1. Executive Summary2. Applied Methodology
3. Main Results
3.1 Target Users Profile3.2 Statistics on Multimedia & Internet access to Cultural Heritage
3.3 User Requirements Overview
4. Recommendations and Guidelines
4.1 Recommended Tools & Services for users4.2 Quality Guidelines
ANNEX.1. TARGET USERS PROFILE SPECIFICATIONS (WP1400)
Definitions, Acronyms and Abbreviations
This section should provide the definitions of all terms, acronyms and abbreviations.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode CAD Computer Aided Design CD Compact Disk CHIO Cultural Heritage Information On-line CIMI Computer Interchange of Museum Information CSC Cultural Service Centre DVD Digital Video Disc EU European Union HTML Hyper-Text Mark-up Language HW Hardware IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers ISDN Integrated Service Digital Network MOSAIC Museum Over States and vIrtual Culture N/A Not Applicable SW Software URL Universal Resource Locator VR Virtual Reality WWW World Wide Web
1. Executive Summary
The document's aim is to define the user target typology related to the MOSAIC application area. Obviously, the users analysis is based on the combination of the user activity and the MOSAIC technological solutions. By meetings and interviewing experts of potential users, all the users categories have been defined and their main needs, within the cultural heritage field, have been analysed in order to start-up the MOSAIC architectural design phase. This document contains a first description of the user target needs ; a more detailed analysis of the users expectations will be performed by means of feedback on MOSAIC tools and services demos.
The main objectives of the document are the following :
- Identification of key-players (users, suppliers, consultants, research, institutions ...) and application segments on the cultural heritage context. Educational and social objectives guidelines definition. Interviews with opinion leaders. Identify the socio-economic and the benefits of the proposed services
- Description of the competitive forces that determine the market for cultural heritage (suppliers and potential suppliers ; buyers and users : applications and threat of substitute products). Define the user expectations on the cultural heritage field (level of image quality, user workstation bandwidth, ...)
The contents of the following chapters are :
Chapter 2 - Applied Methodology : it explain the adopted strategy to focus the Target User Profile
Chapter 3 - Main Results: potential users are described and their main need are grouped into some tables
Chapter 4 - Recommendations and Guidelines: the recommendation and guidelines for Multimedia, Web site and Virtual Reality quality are shortly given. A synthetic description of the standard Operational Environment is also presented.
2. Applied Methodology
The theme, that we considered, constitutes the main requirement of the MOSAIC project, that is:
How to diffuse and increase the cultural heritage dissemination and its network framework through a structured process capable of growing and financing itself ? It was on this theme that we activated our first internal debate among the partners of the project and then we enlarged the debate to include other external interlocutors.
In general, defining what the user expects from a system is one of the most delicate elements for the study phase. In fact, functions and services on the whole which do not satisfy certain needs, could definitely represent a futile exercise.
With these premises in mind, we have therefore decided to organise a series of encounters and conventions inviting the amount of users interested in the above mentioned theme. Users, obviously, are largely understood as representatives of user categories in terms of profiles, social-political and economical responsibilities, skills ...
During these meetings and conventions, the focus was principally placed on the needs of a wide series of users that go from the institutions to the cultural tourist.
Obviously, given the extensive diversity of topics, we focused solely on specific user needs and we attempted making a synthesis of the principle needs, finally allowing an architectural construction of services and functions for the MOSAIC system.
The performed activities are mainly:
- Research of references (Bibliography, Internet Addresses (E-Mail & URLs), Books, Technical Studies, Sociological Studies, Articles, Technological magazines, ..) in order to define better the quality of the services and to classify user categories.
- Interviews with potential users (institutional representatives in each state, museum managers and curators, universities, publisher, ....). Special session of interviews has been planned at SIGGRAPH (stand Infobyte on which MOSAIC has been presented) and ICHIM 97
The quality of subject-matter is a function of the information contents tied to the cultural patrimony and it is of particular importance. This is one of the elements that today makes it difficult today for a correct dissemination of the contents a complex context as that of culture. This point, has above all, an organisational value. In fact, today, products developed in some countries are not correctly validated by users of receiving countries and this often creates problems of misunderstanding in the initial phase of the system. The principal elements in this sense are:
- correct multi-lingual products dissemination
- management of a thematic thesaurus
- individualisation of quality fees for dissemination of the product on the Internet technology
- analysis of the product's semantic contents
These functions which we hold to be indispensable, must be done by an editorial office available in the Cultural Service Centre, capable of revising contents of translations and the quality products made in other countries of non mother tongue, to guarantee ultimately the global accuracy and quality of the product that circulates within many users in the MOSAIC system. European museums and galleries are rich of many cultural treasures but many of them are not accessible to scholars or the public because of lack of space and travel costs. This is the reason why 'Virtual Reality' technology aims to develop a trans-European framework for access to museums and galleries. This technology could help users to see not only what is already shown to the public but also what is not visible due to lack of exhibition sites or is not accessible to the public for other reasons.
This seems to be the right moment to co-ordinate the efforts and to promote the arts using information technology and inter-activity as leverage in particular by Telecommunication, Multimedia & Virtual Reality as the following recent statistics demonstrate.
3. Main Results
3.1 Target Users Profile
A short description of the main user categories focused is contained in the following table. For a more detailed description refer to the document contained in the annex.
