A checklist to publish collections as data in GLAM institutions

Candela, Gustavo and Gabriëls, Nele and Chambers, Sally and Dobreva, Milena and Ames, Sarah and Ferriter, Meghan and Fitzgerald, Neil and Harbo, Victor and Hofmann, Katrine and Holownia, Olga and Irollo, Alba and Mahey, Mahendra and Manchester, Eileen and Pham, Thuy-An and Potter, Abigail and Van Keer, Ellen (2023) A checklist to publish collections as data in GLAM institutions. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication. ISSN 2514-9342 (https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-06-2023-0195)

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Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to offer a checklist that can be used for both creating and evaluating digital collections, which are also sometimes referred to as data sets as part of the collections as data movement, suitable for computational use. Design/methodology/approach The checklist was built by synthesising and analysing the results of relevant research literature, articles and studies and the issues and needs obtained in an observational study. The checklist was tested and applied both as a tool for assessing a selection of digital collections made available by galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) institutions as proof of concept and as a supporting tool for creating collections as data. Findings Over the past few years, there has been a growing interest in making available digital collections published by GLAM organisations for computational use. Based on previous work, the authors defined a methodology to build a checklist for the publication of Collections as data. The authors’ evaluation showed several examples of applications that can be useful to encourage other institutions to publish their digital collections for computational use. Originality/value While some work on making available digital collections suitable for computational use exists, giving particular attention to data quality, planning and experimentation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, none of the work to date provides an easy-to-follow and robust checklist to publish collection data sets in GLAM institutions. This checklist intends to encourage small- and medium-sized institutions to adopt the collection as data principles in daily workflows following best practices and guidelines.

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