When the Data hits the Fan!

I have worked with manuscripts for over 20 years now; as a librarian, academic and as a consultant helping others to digitise their collections. I have worked in various African countries with many great libraries and archives for over 10 years. I love Africa, I love the people, the culture, the heritage - their manuscript collections, archives and rock art are things of wonder. Not least because Africa is a continent that has been wracked by the three horsemen of the manuscript conservationists nightmares: war, pestilence and natural disaster. So it is with incredible sadness that I note today the loss of potentially thousands of manuscripts from the New Ahmed Baba Institute building in Mali. The story in the news (see  Guardian   and  Sky ) and online ( @howden_africa  in particular) suggests that: "Islamist insurgents retreating from the ancient Saharan city of Timbuktu have set fire to a library containing thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts, some datin...

The Balanced Value Impact Model (BVI Model) draws evidence from a wide range of sources to provide a compelling account of the means of measuring the impact of digital resources and using evidence to advocate how change benefits people. The aim is to provide key information and a strong model for the following primary communities of use: the cultural, heritage, academic or creative industries. For the purposes of this Model, the definition of Impact is: The measurable outcomes arising from the existence of a digital resource that demonstrate a change in the life or life opportunities of the community for which the resource is intended. The outcome of this cross disciplinary research is a new and targeted model of Impact Assessment for the primary communities of use identified above. The Balanced Value Impact Model brings together aspects from disparate Impact Assessment communities into a cohesive and logical process for Impact Assessment.

On the 18th August I will be participating in probably the most intriguing midnight work I have ever done. I will be joining the Midnight Runners to explore my Modes of Cultural Value (explained in this previous blog post Cultural Value and Impact ). I am working with Inua Ellams (Writer/graphic arts/poet/performer) and also David Slater (Director at Entelechy Arts) within the Creative Futures programme at Kings Cultural Institute .

In this blog posting I wish to discuss cultural value a little bit and how it can fit into an impact assessment. It is is a follow up posting to this:  A New Approach to Measuring Impact for Digitised Resources: do they change people’s lives? Copyright: Jonas Raeber, Switzerland This is a work in progress - more my notes and queries. I wanted most to get this out there and to get your views, your inputs and your insights. Please comment, your thoughts are valued!

When a sock puppet comes calling, academic excellence is put at risk. My piece published in the Guardian Higher Education Network on the 7th June 2012 . It was interesting to see all the sock puppets who came out to play in the comments section of the piece. Seems like the Golb case is a  cause célèbre  for many out there. I would have responded with some factual corrections but I was suffering from chicken pox at the time this was published and thus hadn't the energy to get my thoughts online at that time.

Recent news coverage of the UK Government's ill thought through cap on tax relief for private charitable donations made me consider the motivations for giving and the impact of this measure on the GLAM sector.

This is a work in progress - more my notes and queries than a proper paper, stuff will change, references will be added. I wanted most to get this out there and to get your views, your inputs and your insights. Please comment, your thoughts are valued! My recent research with Marilyn Deegan into the value and impact of digitised collections has shown that there is a serious lack of adequate means to assess impact in this sector and thus a lack of significant evidence beyond the anecdotal, number crunching from webometrics or evaluations of outputs rather than outcomes ( http://www.kdcs.kcl.ac.uk/innovation/inspiring.html ). In short, we need better evidence of impact. How has the digital resource delivered a positive change in a defined group of people’s lives or life opportunities?