Table 1 : Main Users Categories
Scholars, Students, Teachers and Researchers The needs at this level are important and very diversified. From visual animation support to subject courses, one goes to the research themes or thesis subjects and a large number of occasions shall be good to use MOSAIC CSCs and not only for art history majors. Cultural Tourists Usually tourists who are visiting museums should have information about initiatives of local tourism : entertainment and educational experiences which combine the arts with natural and social heritage, history and discovery of monuments and sites. Enterprises Regarding enterprises, their needs are also very diversified. It can be a question of making souvenirs, postcards, the work of art editors, travel agents who wish to plan an itinerary, or of an enterprise that wants to use a particular context to pass messages to meetings of formation or information Publisher/Libraries The proliferation of networked digital information is causing a shift of librarians from caretakers of physical collections to people who identify resources that exist in collections housed elsewhere. This is currently evident in most major research libraries where librarians spend much of their time creating (World Wide Web based) electronic pointers to resources on the Internet. Efforts like these are likely to increase greatly in the foreseeable future. Art Collectors A lot of people are interested in buying/selling art materials to enrich their private collection. They have the need to publicise their requirements. For example they could be interested in looking for a particular piece of art or are interested in some art sectors or they may wish to contact some Brokers/Dealers to sell some of their collections. Photographers Photographers could have the need to store and manage digital images about cultural heritage. Collect digital conversion of photos and associate an information record to each image (abstract, image description, place of snapshot, snapshot date ...) and that are able to perform a search. Brokers Brokers and dealers present collections of different art pieces and they work to buy/sell art. A key to success in selling is to have one's product or service exposed to potential purchasers. Starting from this simple principle advertising should become the key of success. They conduct advertising campaigns off the web in various media to market their fine art. With the diffusion of Internet they have home pages on the web. Their Web sites are in a multi-lingual format and they are enhancing the sites with new features on a daily basis. Sponsors The main aspect that concerns managers is to enlarge their business. In this field an important role is played by public relations activities. Public relations is a term which has two common business meanings. The first, is a way to promote the business without having to pay for advertising. The other general usage of the term is applied to the enhancement of the image of their company by financing cosmopolitan events. From this last point of view Managers/Businessmen could have an interest in sponsor's some important cultural initiative that could be more convenient than purchasing one or more newspaper advertisement or using some other traditional methods (Telephone Contacts, Newspapers, Magazines, Special Advertising, Yellow Pages, Direct Mail, Personal Contacts ...). Architects The impact of CAD on the design process has been revolutionary. Just imagine what kind of an impact Virtual Reality could have. The process of design in architecture is usually consultative and a "virtual-conference" between the architect, consultants and client could be conceivably carried out on the "virtual building site". Administration, Collectivity, Public Users The uses of a public fashion are also innumerable, that it be just the same at the museums, in technological or scientific centres, within the territorial collectivity of actions or in other areas. Museum application area
Museum Applications potentially requiring interchange applications: archives management loans processing authority building location control catalogue access mailorder sales cataloguing and description maintenance scheduling collections management movement control communications/terminal emulation material management conservation management name list management contacts management office automation database building, management personal research decision support personnel management event management point of sale exhibition management project accounting exhibition design project management file management public access fund raising management publishing fund accounting record management image management remote access image retrieval research support system image processing reservations information retrieval security inventory control subscription fulfilment invoicing ticketing library management tour management list management volunteer management Museum Curators It is a charged situation in which many non-profit art museums find themselves today. As the government financial support of art museums continues to diminish, museum boards and staff are adopting attitudes and practices from the private sector - witnessing the growth of museum shops, corporate sponsorships, restaurants and blockbuster shows. As museums look to commercial solutions, they are also forced to develop new management policies. In the future, we may see a sales staff working in tandem with curators. It would develop a for-profit alternative to the typical mandate of the non-profit art museum. The Internet, and the future information highway, present museums with a unique opportunity to reach broad and narrow, local and international, publics in new ways.
The innovative guidelines for the future are :
- Reaching museum audiences using new technology with the opportunities offered by the electronic superhighway.
- Users computer technology for: administrative computing, educational programs, events, management & ticketing, exhibits, facilities management, fund raising & membership, point-of-sale, publications, cyber-boutiques, virtual-exhibition, research, and system administration, building data and image bases for collections, discovering how multimedia systems can increase the effectiveness of educational programs, developing technical standards to insure the investment that museum data represents.
Arts Restorers Art Restorers are professionals specialised in salvaging, restoring and reformatting damaged arts materials. They have specialised education and training to analyse and assess the condition of the materials of cultural property, plan collection care and carry out conservation treatments and programs. Before this century, restorations were performed by "restorers," who were either self-taught or they learned the materials and methods of the trade from other restorers. Their focus was the appearance of the restoration work, rather than the soundness or long-term benefit of their procedures. In this century, conservation has developed into a multi-disciplinary profession in which modern scientific methods have augmented craft traditions. They need to communicate and stay in contact; for these aspects new opportunities are offered by the electronic superhighway of the telecommunications.
Table 2: Interchange Requirements of Museum Applications
Museum Application Activity Examples Database Building creating records, editing, deleting Union catalogues, co-operative cataloguing, scope of collections, authority files, directories Information Retrieval accessing stored information public access catalogues, bibliographic databases, full text, directories, reference databases IPR copyright, watermarking Business Transactions electronic data interchange purchasing, order fulfilment, loans processing, financial transactions, exhibition management Messaging messaging services email, conferencing, document exchange File Transfer binary transfer exchange of scientific data, data migration, media exchange Document Handling document processing correspondence, co-operative publishing, research Real-time Links machine-to-machine interactive training, interactive exhibits, monitoring source: [Standards Framework for the Computer Interchange of Museum Information Committee - CIMI Project]
3.2 Statistics on Multimedia & Internet access to Cultural Heritage
The following tables show the interest in the use and diffusion of internet and the various access systems to the information Society in the EU countries and give an overview on the potential users of Mosaic services in term of their socio-economic characteristics.
