UKOLN CIMI Collection Description Focus / CIMI

Survey Questionnaire


Section 1: Your Contact and Institution/Project Details:

1. Name:
2. Institution:
3. Address:
   City:
   Post/zip code:
   Country:
4. Telephone:
5. Email:
 
Important: Do your answers to this questionnaire describe
collection description activity across your organisation? If so, then go to Q11
collection description activity within a specific project? If so, then please continue.
 
6. Name of project
(if applicable):
7. URL of project Website
(if applicable):
8. Address of project:
(if different from above)
   City:
   Post/zip code:
   Country:
 
9. Sources of project funding
(list as many sources as appropriate):
 
10. Project partners/collaborators
(if appropriate):
 
11. Domain:
 Library Archive Museum Other

If you have checked "other", please specify:

 
12. If the material you hold/describe is specialised by subject area, please indicate the area and qualify if necessary:
 
 Arts and Humanities Specific area: 
 Social Sciences Specific area: 
 Science Specific area: 
 Engineering / technology Specific area: 
 Medicine Specific area: 
 Other Please specify: 
 

Section 2: Your collections

The questions in this section are intended to enable us to understand the nature of the collections you are describing and your reasons for creating descriptions of these collections.

 
13. Are you creating (or planning to create) collection-level descriptions (i.e. descriptions of aggregates of items)?
 
Yes
No

If you answered "no" to Q13, then go to Q38

14. What factors influence your decision to create descriptions at collection level (check as many as appropriate)?
 
 Lack of staff resources for item-level description
 Availability of funding for collection-level description
 Part of strategy for disclosure of resource holdings
 Other

If you have checked "other", please specify:

 
15. What "type" of collections is your project describing (check as many as appropriate)?
 
 Bibliographic
 Special collections/manuscript
 Archival
 Museum objects
 Learning resources
 Other

If you have checked "other", please specify:
 
16. Where you have defined the scope of collections for the purposes of describing and managing them, what criteria have you used (e.g. provenance, subject, subject and region etc.)?
For example, are your collections
(check as many as appropriate):
 
 collections of unique items grouped by item type
    (e.g. a collection of coins)
 collections of unique items grouped by provenance
    (e.g. the archive of an individual or organisation)
 collections of unique items grouped by source/owner
    (e.g. a donation by an individual)
 collections of non-unique items grouped by nature of content
    (e.g. subject-based library collection)
 collections of non-unique items grouped by location
    (e.g. the holdings of a University library)
 Other

If you have checked "other", please specify:
 
17. What are your main purposes for creating collection descriptions (Check as many as appropriate)?
 
 Resource disclosure/discovery, content intended for end-user readership
 Resource management, content intended for information manager
 Broker services/"Middleware", use by software agents in service of end user
 Other

If you have checked "other", please specify:
 
18. How are your collection descriptions used? (Check as many as appropriate)
 
 Delivered via your project/institution Web site
 Submitted to a collaborative/union catalogue
 Used for print publication
 Other

If you have checked "other", please specify:
 

Section 3: Describing your collections

This section is designed to tell us how you describe your collections, the standards you adopt, and how you use those standards in your particular context.

 

Element set/Schema

In this context, the word "schema" is used in a general sense to mean a set of elements, properties or attributes used to describe the characteristics of a collection, with each element/property/attribute having a name and a definition of its mean ing.
 
19. Were any restrictions imposed upon your choice of collection description methods (e.g. mandatory use of a particular method as a condition of grant from your funding body)?
 
Yes
No
 
20. Which element set(s) or schema(s) are you using for collection description?
 
 Dublin Core (simple)   with local extensions
 Dublin Core (qualified)   with local extensions
 RSLP CLD Schema   with local extensions
 ISAD(G) 1993 plus subject terms plus metadata with local extensions
 ISAD(G) 1999 plus subject terms plus metadata with local extensions
 EAD   
 mda SPECTRUM   
 IMS Content Packaging   
 Project-specific schema   
 Other   

If you have checked "other", please specify:
 
20.1. If you answered in Q 20 that have you used local extensions to a "standard" schema, please explain briefly what these extensions are:
 
 
20.2. If you answered in Q 20 that you have developed a project-specific schema has been developed, please explain briefly why it was necessary :
 
 
20.3. If you answered in Q 20 that you have developed a project-specific schema, would you be willing to make it available to CD Focus/CIMI for Web publication along with other similar schemas?
 
