GOOD PRACTICE FORM FOR NOMINATIONS

We propose to start the activity of the workgroup on 'good practice' proposing an initial set of some main areas where to put the nominations. In particular we think to start with the basic issue of digitisation itself.
Each project can be 'nominated' for more than one area, following your evaluation of the most important features contained in the example.

AREAS for nominations of 'good practice' for on-going projects on digitisation:
1.	Preservation of physical objects via digitisation and electronic surrogates.
2.	High quality of the digitisation process.
3.	Metadata and Thesaurus.
4.	Usability of project results.
5.	Management of the process and workflow
6.	Accessibility including copyright issues and web sites

For each project please specify:

•	Area of 'good practice' where you like to nominate your project (you can put more than only one area): 
1, 6

•	Name:
Mediceo avanti il Principato on line

•	Responsible body and/or any specific : Archivio di Stato Firenze
Co-ordinating body/mechanism: Ministero per i beni e le Attività Culturali, Direzione Generale degli Archivi

•	Contact person:

Dr.a Rosalia Manno Tolu Director of the State Archive of Florence
Dr.a Francesca Klein, Responsible for Digitisation projects of the State Archive of Florence

•	Web site:
http://www.archiviodistato.firenze.it/Map/ 
•	Description of the project, objectives and priorities:

The proper background of digitisation plans carried out by the Archivio di Stato di Firenze is the domain of preservation and exploitation policy of the documentary sources. The Mediceo avanti il Principato is one of the most important and known of the Florentine archival fonds : it consists of the archive of the Medici family from 1373 to about 1537 when  Cosimo I dei Medici was invested as Duke of Florence. The fonds includes also some later documents.
These are the features of the digitisation project:
•	Firstly: the documentary materials selected to be digitised are the result of strategical choices: the fonds is extremely consulted and relevant for historical research. The MaP presented problems about  preservation of documents as well as about their availability to public access.
•	Secondly, the main purpose of digitisation was not to obtain a simple collection of images; in fact, we have tried to preserve a consistent archival structure as a framework. The database is able to provide digitised images together with their finding aids. For such a purpose the available inventories were employed, as they are just ready information resources, even if historically defined.
The whole fonds has been digitized together with the  4 volumes of the inventory .
More than 148'000 images have been created from the whole fonds and its inventory and from the 21st of march 2000 they are available over the World Wide Web
It is possible to turn over the pages of the several file, but it is also possible to open documents directly, by knowing its exact reference number 
.

•	The main technical features for what you consider the project a 'good practice' example:
The project achieves a good compromise between quality of images and their easy transmission in Internet. The images are provided by a friendly consulting system and are protected from copying. 

•	Long term sustainability strategy:

•	Accessibility by users via local network or Internet (describe modalities and IPR issue from a technical point of view):
The Map is freely accessible in Internet. The system is provided by a registration system of users and accesses. It is possible to download and to print images of the inventory, but not of the documents, because of copyright reasons.

•	Problems encountered :
The protection of copyright in Internet is still a matter of problems. How to combine the necessary protection of scientific projects and documentary sources with the communication issues ? 

Comments: 

Figures and documents enclosed:

I agree this information could be published/

                              Yes
                               No

Organisation & person completing the questionnaire

•	Formal name of organisation:
Archivio di Stato di Firenze

•	Type of organisation:
Public

•	Field of action:	Archive / Library / Museum / Foundation / others ….

•	Address:
Viale Giovine Italia, 6 - 50100 FIRENZE

•	Name of director:
Dr.a Rosalia Manno Tolu

•	Name and role of person completing the questionnaire:
Dr.a Francesca Klein, Responsible for Digitisation projects of the State Archive of Florence

•	Tel:
+39 055 263201
•	Fax:
+39 055 2341159

•	Web site:
http://www.archiviodistato.firenze.it/
•	E-mail:
asfi@archiviodistato.firenze.it

Date:
30/04/02