An overview of the technological status of the Internet application and hardware infrastructures is contained in [European Commission DG-XIII Telecommunication Infrastructures/G12.2/96 "Evolution of the Internet and the and the WWW - Milan 28th, May 1997] . The following table illustrates the number of existing Web pages in EU countries:
Table 3 : Number of Existing Web pages in EU countries
Country Number of Hosts Number of Web pages Web pages per host Germany 721,847 3,819,986 5,3 UK 591,624 3,815,330 6,4 Italy 149,595 2,319,170 15,5 France 245,501 1,516,092 6,2 Sweden 232,955 1,299,317 5,6 Netherlands 270,521 1,204,293 4,5 Finland 283,526 1,164,855 4,1 Spain 110,041 719,811 6,6 Belgium 64,607 559,766 8,7 Austria 91,938 459,100 5,0 Denmark 106,476 451,922 4,2 Greece 15,925 202,988 12,7 Portugal 26,077 193,041 7,4 Ireland 27,058 184,743 6,8 Luxembourg 3,506 30,139 8,6 Total EU 2,941,198 17,940,463 6,1
Source: [European Commission DG-XIII Telecommunication Infrastructures/G12.2/96 "Evolution of the Internet and the WWW - Milan 28th , May 1997] Databank Consulting
The following set of tables illustrates a recent statistical analysis dated 23rd September 1997, related to the Multi-Media Access to Europe's Cultural Heritage ["The Information Society, the Internet, & On-Line Museum Visits : Evidence from Eurobarometer" Multi-media Access to Europe's Cultural Heritage Steering Committee 3rd Meeting, 23rd September 1997]:
Table 4: Use & Interested in Using, Various Access Systems to the Information Society (at Home)
System % Use % Interested % Total Highest Use Lowest Use Video Recorder 74 7 81 UK, S, Irl P, GR, D Teletext 49 13 62 S, DK, NL GR, F, P Computer 28 22 50 NL, DK, S P, GR, F Cable TV 26 19 45 NL, L, B I, GR, E Satellite Dish 16 23 39 A, D, S B, GR, F CD-ROM 15 24 39 DK, S, NL P, GR, Irl Mobile Phone 17 21 38 S, Fin, DK P, F, GR Pay-TV Decoder 13 21 34 F, UK, S P, NL,GR Internet/www 4 24 38 S, NL, Fin P, E, GR Fax (stand alone) 7 18 25 S, L, NL P, E, Irl Fax (computer linked) 6 19 25 S, DK, Fin P, GR, E Minitel-type Videotext 7 13 20 F, A, Fin GR, E, P Phono Pager 2 11 13 S, NL, B GR, I, D Source: Compiled from "Eurobarometer", number 47.0
Table 5: Use & Interested in Using, at Home - The Internet/www, by country
Country % Use % Interested % Total Sweden 18 32 50 Finland 9 35 44 Denmark 9 31 40 The Netherands 11 24 35 Luxembourg 8 26 34 Italy 3 28 31 Spain 2 28 30 UK 6 23 29 Ireland 3 25 28 Portugal 2 26 28 EU Average 4,4 24 28 France 2 24 26 Greece 2 23 25 Belgium 3 21 24 Germany 4 19 23 Austria 5 10 15 Source: Compiled from "Eurobarometer", number 47.0
Table 6: Socio-Economic Characteristics of Internet/ www Users, & Interested Users, at Home
% Use % Interested % Total A. Sex Male 5 29 34 Female 3 19 22 B. Age 15-24 8 43 51 25-39 6 32 38 40-54 4 21 25 55+ 2 7 9 C. Full-time Education to 15 1 10 11 16-19 4 22 25 20+ 8 33 41 Still studying 10 56 66 D. Occupation Self- 8 25 32 employed Managers 9 36 45 White collars 5 32 37 Manual 3 22 25 House Persons 2 12 14 Unemployed 3 12 14 E. Income Lowest 2 18 20 Low 3 19 22 High 4 28 32 Highest 9 29 38 Source: Compiled from "Eurobarometer", number 47.0
Table 7: Interest in using the Internet for On-line Museum Visits by Country
Country % Interested Italy 39 Sweden 38 Spain 34 Portugal 34 Greece 31 France 29 Finland 29 Luxembourg 29 EU Average 28 The Netherlands 27 Denmark 23 UK 23 Austria 23 Belgium 22 Ireland 21 Germany 18 Source: Compiled from "Eurobarometer", number 47.0
Table 8: Socio-Economic characteristics of those willing to pay an Ecu 10 monthly subscription fee for on-line access to museums
% Willing A. Sex Male 8 Female 8 B. Age 15-24 9 25-39 9 00 40-54 9 55+ 5 C. Full-time Education to 15 3 16-19 7 20+ 15 Still studying 23 D. Occupation Self- employed 11 Managers 14 White collar 9 Manual 6 House persons 5 Unemployed 8 E. Income Lowest 4 Low 8 High 9 Highest 12 Source: Compiled from "Eurobarometer", number 47.0
3.3 User Requirements Overview
The following paragraphs will summarise the Users categories in term of profiles and needs. Each table will constitute a starting print and preliminary matter for an architectural design phase. More user commonalties will be collapsed in specific requirements of the MOSAIC system.
