Hans-Jörg Lieder gives an interim report on the MALVINE project.
Much work has been carried in the library community in recent years regarding the provision of digitized catalogue data about printed books. Most major libraries and archives offer at least part of their data in web-based OPACs. However access conditions are not as well-developed for modern manuscripts and letters [1]. Digital information about this type of material is still rather scarce and only few online catalogues are available.
Anyone wanting to improve this rather deplorable situation is confronted with a number of difficulties. Firstly, the obvious needs to be stated: manuscripts are, unlike books, unique objects. The cataloguing of manuscripts is therefore much more elaborate and time-consuming than the cataloguing of books and consequently a lot of the material in question is simply not fully catalogued yet. Another difficulty arises from the fact that handwritten material is owned or kept by a number of different institutions: public, university and national libraries, archives, a variety of specialized documentation or research centers and even museums. As these institutions evolve from different traditions and serve different purposes the practice of cataloguing and providing information about the holdings might differ to a considerable degree and national cataloguing rules, this in particular marks the difference to books, have not been available so far [2]. This results in a large array of differing rules and standards in use.
These circumstances are not only responsible for the apparent lack of available online data but also result in another undesired effect: when accessing the material, different search strategies need to be learned and adopted anew in each separate institution. Before even obtaining the required document, scholars and other users are thus confronted with a good deal of work, work that could be made partly redundant in future by MALVINE.
MALVINE, Manuscripts And Letters Via Integrated Networks In Europe, aims at improving online access to the multitude of European manuscript holdings. The basic idea of MALVINE is to build an electronic network of relevant institutions in Europe, a network which is independent of heterogeneous technical solutions and cataloguing traditions locally used by the data providers and which is accessible from all over the world using low cost personal computers and web technologies.
MALVINE addresses both the potential users of manuscript holdings, in the project's terminology called public users, and the staff working on the collections in the relevant institutions, referred to as expert users. A variety of kernel services for these two main user groups were developed or are being planned.
The major result for public users is a metadata based search engine for this specialized sector, thus providing a harmonized access to a large number of European collections of manuscripts. A multilingual user interface [3] for both a simple (see Figure 1) and an advanced search option (see Figure 2) presents the catalogue data as though belonging to a homogeneous unified database. The agreement to a common multilingual terminology and the use of network components, standards and protocols enhances state-of-the-art search and query mechanisms in different European languages and ensures interoperability of heterogeneous systems.
 Figure 1: MALVINE Simple Search Site (English Version) |
The relevant information is provided by one multi-site searching procedure. Compared to conventional card catalogue data, the search options in MALVINE are greatly enhanced. Next to the most obvious search criterion, the name of an author, a number of additional data entries are searchable: every person significantly related to a given manuscript - the writer of an addition to a text, a commentator, a photographer, an artist etc.; an item may be searched by its title, by time and place of its origin and even by its content. In the advanced search mode, more detailed information about a manuscript and related items like printed editions of, and literature about the manuscript may be searched and retrieved [4] (see Figure 3 for an example of a retrieved catalogue record). An online document ordering service, either of conventional microforms or of digitized images of the originals, is offered. In the near future public users will also have access to biographical data; this functionality is currently being implemented.
 Figure 2: MALVINE Advanced Search Site, German Version (part of site only) |
For expert users the availability of data relating to many different collections of manuscripts is also one of the most important service features of MALVINE. While at present a lot of unnecessary work in cataloguing and describing the material must be done, a network of institutions offers various possibilities of useful data creation and retrieval by future utilization of authority files [5]. Further services include the SGML/XML [6] based support of data migration. The processing of a number of administrative activities like accounting and creation of users statistics is planned.
Two major feasibility studies are integrated into MALVINE. The Feasibility Study: MALVINE Information Brokerage Platform [7] investigates the feasibility and the advantages of the introduction of electronic services for information brokering in the manuscript sector. Special attention is paid to a MALVINE architecture of services, ranging from search and retrieval and document delivery facilities to electronic commerce services like negotiation, ordering, accounting, payment and to legal services, such as the administration of copyright and authentication questions. Many of these possibilities depend on future developments in this sector and whether users of manuscripts will accept a more commercialized environment, since many services will only be available if paid for by the user. Current tendencies in comparable markets suggest that there will be a commercial potential in the manuscript sector to some extent. Users seem to be willing to pay for data if they know they can acquire it speedily and efficiently and if they are confident of its high quality. On a technical level, the system will be able to integrate additional, enhanced functions at a later stage by developing the required gateways and interfaces.
 Figure 3: Example of a detailed result display (Portuguese Version) |
Another accompanying study, the SGML Feasibility Study [8], mainly explores the possibility of SGML/XML based migration of locally held data. The concrete objective of this study was the production of a tool that converts between the various catalogue formats in use and additionally offers an SGML or XML encoding format (see Figure 4 for an example of converted data). The chosen DTD (Document Type Definition) is EAD (Encoded Archival Description) [9]. This tool is used whenever the need for a conversion of the local formats arises in MALVINE. In most cases local catalogues are being accessed by the search server online using the Z39.50 protocol. Whenever this is not possible the catalogue data can be converted into SGML using EAD as the DTD, the EAD version can then be converted into another database with Z39.50 abilities [10]. Additionally it has to be stated, that the choice of the actual DTD, although important, is not irreversible. Once the catalogue data is available in one DTD format, later changes into another DTD will not be too difficult to execute.
