B.5 Information systems#
HERs make extensive use of computers for a range of purposes, for example word-processing packages are used to prepare letters and reports. HER databases hold information about monuments, site-monitoring records and details of development-control processes. Image-handling software, technical drawing packages, GIS and internet browsers are all also used.HER databases and GIS provide an invaluable tool for information management and retrieval and act as an index to the HER's other information holdings; its collections of maps, photographs, books and other documents (see also Part D). However as the dependence on digital resources increases, so the need to implement and refine appropriate data standards is amplified. This is especially the case when there is an expectation to import or link to data from other agencies, or if there is a desire to make information available to third parties. Data Standards are covered in more detail in subsequent sections (B.6, B.7, C.7, C.10 and E.4).
B.5.1 HER databases#
Although a few SMRs began to computerise their records in the late 1970s the main impetus to computerisation came from English Heritage in the early 1980s. 'Version 1' SMR systems were text files based on a paper report-form used by English Heritage to record scheduled monuments (known as AM107). These systems were quite limited and, when the more flexible Superfile package became available, English Heritage provided financial support to enable its adoption by SMRs.During the 1980s SMRs were developing bespoke systems in Superfile, dbase or other programming languages based on the AN32 recording form promoted by English Heritage. When the OS Archaeology Division transferred to the RCHME in 1983, the OS card index and the National Archaeological Record (NAR) began to be computerised. Recording standards and data dictionaries were actively developed by the RCHME for its own computer records. Following the transfer of the lead role for SMRs to the RCHME in 1989 came the publication by the RCHME and ACAO of Recording England's Past (RCHME and ACAO 1993a and 1993b ), the first document to promote both a data dictionary and reference data lists for use by SMRs.
During the 1990s much work was undertaken by the RCHME's Data Standards Unit (now part of English Heritage) in partnerships with English Heritage and ALGAO to develop the data model for recording SMR-type information. The event-monument-source data model began to be introduced in the early 1990s when it was adopted by the RCHME for its MONARCH database, by English Heritage in its data standard for urban archaeological databases and by Northamptonshire SMR and a few others. Throughout the 1990s there was considerable discussion about this data model led by Glenn Foard, Steve Catney, Neil Lang, Nigel Clubb and Steve Stead. The establishment of the Data Standards Working Party, now known as FISH (the Forum for Information Standards in Heritage), a group dedicated to developing data standards for monument inventories, can be seen as a direct result of the general climate of discussion and debate (see also B.7).
The modern generation of HER databases aims to comply with the MIDAS data standard published by the RCHME in 1998 (Lee 1998). These databases enable information about monuments, events, sources and the management process to be recorded with equal weight. Nationally agreed reference datasets, such as the English Heritage Thesaurus of Monument Types and other lists published in INSCRIPTION, are incorporated into the databases (see also B.6.3
). Features of the systems, such as pull-down lists and validated entry to key index fields, help to ease the adoption of data standards and promote consistency between HER systems. In general professional applications developers have produced these systems and, as a result, they incorporate features such as data-input forms, standard queries and reports that ease their day-to-day use by HER officers.
One would anticipate that a modern HER database would be capable of being linked to GIS and would support links to other digital objects such as images and research data. The HBSMR software developed by exeGesIS SDM Ltd in partnership with the RCHME and ALGAO is one example of a MIDAS-compliant database that is now being used by many HERs. Other HER managers have worked with IT consultants such as Oxford ArchDigital to develop HER systems based on MIDAS.
A decision may also need to be made as to which database platform to use. Some HERs use web-based platforms, such as Oxford ArchDigital’s TOAD system. Many HER databases use software applications such as Microsoft Access or other database packages designed primarily for desktop use, such as exeGesIS’s HBSMR software. Where the database is networked to allow multiple access to shared files for users, the host organisation’s IT support can be distrustful of the stability of software programs such as these, and be reluctant to provide support. Their concerns centre on issues of performance, robustness, backup management and security. HER managers may find themselves pressurised to move to a server-based relational database management system (RDBMS) such as SQL Server or Oracle. Generally speaking, server-based RDBMSs will suit very large databases with a high number of concurrent users, as they also have better stability, performance, security and backup procedures. However desktop applications are generally easier to use, give the HER manager more control over the database and have a cheaper license cost, suiting smaller databases with fewer concurrent users. exeGesIS SDM Ltd has developed a SQL Server backed version of their HBSMR software.
