Revelation
Unlocking Research Resources for 19th and 20th Century Church History and Christian Theology
Aims
The purpose of the project is to enhance awareness of and access to the most substantial printed and archive collections for research into 19th and 20th century church history and Christian theology held in university, public and specialised libraries across the United Kingdom.
The aims of the project are twofold. It will provide enhanced access to the catalogues of ten academic libraries (including eight CURL members and two other university libraries) with substantial research collections in church history and Christian theology, as well as the development of a web-based guide mapping the most important printed and archive collections housed in up to forty university, public or specialised libraries across the United Kingdom.
The total cost of the project has been estimated at £646,335. The University of Birmingham has been awarded a £484,460 grant from RSLP to manage the project, the remaining costs being met by the partners.
Methodology
The project comprises two main components:
A programme of targeted retrospective conversion that entails the computerisation of 149,950 records from the card catalogues of the ten libraries involved.
The cataloguing work, which takes place in the libraries where the collections are held, is co-ordinated by a project manager, based at the University of Birmingham, whose role it is to monitor the partner libraries’ performance against agreed targets and standards. As many records as possible are downloaded from high-quality bibliographic databases, such as CURL and RLIN, in order to reduce in-house cataloguing effort.
A web-based guide mapping the printed and archive collections of up to forty libraries at collection-level, to be developed by a full-time project officer over a period of eighteen months in collaboration with the partner institutions. The guide will conform to the standards required by the RSLP/UKOLN template for printed collections and to those defined by the HE Archives Hub on the basis of ISAD(G) in the case of archives.
Deliverables
- Creation of machine-readable bibliographic records for a minimum of 149,950 monographs. Most of the records will be available for reuse by other libraries, through the CURL database, under appropriate terms and conditions.
- Provision of networked access (including subject access) to the collections, mostly searchable through a single interface via the web-based COPAC service, which is available to all free of charge. The records will also be available on the partner libraries’ respective online catalogues.
- A web-based guide containing collection-level descriptions of the most substantial printed and archive collections in 19th and 20th century church history and Christian theology held in up to forty university, public and specialised libraries across the UK.
- A project web site, for regular dissemination of information about the project and updates on its progress.
- Contributions to professional journals, attendance and speaking at relevant events, as and when appropriate, in order to disseminate the outcomes of the project among information professionals and researchers.
Partnership
Ten university libraries are participating in the retrospective conversion component of the project:
- University of Aberdeen
- University of Birmingham (lead institution)
- University of Edinburgh
- University of Glasgow
- University of Manchester
- University of Nottingham
- University of St Andrews
- University of Sheffield
- University of Wales, Lampeter
- King’s College London
There are currently forty university, public and specialised libraries, including the ten primary partners listed above, participating in the mapping component of the project.
Contacts
Project Manager
Jackie Hwang
Bibliographic Services
Information Services
The University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham B15 2TT
Tel: 0121 414 5814
Fax: 0121 471 4691
E-mail: j.r.hwang@bham.ac.uk
Project website
http://www.is.bham.ac.uk/rslp/revelation.htm
Content: Gill Davenport
Last updated 2 July 2002