GOOD PRACTICE FORM FOR NOMINATIONS

•	Area of 'good practice' where you like to nominate your project (you can put more than only one area): 
Management of the process and workflow
+ High quality of the digitisation process.
+ Metadata and Thesaurus.
+ Usability of project results.

•	Name: National digitisation programme - annual project calls

•	Responsible body and/or any specific :
Co-ordinating body/mechanism:
Coordination : Scientific Committee for Multimedia – Ministry of Culture
Supervision : Research and Technology Department – Ministry of Culture

•	Contact person:

Alain Maulny, Research and Technology Department, Ministry of Culture
Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Research and Technology Department, Ministry of Culture
Muriel Foulonneau, Relais Culture Europe

•	Web site: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/mrt/numerisation/index.htm

•	Objectives and priorities:

The National Digitisation Programme provides funding to digitisation projects of cultural State collections. Annual project calls enable the scientific committee to select projects. A European call for bid led to a cooperation with a unique technical service provider (with low prices negociated at national level). The national framework makes available the scientific committee expertise, standards, means for valorising collections.

Objectives :
-	modernise information systems for cultural services of public utility 
-	foster access to knowledge and cultural heritage related documents
-	contribute to French culture influence
-	promote new practices
-	valorise research
Priorities :
-	Access for everyone 
-	enlargement of access to cultural heritage resources
-	access to representation of primary documents
-	creation of national catalogues (Joconde, Mémoire ….)
-	Harmonisation of digitisation process 
-	digitisation of indexed collections
-	harmonisation of documentary standards : metadata, thesaurus, vocabularies
-	harmonisation of technical standards : defined collectively within a scientific committee 
-	harmonisation of digitisation process and quality control. 

•	The main technical features for what you consider the project a 'good practice' example:

-	A European call for bid led to a national agreement with a service provider with common specifications. Projects funded in the scope of the national digitisation programme must then be technically executed by this service provider.
-	Homogeneous digitisation process with quality control
-	National coherence between digitisation programmes
-	Common approach of semantic and technical issues
-	A unique naming plan which allows data integration to national databases

•	Long term sustainability strategy:

-	Training workshops organised to grow awareness on new technologies and inform people of methodologies and technical aspects of a digitisation project
-	Naming plan for digital files to allow integration of digitised content in national databases
-	Support to small organisations
-	Collections directory which enables a global view of on-going projects
-	Validation of projects and standards by a scientific committee which gathers various sectors (libraries, museums, archives, historical sites)

The key element to success is the coordination of local initiatives and projects, provision of standards, skills and dissemination tools to organisations which do not always have the means to develop great digitisation programmes. 
The national standards enable interoperability between local digitised collections and great databases so that after the digitisation process, the collection can be valorised at local level and/or be added to national databases.

•	Accessibility by users via local network or Internet (describe modalities and IPR issue from a technical point of view):

The national databases are hosted by the servers of the French ministry of culture. Local collections are also hosted by local servers. 
At national level, the on-line access to resources is free.
But only low resolution stills or sound samples are available on the Web.

•	Problems encountered :

- Inadequate indexing before digitising collections
- Insufficient capacity of small teams to manage a full digitisation project, even though a service provider carries out the technical part

Here is the process : 
-	the organisation suggests a digitisation project for one or more collection(s) already indexed in a database
-	validation by the scientific committee on scientific, organisational and technical criteria
-	preparation of collections (selection according to formats and types, indexing control ….)
-	technical part done by the service provider
-	quality control of digitised collections by the service provider then the collection holder
-	management of digital content : transfer of digitised collections and descriptive files to electronic document management system or any other means to manage digital collections
-	valorising of digital collections : national databases, editorial products, local access …
=> here is the problem : Management and valorising of digital collections because of a lack of qualification.

Comments: 

Snowball effects: 
- This annual programme aroused complementary funding by local communities
- Local structures, out of the programme’s scope, standardize their digital collections or digitisation projet on the national digitisation programme

Figures and documents enclosed:

Since 1996, have been digitised in the scope of the national digitisation programme :
-	2 million still images
-	2000 hours sound 
-	400 video records 
-	500 films

Web site devoted to the national digitisation programme : http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/mrt/numerisation/

Catalogue of cultural heritage digitised collections : http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/mrt/numerisation/fr/f_02.htm

Cultural heritage databases : http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/bdd/index.html

Virtual galleries : http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/exp/exp.htm

I agree this information could be published/

                            X  Yes
                               No

Organisation & person completing the questionnaire

•	Formal name of organisation:
Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication
Mission de la Recherche et de la Technologie
•	Type of organisation:
Ministerial Department
•	Field of action:	Archive / Library / Museum / Foundation / others ….
All cultural public sectors, local and national, state collections
•	Address:
Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication
Missiond e la Recherche et de la Technologie
3 rue de Valois
75001 Paris
•	Name of director:
Jean-Pierre Dalbéra
•	Name and role of person completing the questionnaire: 
Alain Maulny, project manager
Muriel Foulonneau, technical advisor
•	Tel : +33 1 40 15 81 37
•	Fax : +33 1 40 15 83 84
•	Web site : http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/mrt/
•	E-mail : mfoulonneau@relais-culture-europe.org, alain.maulny@culture.gouv.fr

Date: 16/04/2002