--========================_7544926==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" --========================_7544926==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable To: CIMI Participants =46rom: John Perkins Re: CIMI Consortium Startup and proposed work This is to bring you up to date on CIMI startup activities and to get your input on the developing workplan. A summary of action= items concludes the message. 1. Formalities =20 We have just formalized the change of governance from the CIMI Management Committee which was an MCN committee to The CIMI Consortium Executive Committee. The executive committee is composed of the CEOs of the four sponsoring organizations (MCN, AAHIP,RLG,= CHIN), the project manager, and one member for every 5 participating organizations. A call for nominations for the open seat has been distributed and is awaiting replies. So far we have had only one nomination., Paul Peters of CNI. Nominations close February 11/94.= =20 Election to be by vote of the membership. 2. Workplan The executive committee has proposed a general workplan. I need your input and comment in order to transform this to a concrete workplan. Mission=20 The proposed proposed mission is to: promote an open, standards-based approach to the creation and interchange of information relating= to the professional and business activities of museums and cultural heritage organizations internationally. This is being done in order to enrich scholarship and enhance organizational performance. =20 Goals and Objectives The CIMI consortium has strategic three-year goals to:=20 a) develop museum participation in networked communications and increase museum resources available on the Internet and other digital networks; =20 b) to develop and test International Standardized Profiles (ISPs) that will best assure system-independent interoperability and the open interchangability of data between museum applications, migration of data across generations of software and exchange of information among museums; c) collaborate on the development of models, formats and syntaxes to express the content and meaningful organization of museum information which is to be the content of interchanges. d) promote the value of an open, standards-based approach to the automation and interchange of museum information within the professional community.=20 Proposed Work =46rom this point of departure, and making reference to the recommendations in the CIMI Standards Framework, I'm proposing a general program of work for the first year that will be of practical relevance to you in the short term, will support our longer-term objectives, and is achievable with the available funding.=20 The work in support of each goal is: 1. Developing Museum Participation in Networked Communications:=20 The focus for this will be through: a) participating in the CNI activities (especially the Museum Synergy Sessions, Transformation of Scholarly Resources, Mumanities and Arts, and Architecture and Standards working groups). b) where appropriate supporting MCN's other networking projects. c) researching issues and implications for museum interchange using Internet Resources. =20 2. Develop and test standards profiles: The focus will be on developing CIMI Profiles (a set of one or more standards and where necessary the chosen classes, subsets, parameters and options of those base standards) leading to implementation agreements for accomplishing a particular function. Specifically: =20 a) Draft a Profile for the Z39.50 Ver 3 based information retrieval and interchange of museum information at the collections level and object level with associated images. b) Conduct an experimental WAIS, WWW, or MOSAIC implementation by CIMI members (using draft CIMI attribute sets and record syntaxes) to provide direct experience with implementation issues, functional requirements and future research. c) Participate in Z39.50 implementers group 3. Collaborate on content model and record syntax development:=20 a) Complete Scope of Collections content model and record description with the Cultural History Information Task Group (CHITG). This model describes objects at the collection level rather than the individual object level.=20 b) Collaborate with the Documentation Committee of the International Council of Museums (CIDOC) on negotiating museum standards consistent with ISO/IEC JTC1 SC14 for forming and naming data elements. c) Collaborate with the Art Information Task Force (AITF) on developing its SGML DTD for art object and images d) Develop content models for a basic descriptive object record, image(s) of objects, a national inventory record. e) draft a museum attribute set for Z39.50 f) Research and test the feasibility of a museum implementation of SGML Data Interchange Format (SDIF) as a record syntax for digital exchanges.=20 4. Promotion and education: promoting, monitoring and reporting on standards issues internationally that impact museums by publishing CIMI News as a bi-annual insert in MCN's quarterly journal SPECTRA and electronically for network distribution,=20 attending meetings, and giving workshops. and as an administrative goal: 5. promoting CIMI , prospecting for members,and raising funds to support subsequent years operations, research and development. 3. Schedule=20 I propose we discuss the workplan electronically leading to the formative meeting immediately following the CNI Spring Meeting in Washington, DC . The CIMI meeting would commence at 2:00 pm Wed. April 6 and run until 5:00 pm on the 7th. I have, as have some= of you,=20 been invited to attend an AITF meeting in New York February 16 to discuss CIMI/AITF collaboration and possible SGML work and a second meeting March 3-4 at AHIP on Image and Information Standards. I= hope that we can use these meetings to help us refine the workplan. In addition, I'm scheduling a round-table meeting in Washington February 23 to explore Z39.50 for CIMI. I invite any of you who have an= interest to attend this meeting (details to follow by email). =20 My hope is that we can use the April 6th meeting to define our priorities and create a concrete plan of work for the first year. 4. Action Items a) Send list of professional or technical standards bodies you participate in. b) Participating organizations send your nominations for open executive committee seat. Nominations close Feb11/94.=20 c) Comments and suggestions re workplan asap d) RSVP on meeting dates especially Z39.50 roundtable /jp --========================_7544926==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" John Perkins CIMI Project Manager Consortium for the Computer Interchange of Museum Information 16 Schooner Dr. Head of St. Margarets, NS B0J 1G0 Canada voice: 902-826-2824 fax: 902-826-1337 [log in to unmask] --========================_7544926==_--