 Yes, for CD Focus/CIMI information only
 Yes, for possible publication with similar information from other projects
 No
 
21. Have you encountered any difficulties in describing collections using the schema you selected or developed?
 
 Yes
 No
 
21.1. If you answered "yes" to Q21, please give details
 
 
22. Have you encountered a requirement to map between multiple schemas for collection description or convert descriptions conforming to one schema to a form conforming to another schema?
 
 Yes  No
 
22.1. If you answered "yes" to Q22, please give details
 
 

Subject, coverage, and names as subjects

23. Do you apply subject terms to your collection descriptions?
 
 Yes  No

If you answered "no" to Q23, then go to Q26

 
24. What standards/conventions are used for the values of subject terms?
 
 LCSH with local extensions/adaptations
 DDC with local extensions/adaptations
 UDC with local extensions/adaptations
 UNESCO Thesaurus with local extensions/adaptations
 HASSET Thesaurus with local extensions/adaptations
 Getty AAT with local extensions/adaptations
 Other with local extensions/adaptations
 Project-specific vocabulary 
 Free text (no controlled vocabulary) 

If you have checked "other", please specify:
 
24.1. If you answered in Q 24 that have you used local extensions to a "standard" subject scheme, please explain briefly what these extensions are
 
 
25. Have you encountered any problems in applying the subject scheme which you selected or developed?
 
 Yes
 No
 
25.1. If you answered "yes" to Q25, please give details
 
 
26. Do you specify personal/corporate/family names associated with your collections?
 
 Yes  No

If you answered "no" to Q26, then go to Q29

 
27. What standards conventions are used for the values of personal/corporate/family names associated with your collections?
 
AACR2
Library of Congress Name Authority Files
(UK) NCA Rules
Other

If you have checked "other", please specify:
 
28. Have you encountered any problems in applying the name rules which you selected or developed?
 
 Yes  No
 
28.1. If you answered "yes" to Q28, please give details
 
 

Collection Strength

29. Do you include a description of collection strength in your collection descriptions?
 
 Yes  No

If you answered "no" to Q29, then go to Q31

 
30. What standards/conventions are used for the values of collection strength?
 
Conspectus 
Other "grading" systemPlease specify:
Project-specific convention 
Free text 
OtherPlease specify:
 
31. Have you any comments on the use of descriptions or measurements of collection strength?
Please give details
 
 

Collection Naming/Identification

32. Do you employ standards or conventions for identifying collections (e.g. ISAD(G) reference codes)?
 
 Yes  No
 
32.1. If you answered "yes" to Q32, please give details
 
 

Section 4: Implementing collection description

These questions cover topics related to what you actually did to describe your collections, the human and technical processes involved in creating the descriptions and making them available for use.

 

Software tools

33. To create the digital form of your collection descriptions, do you make use of:
 
RSLP CLD web form/tool
Archives Hub ISAD(G)-EAD template
Project-specific desktop database
Project-specific web form plus back end database
SGML/XML editor
Other

If you have checked "other", please specify:

 
34. Please give any details you wish to add about the methods and tools you use to create digital forms of your collection descriptions
 
 
35. If you have prepared content guidelines for use by the creators of your collection descriptions, would you be willing to make these available to CD Focus/CIMI to aid our understanding of the creation process?
 
 Yes, for CD Focus/CIMI information only
 Yes, for possible publication with similar information from other projects
 No
 
36. Briefly, how are you making your collection descriptions available to your users? What software tools are used?
e.g. Web access to MySql database via PHP scripts etc.
 
 
37. If you are providing a search interface, what fields/elements from the collection description schema do you index/search on?
(e.g.title, subject, description etc)
 
 

Section 5: Further Information

The purpose of this section is to allow you to give us any other information relating to your experience of collection description which has not yet been covered elsewhere in the questionnaire

 
38. Are there any broader areas of implementing or managing a collection description project which you wish to highlight?
 
 
39. Are there any areas of collection description in which you would like further guidance?
 
 
40. Are there any specific tools for collection description that you would find useful?
 
 
41. Please add any other comments
 
 

Web page by Pete Johnston of UKOLN.
Last updated: 09-Nov-2004

[UKOLN]  [Collection Description Focus]  [Questionnaire]

Email comments to webmaster@ukoln.ac.uk