About AHDS History
About |
Organisation |
Purpose AHDS History
UK Data Archive
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester, CO4 3SQ
Tel: 01206 872326
Fax: 01206 872003
Email : info @ history.ahds.ac.uk
About AHDS History
AHDS History collects, preserves and promotes the use of digital resources, which result from or support historical research, learning and teaching.
In 1990 a feasibility study was funded into the establishment of an archive for historical data materials. The feasibility study arose from two factors. First, as a development of the growth and increase in the use and application of automated techniques in historical research. Second, as an attempt to capture and disseminate information on the level and extent of work being undertaken within the historical community. The study resulted in a publication listing details of over 500 historical datasets, K. Schürer and S. J. Anderson with the assistance of J. A. Duncan, comp., A guide to historical datafiles held in machine-readable form (Association for History and Computing, London, 1992) and a clear recommendation that a centre to archive and disseminate historical data materials be established.
Following on from this, in January 1993, the History Data Unit (HDU) was established as a specialist unit within The Data Archive, University of Essex. In 1995 the Arts and Humanities Data Service was established as a distributed organisation comprising a managing Executive and five service providers, with The Data Archive hosting the service provider for history. At this time the History Data Unit was re-named the History Data Service and formally became a part of the AHDS.
In October 2003 AHDS ‘service providers’ became ‘subject centres’ and all the subject centres of the AHDS were renamed with History Data Service (HDS) becoming AHDS History.
The following agencies either require or recommend datasets produced by their grantholders be offered to AHDS History or one of the other centres in the AHDS:
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Organisation
AHDS History is the national service provider for the acquisition, dissemination and preservation of electronic historical materials and is one of the five centresof the Arts and Humanities Data Service.
We are funded directly by the AHDS who in turn are funded by the AHRC and the JISC AHDS History is located within the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex and has strong links with the University's History Department.
AHDS History is supported in its work by an Advisory Committee chaired by Professor John Beckett, Director of Victoria County History
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Purpose
AHDS History provides services, assistance and advice to:
AHDS History helps data creators and data providers by:
- Offering guidance on creating and documenting digital resources from historical sources;
- Working to ensure that researchers receive full recognition for the creation of fully-documented data collections, by pressing for recognition that high quality data collections are vital resources which benefit the research community, and which are valid publications requiring proper citation in published works;
- Providing long-term preservation of deposited data collections so that researchers can be assured that their data are protected against the vagaries of time and technology, and will therefore remain usable in future;
- Minimising the administrative burden arising from enquiries about deposited data collections;
- Providing information about deposited data collections to the research and teaching community.
AHDS History helps researchers and teachers by:
- Identifying historical data collections of all types that may be of interest for research, learning and teaching;
- Establishing a collection of historical digital resources drawn from a wide range of sources and with broad temporal and geographic coverage for use in research, learning and teaching;
- Providing a fully searchable catalogue record and set of indexes for all data collections held in the collection;
- Supplying copies of data collections held in this collection in a range of formats and on a variety of media or by FTP;
- Facilitating access to and providing information on data collections held by other national and international organisations;
- Negotiating agreements for access to commercial data collections where these are likely to be of particular use in research, learning and teaching;
- Establishing thematic special collections, and enriching and enhancing selected data collections.
AHDS History helps the wider historical community, funding bodies and other related agencies by:
- Providing a conduit between the historical community, funding bodies, the Data Archive and the wider Arts and Humanities Data Service to develop a framework for digital resource preservation and interchange and ensure that the needs of the historical community are taken fully into account as the service develops;
- Working with others to develop standards and recommendations for best practice in the creation, description, preservation and use of electronic materials;
- Promoting standards and best practice in the creation, description, use and preservation of historical digital resources;
- Working to ensure that issues of preservation and re-use are fully taken into account by data creators and funding bodies;
- Working to raise awareness of the value of historical data collections and of their potential for secondary use;
- Providing training and workshops about the creation, description, preservation and use of electronic materials.
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