Re: EPrints for Archaeology?

From: JD Richards <jdr1_at_YORK.AC.UK>
Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2001 09:06:19 +0000

I'm afraid that Steve Harnad's offer to find an archival home for Internet
Archaeology, whilst no doubt well-intentioned, rather misses the point. I
write as Director of the Archaeology Data Service which is the JISC/AHRB
designated digital archive for archaeology, and therefore the body charged
with the long term preservation of the journal Internet Archaeology.

I'm afraid that this is where the use of the word "archive" as in Open
Archives Initiative is potentially misleading. Digital archiving of
multimedia content has to be a very active process, as I'm sure you're all
well aware. Internet Archaeology is far more than a collection of eprint
documents that can be put on a web server. Over the past 5 years it has
published VR visualisations in VRML, QTVRs, video, a variety of databases,
with a variety of interfaces, each relying on scripts and database server
software on the server etc etc. All of these conform to elib and AHDS
standards, but all require specialist expertise to maintain them as web
servers and browsers change. I'd challenge any "Open Archive" to act as a
real archive for this journal, let alone in "a more cost-effective manner
than they seem able to manage".

Julian Richards

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Dr Julian D. Richards Tel: +44 1904 433930
Director, Archaeology Data Service Fax: +44 1904 433902
Department of Archaeology Email: jdr1_at_york.ac.uk
University of York
The King's Manor
York, YO1 7EP, UK
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> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 15:46:04 +0000 (GMT)
> Subject: EPrints for Archaeology?
>
> On Thu, 29 Nov 2001, Steve Hitchcock wrote:
>
> > Internet Archaeology, an open access journal originally funded
> > by eLib, has announced that it will have to start charging for access.
> > Buried in this announcement is the problem of charging being
> > retrospective, i.e. to access the content of issues 2-11, previously free,
> > now incurs a charge. The editor justifies it like this:
> >
> > >The eLib extension grant allowed us to continue free access for longer
> > >than we had anticipated, but we still will be carrying the costs of
> > >maintenance for the 50+ articles in the back issues into perpetuity, which
> > >is the main reason why we chose to charge for these also. But it is also
> > >why we chose only to make a single one-off charge for them.
> >
> > I'm inclined to suggest that they set-up an EPrints archive, or find a
> > friendly EPrints archive to do it for them in a more cost-effective manner
> > than they seem able to manage. Do any come to mind? It would not be a good
> > idea to suggest it only to find that none could offer a suitable home.
>
> I am willing to create an Archeology Sector in CogPrints, unless
> an existing Eprint Archive responds that their subject matter is
> closer, and are willing to host it.
>
> If you have a suitable Eprints Archive, this is a good way to
> encourage further content. Please let me (or Steve Hitchcock)
> know.
>
> Stevan Harnad
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Received on Sun Dec 02 2001 - 15:21:06 GMT