The following table shows the general requirements common to all users (shadowed cells):
Table 9: General Requirements common to all users
A B C D E openness and inter-operability of access systems widest possible access, through data communication over switched telephony as well as over high-speed cable and fibre networks museums, galleries and libraries could charge modest fees for access and reproduction of information and images, but the possibility to offer free access from schools and universities proper protection of intellectual property rights and copyright, with operational mechanisms for controlling and charging for commercial re-use of material balanced between scientific and academic interest in museum/gallery collections or libraries and generic public interest. accesses information both from the museum and directly from home create a trans-European network of "Cultural Wealth Information Providers" in order to sell high quality documents (high quality colour prints, 3D digital or solid models) obtain a geographical or historical path or map related to an author or movement offer not only 2D low and high resolution images but also movie-maps, 3D models, VR experiences, digital animation and reconstruction (archaeology, not yet completed, totally or partially destroyed work of art) tutorial tours in digital museums hyper-media navigation and surfing trough different kind of work of art and information (architecture, sculpture, paintings, frescos etc.) creation of 'virtual' exhibitions not related to the real one (collection of disseminated works of art, etc
Users A Users B Users C Uses D Users E
- Museums, Universities, Professors, Researchers, Students,
Scholars
- Art Restorators
- Cultural Associations, Local Entities
for the Protection of the Community, Linguistic Reasons, Thematic Museums- Photographers, Scenographers, Directors and/or TV Producers
- Curators, Authors,
Scenographers, etc- Manufacturing Companies,
Advertising Agencies,
Sponsors, Public
Relations- Children of ages 3-5
- Toddlers and Teenagers
- Artists, Technicians,
Advertisements- Sponsors
- Image Agencies
- Merchandise Producers
- Art Brokers
- Archive Managers (Libraries, Museums, Music-tech,
Historical
Register Office,
State Archives)
- Cultural Tourist
- Disabled Cultural
Tourists- Tourist Operators/
Agencies
- Interpol
- Police Force
3.3.1 Museums, Universities, Professors, Researchers, Students, Scholars
Users Art historians at University and Museums, Art History Students, Majors, Researchers and Advanced Level Students, Scholars, Archaeologists and Architects Users Profile Competent peoples in the art history field, who work on research, cataloguing, publications; owners of or authorities that are responsible for cultural heritage objects; students studying history, art disciplines, geography and other related subjects; scholars working in the field of arts, history and related disciplines; research work in art disciplines, history and other areas; teaching history, arts, architecture or related subjects ..... Needs Overview The possibilities to access to the following information and data :
- Images of art-works in high-resolution mode in the most compatible and efficient way (from the point of view of speed and cost)
- Work arts catalogue
- Data on the "recent" work (eg., when did the institution obtain it)
- Guarantee authenticity
- File-types, historical data availability: these information should be furnished:
- site
- contents
- eventually, photographic image (for antique documents to be examined directly on the original)
- bibliographic data: publications made with references to the art work and to the author
- Correct linguistic references and multilingual access
- Possibility to correlate information from more data base or images of different historical ages (evolution in time) or in space (pictorial schools, imitations, attributions, etc...)
The first three types of data are available from the institution that preserves the work of art. The last two can be anywhere. Most likely, thought, the institution may have already done the appropriate reference retrieve of files as well as of bibliographies. The last data can require a research engine. The access to specialised bibliographical catalogues would be particularly useful (eg, at Rome, the Hertziana, the Library of Palazzo Venezia, the faculty library, the Modern Art Gallery Library)
Specific Needs for Museums:
- A complete set of information, on the administrative as well as on a very specialised scientific level
- Multilingual presentation, individual archives and catalogues, standardisation
- A national and trans-European platform for presentation, promotion and advertising
- Using standards for Computer Interchange of Museum Information (see http://www.cni.org/pub/CIMI)
- Set up of electronic calendars for several topics with value added information
- Finding specialists or partners in universities for realising MM applications for their cultural heritage
- Set up of servers for world wide MM access for European Cultural Heritage
- Set up virtual conferences and exhibitions
- Interactive exhibition
- Live exhibition using multi-casting technology
- Interactive Intranet information kiosks (with access to further extra-net information sources)
- MM guide with value added information for museum objects
Specific needs for Students:
- Easy and low-cost navigational access providing contextual information for educational purposes (Internet)
- High level search facilities - Keyword searching separated for different MM types
- Multimedia discussion on different topics
Specific needs for Scholars:
- Obtaining extensive information at a scientific level (Internet, CSCs):
- Easy and cheap access to sources
- High level search facilities - Keyword searching separated for different MM types
- Multilingual access
Specific needs for Researchers:
- A large number of catalogued objects and specialised information is demanded (Internet, CSCs)
- High level search facilities - Keyword searching separated for different MM types
- Easy reusability of data for research
- Easy and cheap access to sources
- Multilingual access
Specific needs for Professors:
- Detailed information on a scientific level (Internet, CSCs2)
- Easy and cheap access to sources
- Easy reusability of data for research
Specific need for Archaeologists and Architects
- Reconstruction, modelling, rendering and animating of former buildings and objects
3.3.2 Art Restorer, Conservationists
Users Art Restorer, Conservationists Users Profile People who do professional indoor restoration activities at the museums' administration or externally (privately) ; restorers of art objects, buildings, books, and more ... Needs Overview All the above mentioned information except the last, are normally available at the institutions that has or keeps the work of art
- High-resolution images
- All historical photographs available, taken for whatever reason needed
- List of restorations done and conservation measures taken
- Reports of all restorations available, furnished with:
- Normal images, x-ray images, ultraviolet rays images, grazing light images, etc
- Performed testing
- Images of the "maps" of art work with topographical indications of the conservation status and of the interventions done
- Access by appropriate links to other works of the same author that are under technical studies and restorations
- Bibliographical data on techniques with research engines
- Correct linguistic references and multilingual access
- Capacity to correlate data or images from more data banks in different historical ages (evolution of time) or in space (painting, pictorial schools, imitations, attributions, etc...)
