Apologies for cross-postings

MDA, the UK's lead organisation in the management of information 
about collections has been awarded a contract by the Museums, 
Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) to develop a Collections 
Description Manual for MICHAEL, a project which will create the first 
multilingual inventory of collections in museums, libraries and 
archives across Europe.   

MLA is the UK partner in the European MICHAEL consortium, which also 
includes representatives from France and Italy. In the UK, MLA has 
been working to develop the Collections Description Service, a unique 
set of tools which will draw together descriptions of physical and 
digital collections. 

MDA has been commissioned by MLA to support MICHAEL and the 
Collections Description Service by creating a manual for culture-
sector professionals who will be creating descriptions of their 
collections. The manual will be launched in October 2005 as an online 
browsable resource providing guidance and case studies illustrating 
best practice in describing collections.  

Kate Fernie, ICT Adviser: EU Projects at MLA commented: "MICHAEL is a 
ground-breaking project, which will open up worldwide access to our 
shared European cultural heritage. MDA has experience in helping 
cultural organisations get to grips with standards and new 
technologies. They were a natural choice to develop the manual to 
support MICHAEL."

Nick Poole, MDA Director, commented: "In recent years, digitisation 
initiatives have supported the creation of millions of digital 
versions of objects, documents and artefacts across Europe. MICHAEL 
and the Collections Description Service have a vital role to play in 
ensuring these resources are available to all. MDA is very excited to 
have the opportunity to use our skills and experience to support the 
sector in realising this potential."

Further information about MICHAEL is available from:

http://www.michael-culture.org/project.html
*******************************************************
 Gordon McKenna  e-mail: [log in to unmask]   
 MDA       
 The Spectrum Building, 
 The Michael Young Centre, 
 Purbeck Road          
 Cambridge CB2 2PD, UK
 
 Tel:    +44 1223 415760
 Fax:    +44 1223 415960  

Setting the standard for managing collections information
*************** http://www.mda.org.uk/ ****************

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