable sources for research and engagement. The Network will examine existing work in these areas and identify gaps in research which can be addressed in future work. An important standard for this work is the Conceptual Reference Model (CRM - Information and documentation: a reference ontology for the interchange of cultural heritage information, ISO 21127) maintained by a special interest group (CRM-SIG) of the Committee of Documentation (CIDOC) of the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
The Network will disseminate its findings through engagement with stakeholders which include conservation professional bodies and relevant departments in partner institutions.
Planned Impact
The Network includes two dissemination partners, both of which are leading professional bodies in the field:
a) the International Institute for Conservation (IIC, international remit) and
b) the Institute of Conservation (ICON, UK).
The Network also has access to dissemination avenue of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC, US).
Collectively, these bodies represent thousands of members, both conservation professionals and the interested public, and have a huge online presence (the IIC Facebook account alone features more the 40,000 followers). These organisations will advertise the Network activities and feature the Network and its outputs in their publications ensuring that the Network's work reaches relevant audiences in the profession. By engaging with these organisations within the Network, the project is also well-positioned to influence national and international policies and official guidelines for documentation in conservation.
The Network includes leading institutions from the museum and library sectors with established public engagement and education departments and therefore the new knowledge arising from the Network's discussions can be communicated widely from within the consortium. As the Network's activities will be open and inclusive, we anticipate more institutions to become involved which will further develop the Network's impact.
In the long-term we will use these collaborations to influence public engagement through conservation data.
a) the International Institute for Conservation (IIC, international remit) and
b) the Institute of Conservation (ICON, UK).
The Network also has access to dissemination avenue of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC, US).
Collectively, these bodies represent thousands of members, both conservation professionals and the interested public, and have a huge online presence (the IIC Facebook account alone features more the 40,000 followers). These organisations will advertise the Network activities and feature the Network and its outputs in their publications ensuring that the Network's work reaches relevant audiences in the profession. By engaging with these organisations within the Network, the project is also well-positioned to influence national and international policies and official guidelines for documentation in conservation.
The Network includes leading institutions from the museum and library sectors with established public engagement and education departments and therefore the new knowledge arising from the Network's discussions can be communicated widely from within the consortium. As the Network's activities will be open and inclusive, we anticipate more institutions to become involved which will further develop the Network's impact.
In the long-term we will use these collaborations to influence public engagement through conservation data.
Organisations
- University of the Arts London (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Cambridge (Project Partner)
- IIC (Project Partner)
- Stanford University (Project Partner)
- National Gallery (Project Partner)
- University of Oxford (Project Partner)
- The J. Paul Getty Trust (Project Partner)
- CY Cergy Paris University (Project Partner)
- Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (Project Partner)
- The Institute of Conservation (Project Partner)
- Library of Congress (Project Partner)
- Gallery Systems (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
Athanasios Velios (Principal Investigator) |
Description | The problem we are addressing with this work is that museum professionals (and especially conservators) are unable to take advantage of the rich records of descriptions that are produced in museums, galleries, libraries, etc. (also known as memory organisations). This is because these records are not normally shared despite the fact that they are often produced in public institutions. With this work, we have begun the process of sharing and integrating records from memory organisations. We have been able to build a community around conservation documentation and understand the interest of conservators on integration of conservation data. By integration of conservation data we refer to the ability to search together conservation records which are produced and stored by different institutions. Combining records from different institutions when undertaking historical or conservation research means that researchers can take advantage of observations made by experts in different institutions thus saving time and resources and enabling reaching conclusions from a wider sample of observations. For example, being able to collect records of craft techniques used to produced objects of a certain type from national museums across the UK and the US allows the examination of the development of techniques, the understanding of the history of these objects and it provides reference for provenance studies of similar objects in the future. During this project we were able to understand better how different vocabularies in conservation can be used to allow searching across records in memory organisations. Vocabularies are critical in the process of integration since agreeing on a common language enables searching. We produced a workflow for taking terms of one vocabulary and matching them with terms of another so that records described with the two vocabularies can be cross-searched. We have also improved our understanding on the nature of conservation documentation which will allow us to explore what are the prototypical examples of records which we can apply with some variation to every organisation. These will further be be considered in the next phase of the project. |
Exploitation Route | Our terminology alignment method is a way for non-technical communities to share terminology relying on minimal technical support. This will be of interest to other fields outside conservation. Our work contributes towards improving scholarship and education for people working with collections in memory organisations. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
Description | This work has attracted attention by practicing conservators in memory organisations who wish to improve their record keeping. Having originally planned for 2 outreach workshops, the interest to the work led to organising another 3 workshops in national institutions like the National Archives and the Tate. The project consortium has expanded with new partners as a result of the discussions. Improving and sharing conservation records will allow building new narratives around collections which will directly affect the public - at the moment we are at a stage where we have established a strong consortium, which is expanding, to take this target forward. |
First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
Sector | Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
Description | Linked Conservation Data - Phase 2 |
Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | AH/T013125/1 |
Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2020 |
End | 01/2021 |
Title | Workflow for encoding and sharing conservation vocabularies |
Description | During the course of this year and following the terminology workshop and discussions with partners we were able to articulate a method for publishing and aligning conservation vocabularies in a sustainable way with minimal commitment of long term resources. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This has been the core workflow for a new grant application currently under development which implements that method. |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/output/142 |
Title | List of conservation sample records |
Description | This is a collection of typical conservation records offered by participants of the workshops. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This allows testing the CIDOC-CRM ontology with real life records on a bottom-up approach to ensure that the kind of information that we need to record in conservation can be expressed with the CIDOC-CRM. |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/sample-schemas |
Title | List of conservation vocabularies |
Description | Following a survey with responses from professional in several organisations, a list of popular conservation vocabularies was compiled. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This enables fundamental work on the alignment of terminologies in conservation and subsequently it enables sharing of conservation records. |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/controlled-vocabularies |
Description | Concluding webinar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Concluding webinar explaining the work of the Linked Conservation Data consortium and setting out plans for future development of the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/meeting/webinar-2 |
Description | Manchester workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop with conservation professionals explaining the process of integrating records through Linked Data and examining conservation records from participating institutions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/meeting/manchester |
Description | Modelling workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop with domain experts identifying typical examples of conservation documentation and testing whether and how they can be expressed using the CIDOC-CRM ontology. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/meeting/modelling |
Description | Tate Britain workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop with conservation professionals explaining the process of integrating records through Linked Data and examining conservation records from the Tate. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/meeting/150 |
Description | Terminology workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop with domain experts to identify the state of conservation documentation and the steps we need to take to allow cross-sharing of terminologies. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/meeting/terminology |
Description | The National Archives workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop with conservation professionals explaining the process of integrating records through Linked Data and examining conservation records from the National Archives. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/meeting/157 |
Description | Webinar 1 - Introduction to Linked Data |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | About 80 participants attended a webinar introducing Linked Data for conservation with presentations by many relevant consortium partners. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/meeting/webinar-1 |