Specific needs for Restorer:
- Navigational access to data on art objects and the possibility to retrieve contextual information as well as virtual reality reconstruction and visualisation (CSC, WWW). Example: high quality and standardised information retrieval and presentation mechanisms
3.3.3 Archive Managers (Libraries, Museums, Music-tech, Historical register office, State archives, etc... )
Users Archive Managers (Libraries, Museums, Music-tech, Historical register office, State archives, etc...) Users Profile Maintain, save and render accessible the informative cultural patrimony that is managed. The main focal point is that of rendering accessible and promoting. In fact, all energies are turned towards the conservation and the cataloguing, but not on their associated communication and information exchange; managers of profit and non-profit organisations in any kind of business; State-owned and private libraries ... Needs Overview
- Allow the data retrieve without damage the material filed while maintaining a high consultation level
- Reduce the research time and allow a free hyper-textual research not restricted to filing parameters
- Manage the remote services requested of the duplication and research type
- Offer consultation services in more languages
- Regarding registry files: offer additional services such as heraldic research with cross-reference sustained by state files
- In case of techno-music and video-tech: allow audio fruition and/or video by appointment
- Update of catalogues
- In equipment centres sites: multi-media consultations capable to make efficient and high quality consultations. Audio-visual rooms in case of biblio-media-tech.
Specific needs for Managers
- Up-to-date information on the organisational level (Internet), e.g. exhibitions, conferences, copyright
Specific needs for Libraries :
- Specific information in certain cultural fields
- Co-operation between libraries and cultural heritage centres (e.g. information on books on exhibition or collection topics)
- Support in structured electronic indexing of different media types (books, off-line media - like CD-ROM, on-line media - like URLs, data bases)
- Education in the usage of indexing tools and structuring of index material
3.3.4 Cultural Associations, Local Entities for the Protection of the Community (Linguistic Associations, Thematic Museums,...)
Users Cultural Associations, Local Entities for the protection of the Community ( Linguistic association, Thematic museums,..) Users Profile Everyone who works for the maintenance and restoration of Local Heritage Wealth, to divulge and promote an high cultural value of the Community ... Needs Overview
- Collect historical and documents material of the community
- Create a referral file and structures for dissemination
- Historical reconstruction of the communities customs and habits
- Construct technological spaces for the fruition of virtual reality reconstruction's (costumes, environment, ways of life, music, language, etc...)
- Construct a linguistic database to render a fruitful pronunciation modes
- Reconstruct all the community branches in the world and their differences
- Divulge and promote the cultural initiatives that regard all the themes treated
3.3.5 Cultural Tourists
Users Cultural tourist Users Profile Whoever organises tours or tourist routes aimed for his/her own cultural growth; foreign and native visitors ... Needs Overview
- Retrieve information to create a tourist route prevalently thematic
- Having previews of what is possible to see in museums, in exhibits and how much time is necessary for the visit
- Ability to buy products highly informative to illustrate the contents in detail, the history, the reports, the additional information and the other related places which could be visited
- The fruition of information in a simple and effective way through multimedia and hyper-textual techniques
- Be able to buy multimedia products with high informative contents small cumbersome, for travelling or moving from one site to the next
- Have physical space for children provided of educational games, "entertainment's" and lounging places (cafe's, cafeterias, smoking area in a lounge, benches, restaurant-rooms, etc.) inside the museum or at visiting sites
- Have multimedia products in a multi-lingual format and in addition derived products which are linguistically correct
- Possibility to buy high quality products, to give a detailed description of the art materials already seen or to permit at other times and ways a more precise, detailed virtual visit, not in cataloguing terms but adequately comprehensible and interesting for the visitor
- Up-to-date information on the museums' collection and on organisational matters (e.g. events, tickets, opening hours)
- Have a dedicated browser for cultural heritage with plug-in support, etc.
- access to cultural heritage information in the neighbourhood environment of their vacation location
- (maybe access through PDA or hand held PC) - fast and cheap information
- access from home to prepare a guided tour (including the preparation of a MM booklet in electronic or paper form for the tour)
- multi-lingual access
3.3.6 Photographers, Scenographers, Directors and/or TV Producers
Users Photographers, Scenographers, Directors and/or TV Producers Users Profile Everyone who needs and use images for reconstruction's of scenes or of an epoch's environment for his/her profession; photographers of art objects or using art objects as a background surrounding ... Needs Overview
- Access to the information and the images in a simple way
- Retrieve images and find interlocutors for deepening themes
- Being able to acquire high quality images
- Ability to take advantage of virtual scenographic models (castles, buildings, museums, etc...) for the reconstruction in television and film productions (virtual sets)
- Complete information on copyrights and navigational access to high resolution images
- Advertising medium
3.3.7 Curators, Authors
Users Curators, Authors, etc... Users Profile Everyone who needs information to build and decorate a temporary exhibit, create a thematic cultural event, describe or create an environment of a given age, reconstruct a scenography, etc... Needs Overview
- Retrieve works and know their technical-administrative characteristics
- Construct a virtual space with the use of basic informative elements (exhibits, numbers of scenes, etc...)
- Produce material for advertising or presenting ideas
- Retrieve historical environmental information on the theme treated
- Create material for advertising and products derived for the commercialisation of catalogues, videos, etc...
- Navigational access for contextualisation and information on intellectual property rights and copyright (Internet)
Specific needs for Authors :
- Intellectual Property Rights (Ownership, Copyright)
- Sophisticated authoring tools supporting structuring and linking of contents
- Sophisticated publishing tools for cross media
- Watermarking
3.3.8 Tourist Operators/Agencies
Users Tourist Operators/Agencies Users Profile Organise itineraries for cultural tourists in the most different way and time conditions on the basis of particular needs ; national tourist information offices and tourist agencies organising visits or just providing information for their clients ; ... Needs Overview
- Retrieve information, hours, costs and accessibility to museums, archaeological areas, etc...
- Ability to create thematic itineraries on a different temporal basis and link them to cultural events and manifestations
- Access to images, catalogues, etc. to illustrate to the tourists the organised itinerary and with special features
- Create new travelling packages dealing on the basis of novelties or important cultural events, creating appropriate advertising material.
