What is the scope of the AHDS's collections ?
How are digital resources acquired by the AHDS ?
What are the benefits to the depositor ?
When should I contact the AHDS?
What about intellectual property rights and copyright?
Why is good documentation important ?
What is involved in depositing data with the AHDS ?
Are there any charges for depositing data with the AHDS ?
May commercial datasets be deposited with the AHDS ?
Where do I get more information?

The AHDS, through its subject-based Centres, collects high-quality digital resources of long-term interest and use to those researching and teaching in humanities disciplines. These resources include, for example, archaeological excavation archives; historical, reference, and other databases; electronic texts and musical scores; linguistic corpora; geographical information systems; image banks; digital sound and video; mixed media installations. The AHDS's collection is a distributed one - data are either held by one of the AHDS Centres or maintained by a co-operating agency.

Information about resources in our collections is available from integrated online catalogues, and resources are distributed to users according to well-documented procedures and to the terms and conditions specified in licence agreements.

The AHDS will acquire and store digital resources produced by individuals, projects, or institutions. It is supported in this effort by the Joint Information Systems Committee and the Arts and Humanities Research Board   which requires that relevant data produced by their grantholders be offered for deposit with an AHDS Centre, or in some cases through the Data Archive.

Where significant bodies of material are held by other agencies, the AHDS may negotiate data exchange or access agreements with those agencies in preference to direct acquisition. Resources added to the collection in this manner is accessible through the AHDS's online catalogues and distributed through well documented procedures.

All data for deposit will be evaluated to ensure the consistency, quality and long-term viability of the AHDS's collection.

Many digital resources produced in the course of humanities research and teaching activities have significant and long-term scholarly value. Yet this value can only be realised if these resources are preserved and made accessible. Data deposited with the AHDS will be migrated through changing technological regimes now and in the future. This provides a valuable insurance for the depositor against obsolescence or damage to their own copies of the data and will ensure that their resource will be available to future generations of researchers and scholars.

Digital resources held by the AHDS will be migrated and maintained to preserve access for users who will be operating with very different computing environments. Resources in the AHDS's collections will also be catalogued professionally and according to appropriate standards. Information about them will be made accessible through a single on-line catalogue - a one-stop shop for humanities research data for researchers and librarians both in the UK and abroad - and they will be distributed to users. Depositors have the satisfaction of knowing that their data will be made available as a resource for future research and that the catalogue will provide an important instrument for disseminating information about publications and other information arising from their dataset.

By evaluating, cataloguing and publicising deposited data, the AHDS will provide tangible evidence of the scholarly effort involved in their creation. Datasets deposited with the AHDS will be promoted through AHDS publicity and workshops and of course, through the AHDS on-line catalogue. Depositors will also receive recognition as their resources are incorporated in humanities research and teaching, and as users cite their dataset in any publications arising from its secondary use.

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As soon as possible. How you create and document a digital resource will effect how and even whether it may be preserved, and located and used by others.

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Data is deposited with the AHDS with a non-exclusive licence for educational use. Copyright in the data is retained by the copyright owner(s) and the permissions given that the AHDS needs to ensure that the data can be preserved and distributed for teaching and research. In the interests of scholarship, the AHDS will encourage the broadest possible access to and redistribution of deposited datasets.

It is important that copyright and any other intellectual property rights in the data are clearly identified. If the legal ownership of these rights is unclear or excessively fragmented, it may be impossible for the AHDS to preserve the data or for any users to access it.

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The content and format of the dataset and the extent of its accompanying documentation are critical to its future management, distribution and use. We encourage researchers to contact the AHDS at an early stage before deposit so that we can provide assistance and advice to facilitate their data-creation efforts and minimise any potential problems in archiving their data. Good organisation and documentation of a dataset, besides paying enormous dividends to the organisation of research and analysis, is essential if the data is to be catalogued or re-used by someone who has not been directly involved with its creation. The AHDS's basic requirements with regard to documentation are described in the data transfer, catalogue and licence forms completed by all depositors. Further information and advice on the creation of documentation will be available from the guidelines for depositors provided by our Service Providers on their webpages, AHDS publications, and AHDS staff.

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In brief, to create a viable and re-usable dataset for deposit with the AHDS the depositor needs to: generate copies of the files in an AHDS preferred format or a machine- and software- independent format where possible, with any appropriate data definition files; copy all relevant documentation, preferably as machine-readable text files. ASCII files are preferred, but files in commonly-used word-processor format (e.g. MS Word2000) are acceptable. If no machine-readable documentation is available, paper copies clean enough for photocopying may be sent; where relevant include essential contextual information such as the project design, a clean original data collection form (e.g. a questionnaire) or an example of the source from which the data were generated; clarify ownership and intellectual property rights in the dataset; complete a set of AHDS deposit forms; send documentation and data by registered post to the AHDS Centre, or arrange to send machine-readable material by electronic data transfer. 

We strongly recommend that all potential depositors contact their AHDS Centre as early as possible in their project for information and advice on deposit.

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There are substantial costs involved in the management and long-term preservation of digital resources and the AHDS is currently investigating charging models to ensure datasets can be maintained and accessed. Individuals are depositing data for the benefit of future scholars and researchers and no charges are levied upon individual depositors. However organisations and funding agencies will be encouraged to provide support for long-term preservation of data from projects they have funded. Charges are not envisaged for members of those institutions which are funded by the UK's Higher Education Funding Councils, so long as the AHDS is largely funded by those Councils' Joint Information Systems Committee. Nor are charges envisaged in the medium term for depositors whose datasets are realised wholly or in part as the result of grants received from the Arts and Humanities Research Board, the British Academy, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Leverhulme Trust, the Wellcome Trust's History of Medicine Programme.

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Yes.

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Further guidance on the creation of datasets and documentation are available via the Depositors Guide and AHDS staff.

Enquiries should be addressed to the AHDS Centre which serves the discipline area in which you are currently working. If you are in any doubt, contact the AHDS Executive.

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AHDS Visual Arts is part of the Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS). Copyright 2003.