In my opinion your are putting on the table an important question, dear Barbara.

The question is how approaching the GLAM tools.

In every software there is a need, after there is a development, and after there is an acceptance because who asked to have a tool may say that the "functionalities" don't match the requirements.

The tool can be fantastic, multitasking, multifunctional, portable, efficient, and so on BUT cannot do some basic functions required by a GLAM project.

The main problem, for instance, is that it's hard to use, not friendly, it requires a long training...

The problem is to have technicians designing softwares for technicians or implementing softwares for technicians.

I think that it's fundamental that the requests and the acceptance MUST be done by GLAM operators and that the tools must implement ONLY what is required, nothing else.

I remember that some months ago there was a discussion here about the tools required by GLAM projects... there were several emails and the request was for the GLAMwiki tooolkit.

After some months it would be happy to know who is using it, which projects are having benefits from it and how quantify the relation costs/benefits.

I think that the GLAM-coordinators must take their right position in this process and must organize a "task force" to collect requirements and to submit these requirements to the community of developers and to evaluate the final results asking for corrections or re-engineering. If the GLAM coordinators will not be bold, the risk is to have terabytes of unusable software or tools.

This role is fundamental for a correct approach to this problem.

regards

On Thu, Jul 3, 2014 at 12:34 PM, Barbara Fischer < barbara.fischer@wikimedia.de> wrote:

Hi Liam and Eric,

collaborating with GLAMs in Germany I can only stress how important technical support is to help GLAM to integrate their content to Wikimedia projects. Actually it is a trias of consultancy, technical support and seduce them with projects like coding da Vinci : the culture hackathon http://codingdavinci.de/. We are planning to enhance this support by more intense collaboration with EUROPEANA through the GLAM Wiki Tool kit - hopefully with Liam -, by launching a "Lizenzhinweisgenerator https://github.com/wmde/Lizenzverweisgenerator" helping users in an easy way to quote and reuse legally correct the data files on Commons, and thus ensuring GLAMs that "their" content will be widely spread but thread to them. And triggering the discussion on license issues on all legal levels. We would really appreciate it, if there would something like an international "task force" making sure as one point that the different tools are accessible in the different languages in different chapters and adapting them to national law where it is required.

As far as I can see time is right to harvest - let`s provide the service and tools to make it as easy and convenient as possible.

The meet up of GLAM-coordinators at the Wikimania would be a good starting point. Lilli Illiev http://wikimania2014.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Lilli_Iliev_(WMDE)and Katja Ullrich http://wikimania2014.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katja_Ullrich_(WMDE) will attend the Wikimania to meet as many of You as possible and share the knowledge.

Best regards

Barbara Fischer Kuratorin für Kulturpartnerschaften Jeweils persönlich von Montag bis Donnerstag für Sie erreichbar Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | NEU: Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin Tel. (030) 219 158 26-(0)44

http://wikimedia.de

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