Cultural Heritage in Regional Networks

Objective

REGNET aims to set up a functional network of service centres in Europe, which provides IT-services dedicated to Cultural Heritage organisations and will be an enabler of eBusiness activities for CH organizations. Multi media industries enabling the production of electronic publications will be integrated. It will provide access and use of digital data (scientific and cultural) as well as of physical goods as provided by museum shops. The four players within the network are the content providers, the service centre operators, the system developers and end users. The content providers (museums, libraries, archives etc.) will provide access (via wired and wireless communication) to their digital contents, services and products and offer them to their clients (B2C). In return they can use the REGNET facilities for multimedia productions and data base management, or cooperate with other REGNET partners during the creation of data bases, generation of multimedia products or creation of a virtual exhibition (B2B). The service centre operators will generate income by providing the technical infrastructure (software/hardware) to content providers and other partners within the REGNET network. They offer additional IT-services and consultancies. And the system developers are selling the REGNET system to other cultural service centres and content providers. They implement additional components for the REGNET software system (additional "nodes" like an "exhibition creator", etc), and will generate income via licence fees for the REGNET system. For the end user the system will offer easy and wide access to cultural heritage data information and the purchase of CH related goods and services at one point, with stress on the production of personalized goods (e.g. CDROM) and services.

Objectives:
Main objectives of REGNET are:
· Development of a service infrastructure which enables business to business (B2B) transactions as well as business to consumer (B2C) transactions
· Development and use of existing - locally held - electronic catalogues (OPACS: Online Public Access Catalogues) referring to cultural & scientific objects contained in libraries, museums, archives, and galleries, as well as to goods and services.
· Integration of a distributed search and retrieval system to achieve a "virtual union" catalogue of all OPACS and product/service catalogues held locally
· Definition of Information Products and Services including necessary "supply chains" and the connected business processes and functions to deliver digital and physical goods (to provide high quality services an editorial committee will be installed)
· Setup of a legal framework necessary for all business transaction on the B2B and B2C level (containing payment features, copyright systems, authentication control, etc)
· Integration and test of existing components, standards, and methods in the field of distributed search and retrieval and e-commerce
· Access to the REGNET-WEB services with mobile devices via de facto standard protocols (such as wireless application protocol, WAP etc).
· Run a trial service (demonstration phase) which should be followed by a regular service.


Work description:
The technical (research and development) objectives of REGNET are:
· Development of the "REGNET building blocks (nodes)" which are necessary to build up an appropriate infrastructure to access to catalogues (containing cultural & scientific data, product & service descriptions, etc) in the Cultural Heritage domain.
Access to the "REGNET System" via wired communication lines as well as via wireless mode (e.g. using the wireless application protocol WAP).
The building blocks (nodes) of the REGNET system consist of:
· REGNET - Portal (access to remote data entry, distributed search, e-business)
· REGNET - Cultural Heritage Data Management (search over distributed meta data repositories connected to stores containing digital content)
· REGNET - eBusiness Data Management (e-commerce system allowing access to distributed product/service catalogues)
· REGNET - Ontology (Metadata) Subsystem (containing the specifications of all metadata needed in the Cultural Heritage domain as well as in the e-business domain; this subsystem also stores specifications of workflows and process related metadata)
· REGNET - Electronic Publishing Subsystem (allowing the production of personalised digital products based on standardised meta data and workflows)

The demonstration objectives of REGNET are:
· Test the technical (hardware/software) infrastructure of the REGNET system
· Validate the developed services offered to end users and content providers
· Test the operation of at least three Cultural Service Centres

Milestones:
M1: State of the Art, Results: documentation plans (preparation of content); infrastructure to run the trial service; legal framework
M2: System implementation, Results: Content and products ready; System is tested; contracts and agreements are signed; start of market activities; Training of REGNET administrators
M3: End of system validation, Results: infrastructure at service centres ready
M4: Trial Service ends, Results: Regular service network
M5: REGNET established.

Fields of science

• natural sciences › computer and information sciences › knowledge engineering › ontology
• humanities › arts › modern and contemporary art › radio and television
• natural sciences › computer and information sciences › software › software applications › system software
• social sciences › economics and business › business and management › commerce › eCommerce
• engineering and technology › electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering › information engineering › telecommunications › radio technology

Programme(s)

• FP5-IST - Programme for research, technological development and demonstration on a "User-friendly information society, 1998-2002"

Topic(s)

• 2000-3.1.4 - Access to digital collections of cultural and scientific content

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

AIT ANGEWANDTE INFORMATIONSTECHNIK FORSCHUNGSGESELLSCHAFT MBH

Address

Klosterwiesgasse 32/i
8010 Graz
Austria

Links

Participants (22)

AJUNTAMENT DE GRANOLLERS

Spain

Address

Placa Porxada 30, 2
08400 Granollers

Links

CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY HELLAS

Greece

Address

6th Km Charilaou-thermi Road
57001 Thermi-thessaloniki

Links

CONSORZIO CIVITA

Italy

Address

Piazza Venezia 11
00187 Roma

Links

FOERENINGEN GOTLANDS FORNVAENNER

Sweden

Address

Mellangatan 19
621 56 Visby

Links

FRATELLI ALINARI ISTITUTO DI EDIZIONI ARTISTICHE I.D.E.A. S.P.A.

Italy

Address

Largo Fratelli Alinari 15
50123 Firenze

Links

INFORMATION & MANAGEMENT CONSULTING E.K.

Germany

Address

Blarerstrasse 56
78462 Konstanz

Links

INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

Bulgaria

Address

Acad. G. Bonchev Str. Bl.2
1113 Sofia

Links

INSTITUTO ANDALUZ DE TECNOLOGIA

Spain

Address

Calle Gutenberg
41092 Sevilla

Links

KUNGL. VETENSKAPSAKADEMIEN KVA

Sweden

Address

Lilla Frescativaegen 4
104 05 Stockholm

Links

MOTOROLA S.P.A.

Italy

Address

Via Muzio Attendolo Detto Sforza 13
20100 Milano

Links

NATURHISTORISKA RIKSMUSEET

Sweden

Address

Frescativaegen 40
104 05 Stockholm

Links

OESTERREICHISCHE NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK

Austria

Address

Josefsplatz 1
1015 Wien

Links

SALZBURG RESEARCH FORSCHUNGSGESELLSCHAFT M.B.H.

Austria

Address

Jakob Haringer Strasse 5
5020 Salzburg

Links

SPACE S.P.A.

Italy

Address

Piazza Del Carmine 22
09100 Cagliari

Links

STAD MECHELEN

Belgium

Address

Minderbroedersgang 5
2800 Mechelen

Links

STICHTING MUSEON (MUSEUM VOOR HET ONDERWIJS)

Netherlands

Address

Stadhouderslaan 41
2517 HV Den Haag

Links

STOCKHOLMS UNIVERSITET

Sweden

Address

Universitetsvaegen 10
106 91 Stockholm

Links

SYSTEMA TECHNOLOGIES S.A.

Greece

Address

Mesogion Av. 215
11525 Athens

Links

TARX N.V.

Belgium

Address

Bordekensstraat 30
1981 Hofstade

Links

TERRA INCOGNITA EUROPA LIMITED

United Kingdom

Address

7 Murieston Vale
EH54 9EP West Lothian(murieston,livingst)

Links

VALTECH S.A.

France

Address

Immeuble Lavoisier, 4 Place Des Vosges, Quartier Gambetta
92400 Courbevoie

Links

ZEUS CONSULTING S.A.

Greece

Address

Trade Centre Georgiou A Square - Riga Feraiou 93 St.
26221 Patras

Links