Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Much of the detail of these problems was highlighted in a 2007
report,
Digitisation in the UK
, produced by Loughborough University.
The report cites an 'impressive accumulation of a body of digital
material' but points specifically to 'deep fragmentation in all
components of the digitization infrastructure' (Loughborough
University, 2005). It offered a range of recommendations, including a
UK framework for digitization, the co-ordination of existing services
and much greater understanding of user interaction with digitized
resources.
Despite the clear direction provided by the Loughborough report,
disenchantment seeped into the thinking of the funding bodies that had
previously supported digitization. Perhaps the most notable example
was the cessation of the Arts and Humanities Research Council's
(AHRC's) Resource Enhancement scheme. Running from 2000, the
scheme had supported 186 projects to make accessible resources and
scholarly information in digital form, including both the Darwin and
Codex Sinaiticus projects mentioned above.
10
But it was abruptly
stopped in 2007, the review stating that it considered 'the scheme to be
ineffective in identifying and addressing gaps in resource provision and
meeting the resource needs of the arts and humanities research
community'.
11
Similarly, digitization was pushed down the agenda of the Heritage
Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
(MLA); this may well have been tempered by the experiences of the
New Opportunities Fund Digitization Programme (commonly called
NOF-digi).
12
Again, there were notable successes here, but despite a
glossy review that highlighted them, there appears to have been a
feeling that the programme was something of a wasted opportunity:
digitization was a complex problem that needed much sophisticated
strategic thinking before there could be a serious injection of further
public funds.
13
The JISC Digitisation Programme
At the time of writing (Summer 2009), the Joint Information Systems
Committee (JISC - a UK body that supports the use of ICT in higher
and further education) is the only UK organization that has provided
systematic funding for digitization within recent years. In particular,