- Administrative data (opening hours, prices) and information about the collection (e.g. leaflets, digital animation)
3.3.9 Manufacturing Company, Advertising Agency, Public Relations Managers
Users Manufacturing Company, Advertising Agency, Public Relations Managers Users Profile Everyone who uses cultural products to promote their image or that of others ... Needs Overview
- Access filing images and ability to select those held adequate for their use, aim
- Acquire information or images for reconstructing environments and scenographies for commercials
- Knowledge of forthcoming cultural events in order to add one's name or some communication
- Acquire images, collections or others for associating one's own business and line of communication onto the image
Specific needs for Advertising Agency:
- Hyper-media navigation and surfing providing some basic information on various art objects
- Information on charging and protection of intellectual property rights and copyright through trans-European cultural heritage information management
3.3.10 Children of ages 3-5
Users children of ages 3-5 Users Profile Children following cultural tourist parents ... Needs Overview
- multimedia screen with large, coloured buttons found on four walls of children's playroom within museum
- games related to the museum theme
3.3.11 Toddlers and Teenagers
Users Toddlers and Teenagers and young peoples in social centres Users Profile Young peoples that have to spent their free time to have education in cultural wealth ... Needs Overview
- Multimedia audio-visual cultural games in more public areas like supermarket or shopping centre
3.3.12 Cultural Tourists with Disabilities
Users Cultural Tourists with Disabilities Users Profile Peoples afflicted of motor/sensorial handicaps: motor handicap, blind, deaf, etc... Needs Overview
- Have appropriate and accessiblespaces for the virtual vision of artistic and cultural wealth
- Have multimedia materials withgood texts/images for blind peoples or multimedia material with good sound for deaf peoples
- Retrieve information from home
- Carry out virtual visits from home making it a social event (participation with other users)
- Access to services and guide supports of remote experts
- Dispose of tools technical equipment that reduce the inconveniences of their perceptive conditions
3.3.13 Artists, Technicians, Publishers, Advertisements
Users Artists, Technicians, Publishers, Advertisements Users Profile People who works in the Fine Arts fields; production or re-production of art and art objects; technicians constructing or adapting museums, art galleries, or exhibition halls; writers of books on the arts, history, or architecture; any advertising agency using images of art objects, architecture or other cultural devices ... Needs Overview
- Acquire images, collections or other for associating one's own business and line of communication onto the image
- Production of derived products like CD-ROM, books, brochures, T-shirts and so on
- Advertising material production
Specific needs for Artists :
- Administrative information (e.g. intellectual property rights, locations) and background information on art objects (Internet)
Specific needs for Technicians:
- Planning and constructing should be facilitated with the help of data exchange
Specific needs for Publishers:
- Education in cross media publishing
- Support in cross media publishing
- Conversion facilities for different MM types
- Compression and decompression tools
- Intellectual Property Rights (Ownership, Copyright)
- Multilingual support
- Watermarking of images, audio and video
3.3.14 Sponsors
Users Sponsors Users Profile Industries, financial company, public institutions that finance Fine Arts events/restorations to publicise their activities; financing or partly subsidising whole institutions, exhibitions or other events ... Needs Overview
- Be informed about cultural events
- Creation of brochures with texts and images on cultural themes
- Use of the services to diffuse their activities and image
- Interested in a navigational access to organisational background information (e.g. history of the museum or other institution, size, visitor profile)
3.3.15 Image Agencies
Users Image Agencies Users Profile Companies that manages archives and images for commercial targets ... Needs Overview
- Image archiving and information retrieving
- Copyrights and IPR management/accounting
- Electronic sales
3.3.16 Merchandise Producers
Users Merchandise Producers Users Profile Private or Public Companies that produce advertisements gadgets; creating and producing art souvenirs and gadgets ... Needs Overview
- Access to images of the cultural heritage
- Buy images to associate with own products
- Information on juridical matters and the possibility to advertise their products through a multi-media database and the CSCs
3.3.17 Art Brokers
Users Art Brokers Users Profile Private or Public Companies interested in buying/selling fine art objects... Needs Overview
- Possibility to prepare virtual exhibition
- Management of cultural wealth images and of economical information
- Publicise their activities:
- Interested in hyper-media navigation and surfing
- Information on juridical and organisational matters
3.3.18 Interpol/Police Force
Users Interpol/Police Force Users Profile Private or Public Companies that work on the security of art treasures; customs and police officials specialised in the security of art objects and the retrieval of stolen objects ... Needs Overview
- Manage and access to public filing of cultural wealth or about cultural treasures in public exposition to assure security
- Be informed about archaeological ruins which have been discovered but not well publicised
- Publicise the retrieval of stolen piece of art render them back to the proprietary collection /museum
- For perfect security and the identification of art objects access to high quality images and administrative information is needed. (CSCs, Internet)
4. Recommendations and Guidelines
4.1 Recommended Tools & Services for users
Museum, Universities, Professors, Researchers, Students, Scholars Tools:
Archiving tool, Culture on-line Browser, Meta-database, VR exhibitorServices for Museums/Institutions
Cultural heritage information management by using existing standards ; a multimedia trans-European database to manage and locate artwork ; creation of digital museums, 'virtual exhibitions' and the possibility of hyper-media navigation and surfing ; a trans-European network of ²Cultural Heritage Information Providers" ; efficient control and charging of intellectual property rights and copyright ;...Services for Students :
A trans-European framework for 'virtual' access to museums, art galleries and similar, joined with geographical or historical paths or maps ; access information directly from home ; free access from universities and schools ;...Services for Scholars :
Comprehensive interchange of information among educational and art institutions ; hyper-media navigation and surfing providing in-depth reports on different kind of work of art and history ;...Services for Researchers :
Wide information interchange among art institutions and researchers ; quick access to very specialised information with the help of cultural services centres ; hyper-media navigation and surfing providing in-depth reports ; CSCs could provide platforms for international research co-operation and co-ordination as well as multimedia discussion forums for research projects ;.....Services for Professors :
Extensive information interchange among art institutions, universities, professors, libraries, and more ; 'virtual' services and high resolution images, movie-maps, 3d models, VR experiences ; hyper-media navigation and surfing providing in-depth reports ; specialised CSCs would be able to provide specific teaching material on request ;....
