Surfing the Mersey without getting wet

1
Surfing the Mersey without getting wet

• Simon Wilson
• Project Manager, Mersey Gateway project
• simon.wilson_at_liverpool.gov.uk

2
in a sentence...

• an online showcase of material held in
  libraries, archives and museums across Merseyside
  - these resources will be used to tell the story
  of the port and city of Liverpool and the wider
  Merseyside region.

3
(No Transcript)
4
the ideal scenario...

• a person with some knowledge in a subject or
  topic (ie Overhead Railway, Runcorn Bridge or the
  Lusitania) reads a narrative or the captions to
  some related images
• after 5 minutes says I didnt know that .
• informal learning
• likely to tell others about the site and pass the
  knowledge on

5
Port Cities Mersey Gateway
Port Cities (NMM)
Bristol
Hartlepool
Liverpool
Southampton
Chester and Cheshire Archives Halton Knowsley
Lancashire RO Liverpool Central
Library Liverpool RO Liverpool University Merseys
ide RO NMGM North West Sound Archive St
Helens Sefton Warrington Wirral Archives
6

• manages text, images internal links
• uses templates - dynamic web site
• workflow - management progress

Content Management System
7
Research team

• background research into topic(s)
• visit partners
• select material
• write narratives
• add captions, metadata, keywords etc
• assist with education, user forum etc...

8

• search 20,000 images
• free-text,
• by historical period
• areas of interest Politics, Engineering etc
• by type of person eg Artists
  Architects
• by collection type
• by location of resource,
• or combination of all of the above

9

• hundreds of narratives
• (informal learning)
• primarily from a historical perspective
• biographies profiles of buildings and vessels
• cross linked to encourage browsing
• facts,quizzes etc

10
encouraging access and research

• presented as a starting point
• further reading and web links
• full references will be cited
• allow / encourage users to view the originals
• general guides to using resources
• maps, street directories, newspapers etc
• MALG Guides
• transport public health in a searchable format
• questions to ask on a first visit
• FAQs from partners

11
users?

• lifelong learning (grant condition)
• anyone and everyone over the age of 16
• not to be aligned to the National Curriculum
• which is very clearly defined
• Mersey Gateway
• a local history (not family history) resource
• perspectives and needs are very different
• user forum on 4th March

12
post project - the future ?

• funding requirements
• maintain the site for 3 years
• look to secure more funding
• further development
• images can be added very quickly
• description metadata take time
• additional learning resources (for all ages)