Apologies to those who already know about it, but I have just come
across a report produced by the Council for British Archaeology (CBA)
in May this year. It is called:
"From The Ground Up: The Publication of Archaeological Projects: a
user needs survey"
It is available at:
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/pubs/puns/
Its discussions consider questions of archiving & "dissemination",
including the use of electronic media and the Internet. A couple of
the recommendations are:
Recommendation 7: detailed structural and specialist reports be
published on the Internet
"One of the survey's significant findings is that while archaeology
relies heavily on specialists, the specialists themselves feel their
work to be increasingly squeezed. Moreover, while the discipline as a
whole is calling for greater integration in the writing of reports,
and the study of assemblages as distinct from nineteenth century
classifications based on material alone, this is not widely reflected
in what is actually being written. New means of making detailed
structural and specialists reports available are required -- a need
which is well answered by electronic media. It is important that this
should not take place ad hoc. Rather, we propose the establishment of
a specific forum, where work can be indexed and accessed with ease,
and where peer review ensures that such publications provide improved
means of attracting academic recognition."
Recommendation 8: archives be made available on the Internet
"The survey found strong support for the mounting of all archives on
the Internet, supported by well-indexed and queryable databases.
Funding agencies and local authorities should consider making this
mandatory for projects within their remits. These should be integrated
with electronic publication of reports."
I thought people on these lists might be interested to know about the
report.
Roger Fern.
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Roger W. Fern,
27 Ladybank,
Chapel Park,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE5 1UJ.
(0191) 267-3074 Roger.Fern_at_ncl.ac.uk
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Received on Thu Sep 20 2001 - 10:03:25 BST