Figure 4: Example of an EAD encoded data record (Person name authority file record with indication of manuscript holdings, SBB) |
Apart from the above mentioned services and products, one of the important goals of MALVINE is the establishing of contacts and data exchange between the different users of the system. Such an exchange will prove to be universally beneficial. MALVINE therefore provides an electronic feedback function, allowing for flexible and convenient communication between respective users. In many cases scholars have more detailed and precise information about a particular item than the institution cataloguing it. They might, therefore, via user-friendly web-based communication channels, contribute to the quality improvement of the catalogue data. Further contacts are imaginable: publishers might easily be brought into contact with manuscript dealers, authors with scholars etc.
After extensive preliminary negotiations the European Union project MALVINE, scheduled for a duration of 30 months, started in July 1998 [11]. A number of well known and reputable institutions in various European countries have combined their resources to strive for the ambitious project aims in a joint effort, thus forming the MALVINE consortium and acting in a variety of functions:
When determining the data providing and testing project partners, particular care was taken to ensure a high degree of competence in the sector of cataloguing of manuscripts and letters. A number of participating institutions, those being high profile data providers, are therefore able to act as a kind of national focal point for the promotion and dissemination of the project results.
At the same time the availability of a large variety of test data was required, particularly during the development and demonstration phase of the project. It was also intended to consider the extendibility of the system into related areas not limited to manuscript material. Two partners in particular give the project this extra perspective: the National Museum of Denmark offers electronic data about museums objects, and the commercial publisher K.G. Saur offers biographical data.
The work plan of the project started with extensive surveys of the needs and wishes of potential future users of MALVINE. This included questioning of both a large variety of institutions owning handwritten material and numerous interested individuals being representatives of particular user groups, such as philologists, historians, art historians, philosophers, musicologists. Thus a hierarchical accumulation of functional requirements to the system could be determined. This information was the starting point for the development of the MALVINE metadata profile as the basis of the MALVINE search server and other software components. A first demonstrator version of the system is now available and currently being tested. The MALVINE consortium was able to motivate around 500 test users from all parts of the world. The main task for the immediate future will be the debugging of the MALVINE software and the improvement of the offered services, all in close cooperation with the test users. These were subscribed to a mailing list and are regularly updated on all changes concerning the MALVINE website. The test users' feedback is processed using online forms in order to minimize the required effort. Participation in the MALVINE test phase is still possible and may be of particular interest for those involved in other related EU projects [13].
The technical side of a project of the scope of MALVINE is obviously rather complex [14]. While this is not the place to elaborate on all technical details, it should be stressed that care has been taken to ensure the relative simplicity of the required hardware both on the side of the data providers and the end users.
Electronic formats used to store data about manuscripts and letters may vary from institution to institution and even more so from country to country. Catalogue data might be offered as part of a local OPAC, in a variety of data base formats and even in plain word-processing applications, even digitized images of the precious original documents will in future be available. The main focus and primary goal of the technical development work therefore consisted in achieving technical and semantic interoperability of different data bases containing different types of data and in performing a multi-server search based on existing standards.
The MALVINE software can be seen as a smart piece of portal software which can be easily integrated into other web based applications and solutions.
 Figure 5: Architecture of MALVINE |
The concept of MALVINE is based on a distributed architecture containing three main layers:
MALVINE uses state-of-the-art technology in all key components: the multilingual web user interface makes use of the latest web standards, including dynamic and static web pages, cascading style sheets (CCS), JavaScript, HTML, Servlets and Java Server Pages. The key component of MALVINE, the MALVINE application server, is using the Websphere application server. The software is completely written in Java.
The advantages of this solution are:
The MALVINE OPAC is based on a standard relational database structure. The OPAC translates the incoming Z39.50 requests and produces appropriate responses. The OPAC exchange formats are using XML / XSL which is smoothly integrated in the software.
The setting up of the OPAC database will be done through some services offered within the MALVINE toolbox. For the connection between the database and the MALVINE-Z39.50 target system a JDBC/SQL interface will be supported. For administration the OPAC database with the appropriate sets of data several facilities will be available (conversion, import, export and entry facility). The MALVINE exchange format is based on EAD / XML.
The benefits of the planned MALVINE system are hopefully apparent on a number of different levels: benefits for the public users are manifold and there are clear opportunities for the implementation of more effective work methods in libraries, archives and other institutions offering data about manuscripts. Also on the institutional level the technical development of MALVINE enhances the interoperability of different interfaces. It demonstrates that all institutions, be they large or small, can present their own special holdings to a broad public without having to give up either local cataloguing traditions or local technical solutions. All can thus contribute to the aims of the information society. The low costs involved allow for improved acceptance of MALVINE, differences in languages and in technical equipment are bridged. Even small institutions with low budgets are able to implement the MALVINE system. The cultural heritage of Europe as manifested in holdings of manuscripts and letters is presented as part of a landscape consisting of individual countries whose representations in various areas of cultural activity are unique, yet share a deep awareness of common or neighbouring sources.
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in the librarian sector e.g. those for
country and language codes. It may be anticipated that the suggested use of
both authority files and applicable standards within a network of institutions
furthers the increased utilization and implementation of the same.
as a pdf file.
as a pdf file.
as a pdf file.
Hans-Jörg Lieder
Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage
Department of Manuscripts
D-10772 Berlin
Germany
URL: <http://www.sbb.spk-berlin.de/>
or
http://www.malvine.org/
Email: hans-joerg.lieder@sbb.spk-berlin.de
Tel: +49-30-266-2249M
Hans-Jörg Lieder is deputy coordinator of the MALVINE project.
For citation purposes:
Hans-Jörg Lieder, "MALVINE – An Interim Report",
Exploit Interactive, issue 5, April 2000
URL: <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/malvine/>
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