In the world of Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM), data is critical to the management and accessibility of collections. Until recently, this data was often inaccessible. In this seminar, we will explore the benefits and challenges of making this collection more widely available through three case studies:

1. HuNI (Humanities Networked Infrastructure) combines data from many Australian cultural websites into the biggest humanities and creative arts database ever assembled in Australia.
2. Trove connects communities and researchers with open collection data that can be reused, enhanced and analysed as seen through two recent projects.
3. Macquarie University holds significant cultural collections that are used for teaching and research. They currently use EMu Collections Management software and are exploring the issues involved in preparing their data to go online.

Our Speakers:

Deb Verhoeven Associate Dean of Engagement and Innovation in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), and Director of the Humanities Networked Infrastructure (HuNI) Project. Her work explores the intersection between cinema studies and other disciplines such as history, information management, geo-spatial science, statistics, urban studies and economics. Deb is a former CEO of the Australian Film Institute and Deputy Chair of the National Film and Sound Archive.

Mark Raadgever is a Trove Data and Platform innovator at the National Library of Australia, where he works with organisations to harvest their data into Trove. Mark has been working in Trove for the past 8 years, and has worked with data from organisations such as ABC Radio National, AusStage and Museum Victoria.

Barbara Palmer is an alumnus of the pioneering Bachelor of Information Science at UTS. She worked for 18 years as a Registrar at the Powerhouse Museum, where she developed her data wrangling skills, and her data entry RSI. She is now introducing Axiell’s EMu collection management software across multiple Faculties at Macquarie University, analysing information processes and systems and designing solutions. Her interests include online search mechanisms and behaviour, and Linked Open Data. Her current goal is the online discoverability of Australia’s distributed national collections.