Art Restorer, Conservationists Tools :
Archiving tool, Culture on-line Browser, VR Application, Multimedia titlesServices for Restorer :
Digital animation, 'virtual' reconstruction and other services (e.g. high resolution images, and VR experiences ; discussion platforms on restoration problems ;....
Managers (Libraries, Museums, Music-tech, Historical register office, State archives, etc... ) Tools :
Archiving tool, Culture on-line Browser, Meta-database, VR ExhibitorServices for Managers :
Information on charging and protection of intellectual property rights and copyright ; CSCs give information on exhibitions, events, and merchandising for public relation activities or conference organisation (e.g. recreational activities) ;...Services for Libraries:
Hyper-media navigation and surfing providing some basic information on various art objects ; comprehensive interchange of information among libraries and art institutions (advertising) ;....
Cultural Associations, Local Entities for the Protection of the Community (Linguistic Associations, Thematic Museums,...) Tools :
Archiving tool, Culture on-line Browser, VR ExhibitorServices :
Selected multimedia topics at cultural heritage sites ;...
Cultural Tourists Tools :
Cultural on-line BrowserServices:
Hyper-media navigation and surfing directly from home providing basic information ; selected multimedia topics at cultural heritage sites (possibility to create individual guidebook - receiving copies only for the topics on which one is especially interested) ;.....
Photographers, Scenographers, Directors and/or TV Producers Tools :
Cultural on-line BrowserServices for Photographers:
Hyper-media navigation and surfing providing some basic information on various art objects (location, 'virtual' images) ; information on charging and protection of intellectual property rights and copyright ;....
Curators, Authors Tools :
VR ExhibitorServices for Authors :
Information on charging and protection of intellectual property rights and copyright through trans-European cultural heritage information management ;...
Tourist Operators/Agencies Tools :
Cultural on-line BrowserServices for Tourist Agencies:
Services of the ²Cultural Heritage Information Provider" and the cultural services centres providing basic multimedia information for tourists right at the local Tourist Information Centres (e.g. opening hours, tickets, the permanent collections, events) ; therefore: a close co-operation between CSCs and Tourist Information Centres and Travel Agencies (e.g. demand?, advertising novelties, pre-paid entrance tickets, pre-paid admission arrangements at reduced prices) ;....
Manufacturing Company, Advertising Agency, Public Relations Managers Tools :
Cultural on-line, Browser
Children of ages 3-5 Tools :
CSC playroomServices :
Museum within a museum
Toddlers and Teenagers Tools :
CSC Multimedia lab., Cultural on-line BrowserServices :
Museum within supermarkets, shopping centres, ...
Cultural Tourists with Disabilities Tools :
Cultural on-line Browser, VR Exhibitor, CSC - Virtual TheatreServices :
Specialised tours ;...
Artists, Technicians, Publishers, Advertisements Tools :
Cultural on-line BrowserServices for Artists:
Information on charging and protection of intellectual property rights and copyright; information on symposia, readings, exhibitions and other cultural events at cultural heritage sites could be distributed by the CSCs ;...Services for Technicians:
Services of the ²Cultural Heritage Information Provider" (high quality colour prints, 3d digital or solid models) ; an international data interchange on special technical problems and devices (e.g. light, humidity) ;...
Sponsors Tools :
Cultural on-line BrowserServices :
A trans-European framework for 'virtual' access to museums, art galleries and similar, with some essential business information on the art institutions assigned to it (Internet) ;...
Image Agencies Tools :
Cultural on-line Browser, Archiving
Merchandise Producers Tools :
Cultural on-line Browser
Services:
Information interchange among art institutions and merchandise producers (coming exhibitions, events, offering merchandise products within the 'virtual' exhibitions) ;...
Art Brokers Tools :
Cultural on-line Browser Services :
An international multimedia database to locate artwork and display basic information on property rights and acquisition modalities (e.g. auction dates) ;...
Interpol/Police Force Tools :
Cultural on-line BrowserServices :
Information interchange among art institutions, police headquarters and customs ; 'Virtual' services like high resolution images, movie-maps, 3d models, and the services of the trans-European network of the ²Cultural Heritage Information Provider",...4.2 Quality Guidelines
The main items for a good multimedia product, are :
- Easy consultation (contents general view, possibility to come back, on-line help, easy understanding of symbols, icons, buttons, possibility of information retrieve, many hypertext nodes, search possibilities, possibility of automatic tours, possibility to exit from each place...)
- Richness of functionality's (print functions, dictionaries, thematic glossaries, thesaurus image extraction ...)
- Multi-lingual and correct lingual speaking
- Quality of images, sounds and texts (types of pictures, colours, adequate fonts...)
- Quality of scenario (possibility of inter-activities, nice look to see, interest of contents and richness of opinions during navigation, educational approach, thematic educational games...)
- Richness of materials (comments, references, ...)
- Guarantee the correctness of the multimedia information
- Respect the IPR rules and copyright law
- Balancing the multimedia information by emphasising the hyper-textual technologies
- Clearly define the sources of the materials (images, text, video,..) and the related date
- Subsets of a catalogue, showing only highlights might also be offered
- Credits clearly mentioned
The web site should have some features that could allow its easy and direct use. The main features are :
Easy to use and to up-grade:
Multi-lingual:
- the Web site should have features of versatility and flexibility for an easy approach and a quick upgrade
Applications :
- it should be multi-lingual supports to read or retrieve information, not only in English but also in other languages.
Search :
- Create a virtual catalogue or show of the new event (temporary exhibition, workshops, cultural events,..)