Scottish SMRs as a rule received their core data as a download from the National Monuments Record for Scotland. Software was either developed in house, or latterly has been purchased from commercial software companies. The biggest issue faced in Scotland was getting the Scottish local authorities to accept the need for development of an SMR/HER in the absence of a statutory requirement, East Dunbartonshire and City of Dundee are still without this essential level of provision. Historic Scotland is currently working with the Councils to address this problem.
B.5.2 Image management systems#
Local authorities often have access to large numbers of images associated with monuments or events in their localities. The processes of heritage management and education are frequently enhanced by linking these images to the HER. However, if these images are not managed appropriately then a number of problems can arise. Some of these issues – such as file naming conventions and formats - replicate many of the issues associated with other types of digital resource. The commercial quality of images and their immediate reuse potential means it is worth thinking about specific issues of intellectual property rights, scanning and cataloguing in more detail. Moreover, there are significant quantities of images already available to HERs from third parties, either through the retail market or under licence from public agencies.Popular image management software combines tools for cataloguing image files with tools for reproducing images at a variety of scales. Digital image cataloguing is a rapidly developing field and it is worth ensuring that whatever software is used can support the emerging cataloguing standards. In some circumstances this may mean following formal images standards such as the Visual Resources Association Core data standard, especially if the images within the HER form part of a wider image collection held by a local authority (Grout et al 2000). If the HER is involved in creating images it makes sense for the master image to be captured at high resolution in terms of colour depth and pixels, even though the file sizes will be large. This is because many image-processing techniques effectively lose information, either through loss of true colour depth or through sampling of pixels. The master copy can be used to retain all this information, while flexible derivatives may be used for different purposes. This does however accentuate the need for strict file naming conventions which image management software should facilitate.
The immediate commercial value of images means that it is wise to pay particular attention to the intellectual property rights associated with images. This is especially true of high-quality ‘master’ images. The process of scanning images or slide collections is fraught with difficulties as it is often hard to identify rights holders. Moreover the relative ease with which images can be shared means that there is a greater risk of breaching the rights of the creator. Consequently, any image management system should include information about copyright holders and the terms in which an image can be used. Any act of copying can be an infringement and republication, such as on the internet, can lead to difficulties. Most image management systems allow for low resolution ‘thumbnail’ images to be produced which are of less commercial value. More sophisticated image management systems provide ‘water marks’ and ‘fingerprints’ to stamp copyright information onto an image before it is delivered, and to note the time and user name of the person who downloaded it. Such systems do not prevent copyright theft, but they do provide documentation to prove that an infringement has occurred and to identify the parties involved.
B.5.3 Archaeological science (see also B.4.4)#
Many HERs also have access to a range of scientific data, and again the processes of education and management are facilitated where these can be integrated into the HER database. Different types of information may be linked in a variety of different ways: geophysical data for example may be integrated into the GIS; microscopy and radiographs be linked to an image management system and scientific reports linked through ‘grey literature reports’ and the like. Much scientific data, especially site-based recording should in fact be considered as any other archaeological intervention. Tools like OASIS and the FISH toolkit provide mechanisms by which such data can be supplied to HERs. These standards are discussed in more detail in section B.6, B.7.
A number of scientific disciplines have begun to experiment with very large, dedicated computing infrastructures to process, package and distribute data derived from sensitive recording devices. Devices like radio telescopes or experimental reactors produce prodigious quantities of data that is of interest to small but very specialised audiences around the world, who require dedicated resources to share and explore their data sets. These infrastructures combine protocols for the exchange of information with an investment in hardware, and are intended for foster a new generation of ‘E-science’ or ‘E-research’. For example, a programme called UKLight is dedicated providing dark-fibre networks between a select group of research centres in the UK, while in the US a ‘National Lamba Rail’ is being constructed to connect the major research institutions. Such developments have had little or no impact on archaeology so far but are likely to become more important in the future. The development and refinement of data standards are likely to be pre-requisite for participating in such systems.
B.5.4 OASIS and data exchange procurement#
The OASIS project was developed in response to the need to provide a single unified index to archaeological investigations, a means of accessing the associated grey literature, and an online method by which the index could be maintained. A major achievement of the project was to integrate the AIP records with the Excavation Index to provide a single concorded list, in 1998. The concordance programme delivered a fully unified record for archaeological interventions in England. Where a fuller electronic copy of a report is available on-line, either on the ADS server or on the web site of the contractor or HER it is possible to include the URL of the resource as a bibliographic reference. As curators begin to require deposition of digital reports and as they make them available on the Internet it will be possible to build up an online virtual library of grey literature, directly linked from the index. The OASIS project, FISH toolkit and allied data standards are discussed in more detail in sections C.7.3 and B.6.