Case Study: 5
Northern Jutland's Cultural History Search Database (NOKS)
Themes
NOKS is an abbreviation for 'Nordjyllands Kulturhistoriske Søgebase' a searchable database of the
collections of local museums, libraries and archives in the Northern part of Jutland (Denmark) comprising
115,000 records: 70% from archives, 15% from libraries and 15% from museums.
Key words: Local history, regional history, regional portal, sound, film, photograph, text,
cross-domain database.
Relation to wider policy agendas
e-inclusion: widen access
e-learning: enhanced learning opportunities
Demand
The idea of making a local MLA searchable database was the result of discussions between
local MLA institutions. The cooperation started on a voluntary basis. Museums, archives and
libraries in Northern Jutland have a tradition of carrying out joint projects such as exhibitions,
internet-presentations, and lectures. This is how the need for a cross-domain search tool was established.
Staff of local MLA institutions experienced difficulty in getting an overview of the information available,
primarily due to different IT-systems and different ways of cataloguing.
It was realised that the different institutional cultures and ways of registration make it difficult
for users to find relevant information. Experiences from abroad were a source of inspiration: archival
databases like
BCAUL,
Picture Australia,
Procat and
California Archives.
Description
- To create on-line access to collections of local and regional heritage held by museums, archives and
libraries in Northern Jutland which allow users to access information simultaneously and independently
of where it is housed;
- To establish sensible means of searching across the collections of archives, libraries and museums in
Northern Jutland;
- To increase the use of local collections by local citizens;
- To establish common registration standards across institutions.
Products/ services
To provide access to 115,000 records, comprising text, sound, film and photographs (including digital
images of objects) held in collections of local MLA institutions.
Barriers/constraints
- The challenge of bringing together working practices and standards of the three domains;
- A lack of common standards made it difficult to search material in the different institutions;
- Dealing with the complicated process of establishing a cross-domain task force to reduce 11,500
different MLA subject headings to an agreed common set of 4,500 to enable advanced searches of the database;
- Focus group discussions with users revealed that the advanced search facility was too complicated
to use; search options have to be very straightforward
- The discussions also revealed that people who accessed NOKS did not wish 'to be entertained'.
The majority of users skipped the video introduction and story on which a lot of time and money had
been spent by the project organisation to ensure an attractive product for a wide group of users;
- Coping with the self-imposed constraints of the museums community which was more reluctant to join
the project than libraries and archives seeing a focus on collections as being more important than access
for users.
Keys to success
- The design of a combination of free text searches and advanced searches using key words and subject headings;
- The availability of institutional digital databases which comprise a minimum of 10-15 years of digital records;
- The creation of a minimum standard for registration taking into account existing international standards;
- National support to promote the use of common standards;
- The availability of funds to update system continuously;
- The equal participation of the domains involved by ensuring that the steering committee represented
each of the domains equally; and each of the domains taking turns in project management;
- 'Each ALM institution has to give way. When you join forces to meet the needs of most users, you can't
have it all' (Jens Topholm, project manager NOKS 1)
Impact
Users:
Seen from the point of view of the users NOKS was a success right from the start. Within the first
three years 150,000 searches have been made. There were reactions from distant parts of Denmark and
even from Danes abroad.
On delivery of services:
Since NOKS was launched the number of enquiries to local institutions has risen dramatically. More
genealogists, local historians, students and researchers are using reading rooms because they want to
have a further look at material they had first accessed through NOKS.
On strategy:
NOKS proved the benefits of a cross-domain approach to the presentation of local/ regional history.
In 2002 a regional MLA organisation was established to bring together 20 institutions to learn from
NOKS 1 experiences. NOKS 1 made contact with another region, Vejle, and agreed on the development a
new database with two regional interfaces and a common interface. With support from regional and
local funding, NOKS 2 will be launched in May 2005. It aims to include 15-20 heritage institutions
and raise the number of records on the database from 115,000 to 200,000, and the number of digitised
photographs, tapes and films from 8,000 to 20,000.
Dissemination of lessons learned
The lessons learned have been disseminated through articles, papers and lectures at MLA
conferences in the Nordic countries and at an IFLA congress in Berlin, and through participation
in the national MLA committee.
Domains involved
Museums, libraries, archives
Geographical coverage
Northern Jutland, Denmark
Standards/Guidelines used
NOKS 1 was built without the use of existing standards. The purpose of NOKS 1 was to demonstrate
the need for common standards. NOKS 2 will follow international standards
(basic 15 elements of the Dublin Core)
Partnership
Partnership of seven MLA institutions in 3 major towns in Northern Jutland, complemented by a
private IT company for the design of the database
- Bangsbo Vendsyssel Historical Museum
- Historical Museum and Archive in Frederikshavn
- Museum of Art in Hjørring
- Aalborg Historical Museum
- Northern Jutland Museum of Art
- Aalborg City Archives
- Regional Library of Northern Jutland
Funding sources
NOKS1 managed to raise 1,2 million Danish crowns (143,000 Euros) from public funding:
- 33,3 % state funding (Digital North project)
- 30,8 % Aalborg Municipality
- 04,4 % Frederikshavn Municipality
- 04,4 % Hjørring Municipality
- 08,7 % Northern Jutland County association of museums
- 18,4 % from partner MLA institutions
Lifespan of project
The project took a year, it started in March 2001 and ended with the launch of NOKS 1 in February 2002.
Status of project
In the autumn of 2004 NOKS 2 was launched
Relates to
NOKS
Danish National Heritage Agency
Danish State Archives
Danish National Library Authority
Host Organisation
Nordjyllands Kulturhistoriske Søgebase (NOKS)
Organisation type
A project organisation aimed at the establishment of a searchable database across the collections
of local and regional museums, archives and libraries. The organisation consisted of a project manager, a development group of four, and a steering committee
of ten representing the three domains.
After the launch of the database MLA institutions interested in NOKS have formed an association, called
NOKS, with the aim to further develop the programme.
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