Monthly Archives: May 2014

Why does it take so long for a report uploaded to OASIS to make its way into the library?

The Grey Literature Library is one of the ADS’ most popular resources, and as shown by projects such as the Roman Rural Landscape, one that is of massive research value. The library is constantly growing, with most reports coming from the OASIS system. In 2013 alone, there were 3891 reports submitted. Feedback from all levels of the archaeological community makes it clear that the hosting of openly accessible digital grey literature is a boon. However, one of the questions we are most commonly asked is “why does it take so long for a report uploaded to OASIS to make its way into the library?”. This is perfectly understandable; people who have completed an OASIS record to share the results of their fieldwork want to make sure this effort is not in vain. Rest assured it isn’t, here’s a small insight into what’s going on underneath the workings of the library. Continue reading Why does it take so long for a report uploaded to OASIS to make its way into the library?

HERALD at the ALGAO AGM

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to talk to the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO) at their Annual General Meeting. After they had completed the business of the day in the morning I was there to entertain them in the afternoon slot with a session on the HERALD project and the redevelopment of the OASIS system.

I talked about how we had planned the OASIS system over fifteen years ago, how it had developed and how the data from OASIS was now being used in numerous ways that we had never envisioned when the original form was released in the late nineties. Continue reading HERALD at the ALGAO AGM