The Digitisation Wiki
get involved!
If you would like to get involved with the Digitisation Best Practice Wiki on any level (planning, deciding on the structure of information, contributing content or editing entries etc) then please contact thewikiman.
the background
Across the UK, Higher Education Institutions are scanning book chapters and journal articles under the CLA's scanning licences (the 'comprehensive version', which was introduced recently, and the 'basic version', which everybody actually uses). This has only been possible since 2005, when the trial version of the licence was introduced, and many HEIs are still feeling their way with policies and procedures.
There is not, currently, a single source of guidance, advice, or best practice, for practicioners in this area. The aim of the Best Practice Wiki is to provide a kind of one-stop-shop in which HEIs can share and discuss all aspects (technical, logisitical, copyright-related and so on) of digitisation in Higher Education. For more about the background to the Wiki, have a look at this blog post.
the plan
The plan is to create the Wiki and start populating it with content towards the Autumn (09). This may, of course, be subject to revision depending on how things go, and the schedule of the contributers. I am currently examining which wiki platform to host the Wiki on, having already decided on software. The next stage will be to establish some kind of Working Group to discuss ideas for the structure and content of the Wiki (via email, rather than in person). It won't be a massive time commitment, but it will be very valuable - if you'd like to be part of this group, then please do get in touch and let me know via email.
For the latest progress on how the Wiki is developing (and other Information Professional related stuff), subscribe to the blog by clicking below.
The Other Wiki
Library Routes Project
The other Wiki with which the wikiman is involved is the Library Routes Project. This Wiki links to blog posts and articles about how Information Professionals got into this line of work, and has become a useful career's resource for anyone thinking about a career in Information, or just interested in how others got where they are today. If you want to view the Wiki, and / or add details of your own library roots and library routes, you can visit it here.
You can read my article about the Project in a CILIP Publication here in PDF format, and read co-creator Woodsiegirl's article in another CILIP publication, Gazette, on page 12 here.