- Guarantee the correctness of the information
- One current trend is to sell space on home-page to others companies
Quality of information:
- The search should not work only on the texts, but mainly by means of graphical interfaces in order to have an easy and interactive approach
- A standardized approach, e.g. CIMI should be supported
- Existence of information needs to be guaranteed to be available over long periods (e.g. 50 years and more)
The main quality requirements of a virtual reality application can be summarised in the following :
- Viewers can examine objects in the same ways as in the real world: by walking around and moving relative to the objects and also by manipulating objects to get a better look at them.
- Objects can be selected and then acted upon. Depending on the current mode, the selected object can be:
- Manipulated (e.g. rotated and moved)
- Mutated
- Mated another object (also known as crossover)
- Saved to a file for future reference
- Refined (re-rendered much larger and with higher grid resolution)
- Make the shapes comprehensible (the two sides of each surface are differently coloured ...)
- Create an higher resolution application able to represent and reconstruct a cultural theme
- Having the supervision and the certification of a scientific commission with a proven knowledge into the specific theme.
- Use of infinite resolution techniques in order to increase the scientific value of the application
4.2.1 Multimedia files quality
Two main classification can be made
- low quality files : to be used on-line by a user who does not have a modem with high transfer rate
- high quality files : to be used off-line by a user who does not have an high speed net connection
Generally, it is possible to reduce the size of high quality data (by using lossy or loss-less compression methods) to reduce the download time, e.g. thumbnails or quality reduced images using wavelet compression.
The following table shows the more common files format for images, movies, audio:
Media Low quality files High quality files Image files JPG GIF TIFF Movie files AVI MOV JPEG AVI MOV JPEG Audio files WAV MOV JPEG WAV MOV JPEG Movie on video-cartridge : have to be considered the tape format and the standards adopted in the different countries (NTSC, PAL, SECAM):
Use Technology Consumer VHS, Super-VHS, Hi8 Professional Betacam SP, BVU ¾"**, U-MATIC ¾" ** (**) such formats are no longer usedfor professional productions, but they can be found in some archives.
(PAL video format is used in most of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. NTSC video format mainly in USA and Canada. SECAM video format is used in France and in former French colonies, A variant of SECAM, is used in Eastern Europe, Greece, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.)
4.2.2 The need for standards
The development and adoption of standards and protocols has led to an exponential growth in resources available on the Internet. Information cannot be passed from one system to another without some kind of agreement on data formatting and delivery. Z39.50 standards have allowed people to use their own familiar query syntax to access library and other information resources around the world. Standards for URLs (Universal Resource Locators) and HTML (Hyper-Text Mark-up Language) have allowed World-Wide Web browsers to proliferate. Standards for multimedia formats and compression have led to wide availability of images and sound on the Internet.
Much of the current museum standards development and implementation is centred in the CIMI Project (Computerized Interchange of Museum Information : http://www.cni.org/pub/CIMI), and particularly in Project CHIO (Cultural Heritage Information Online). The successful widespread adoption of results from these projects is likely to lead to more co-operative relationships among museums.
Standards, or the lack of them, is a reason of concern. This has invoked the need for:
- interface standards and methods of content access .
- use of meta-data in independent representation of the logical and physical source which points to the importance of SGML, XML and HyTime in preventing obsolescence in structured hypermedia representation including multilingual availability.
- standards for digitisation of images should be at content-level rather than confined to bit-level taking in mind that in the arts and cultural wealth it is necessary to ask "quality for what purpose". Of course, if the images are in colour, cultural users will be concerned that the surrogate has the same colour as the original, which is nearly impossible without standards for colour management and display.
- availability of reliable, standard, infrastructures including location-independent naming of objects
- registration methods for digital objects to protect intellectual property.
The following table summarises the user profile needs in term of used standard and related application size. The table contents are only a synthesis and does not include all the possible case and related conditions.
Table 10: User profile needs, used standards and related application size
User Profile User Profile Definition Application Size Image Size Workstation html, gif, jpeg entry level connection on the net, users free access for information retrieve or simple presentations 1 MB 10 to 100 KB PC 486, small Pentium or superior entry level CD-ROM access to simple multimedia services with sounds by standard microcomputer. It access CD-ROM or a net connection with enough throughput (ISDN) 100 MB 300 to 500 KB PC Pentium 166 or superior graphic CD-ROM/DVD
little 3D images
little VRThe microcomputer is equipped with good graphics (colours number, keyboard size, top level microcomputer with Windows NT operating system and with large enough RAM memory). It has access on CD-ROM or has a net connection with enough throughput (local network) 1 GB 1 to 2 MB PC Pentium Pro or MMX 266 or superior graphic CD-ROM/DVD
3D images quality
VR qualityThe workstation has good graphics capabilities to reproduce 2D/3D images and Virtual Reality. Access by CD-ROM or a net connection with enough throughput (cable, ATM or satellite) 10 GB 10 MB or superior Workstation UNIX VHS
Hi8
Super-VHSIt is the video cartridge user world wide. The access is only to physical detect the tape Tape creation done by using a differential output VHS or U-matic. The tape is inside a video cartridge Betacam SP
BVU ¾" (**)
U-MATIC ¾" (**)in PAL, NTSC, or SECAM standards
(**) such formats are no used for professional productions, but can be found in some archives
It is the standard for video professionals used by specialists to have an high image quality, because this standard use a greater bandwidth. The access is only to physically detect the tape The tape creation are done by using a differential output VHS or U-Matic. The tape is inside a video cartridge Specific Requests It is used by specialists of digital images or movie. The access depends by their needs These realisation are done on request and eventually they are conserved depending on their importance for MOSAIC
ANNEX.1.Target Users profile specifications (WP1400)
Refer to: Target Users Profile Specifications, WorkPackage 1400 (delivered on 01/10/1997 and accessible on http://mosaic.infobyte.it/project/project.html)