*Materials Special Interest Group ARLIS/NA + VRA 3rd Joint Conference.
Seattle, WA*
March 10, 2016
* 1) Introductions*
*2) Shared Materials Database & Materials Consortium*
Presentation on collaborative development of a Materials Database and
beginning a materials consortium called Material Order by the Harvard
Graduate School of Design (GSD) and the Rhode Island School of Design
(RISD).
*Introduction and Background on the Collaboration*: Johanna Kasubowski,
Alix Reiskind, Mark Pompelia
The Harvard Graduate School of Design’s materials collection was started in
2004, it was initially run by GSD graduate students under the guidance of a
faculty member. In 2011, the collection joined the Loeb Library
<http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/loeblibrary/index.html>’s Visual Collections
and both administration and curation were put in the hands of the library
with a faculty liaison. The collection had an accompanying database, though
of questionable stability. The GSD wanted to stabilize the technological
infrastructure and improve the metadata, to do this they connected with a
like-minded partner – the Rhode Island School of Design. RISD had performed
a materials audit in 2009 that showed materials being informally housed in
many of its departments; the idea of a centralized collection in its Fleet
Library <http://library.risd.edu/> was widely supported and launched. The
formation of a materials special interest group within ARLIS/NA and its
first meeting in spring 2011 provided the catalyst for GSD and RISD to
partner.
In 2012 RISD Fleet Library was the recipient of an IMLS-funded national
forum grant to assemble materials researchers, authors, designers, artists,
and librarians for a multi-day symposium held in June 2013, *Materials
Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries*
<http://digitalcommons.risd.edu/materialseducationsymposium/>. In addition
to learning from the critical insights of material considerations by these
users, consensus was reached among librarians to establish community and
create shareable resources, starting with the symposium’s White Paper
<http://digitalcommons.risd.edu/materialseducationsymposium/Publications/Resources/1/>.
Site visits to many US-based academic and commercial materials collections
confirmed their inherent uniqueness but also common needs for collection
development, classification and description, and enhanced access and user
engagement.
Initial conversations between GSD-RISD included in-depth studies of GSD’s
original materials classification protocol, morphing into a broader and
more relevant materials taxonomy. GSD-RISD project members interpreted this
taxonomy, formed it into a schema, and worked with a local, independent
database developer. The team learned a great deal through this exercise;
one part was that a developer that had a better understanding of libraries
and cultural institutions, the organizational structures and vocabularies
they use would serve the project far better. This led to CollectionSpace
<http://www.collectionspace.org/>.
*Project Team*
- Jane Hutton, Assistant Professor in Landscape Architecture / Materials
Collection Faculty Liaison
- Johanna Kasubowski, [log in to unmask], Design Resources
Librarian
- Mark Pompelia, [log in to unmask], Visual + Material Resource Librarian
- Alix Reiskind, [log in to unmask], Digital Initiatives Librarian
- Carol Terry, [log in to unmask], Director of Library Services
- Ann Whiteside, [log in to unmask], Library Director /
Assistant Dean for Information Services
*Materials Database Schema Highlights*
*Taxonomy*
Following are the key concepts of the taxonomy that will provide multiple
points of access to meet research needs:
· *Composition*
Classification of materials per 5 compositional families – BIOCOMPOSITES,
POLYMERS, METALS, MINERALS, and CERAMICS. The composition classification is
hierarchical with identified classes and generics in each of the
composition families.
· *Form*
Materials are classified into three broad categories – planar, linear and
volumetric – which are then future defined by types and subtypes.
· *Properties*
Mostly derived from the material sciences, properties speak to the
abilities of each material to be fitted to the mechanical, hygro‐thermal,
electrical, optical, acoustical, and durability task asked of it as well as
sensorial properties and those inherent in smart materials.
· *Material Ecology*
Environmental properties that speak to Life Cycle Assessment. They include:
recyclable, biodegradable, renewable resource, landfillable, embodied
energy, and certification credits.
· *Process*
Processes classifies the manufacturing methods used to make the material.
Processes can deform the original substance, be additive, or subtractive.
They include: casting, molding, machining, deforming, surfacing, joining,
and rapid prototyping.
*Additional Data Entry Points*
Additional data entry points include the following:
· *Featured applications*
References of highlighted works where the material has been used.
· *Typical uses*
Provides some of the typical uses in the generic sense of the material in
the design fields, usually according to the vendor’s description, but will
not be exhaustive.
· *Locations*
Accounts for applicable locations – origin, manufacturing, distribution,
and application – of the material to allow mapping of distance traveled,
which is part of lifecycle assessment.
· *Description*
Very short text that introduces the principal and particular features of
the material or product emphasizing the aspects that make it unique or
special.
· *Media*
Associated media that represents the material or product.
·
*External Resources *Field to enter data from material standards
establishments, i.e., Granta, CSI.
*Development of Database and Demo*: Megan Forbes, CollectionSpace
Working closely with the developers (first Panoptic and now CollectionSpace
<http://www.collectionspace.org/>), GSD-RISD are able to bring together the
taxonomy and schema and make it work. The team is excited about
CollectionSpace as it provides a platform that is open source with flexible
APIs – allowing members to create a foundation to build upon for future
needs and use for many years to come.
Megan Forbes provided a walkthrough of the Material Authority in
CollectionSpace.
If interested in seeing the demo, please go to
http://materials.collectionspace.org
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__materials.collectionspace.org&d=CwMFAw&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=iUaBYKql5fVHBxbs3rz_0voLDCVEwu40m8e6R3Itmfg&m=yiB2kJVT34p_DX-j4EAz2Hj_vnUHrUeqBsYtUfBLsXY&s=8IPhT5ogKeQQKt1MMN_0Auc-YyRFE046HASVP0nDgr0&e=>
and sign in with the below credentials.
Email: [log in to unmask]
Password: password
Questions? Interested in a more extensive demonstration? Contact Megan.
Megan Forbes, CollectionSpace Program Manager
[log in to unmask]
meganbforbes Skype
*Draft Framework for Consortium*: Leigh Grinstead, LYRASIS
As part of the CollectionSpace mini-grant award, GSD-RISD hired a
consultant to provide guidance in the development of a consortium. The
Project Team met with Leigh Grinstead in February 2016. Below outlines the
goals of the meeting and foundational framework accomplished by the group.
*Consortium Development*
· Create policies, procedures, and foundational documents that will
guide the development of the GSD-RISD Materials Consortium
· Develop steps for the initial formation of a larger consortium
including a timeline
· Assist in drafting the governance structure for a consortium
· Identify membership activities and membership levels
· Prepare a report/action plan detailing needs for various working
groups
· Share information at ARLIS/NA + VRA Materials SIG meeting in Seattle
*Draft Mission Statement*
· Material Order provides a community-based approach to management
and access to design materials collections utilizing and developing
standards and best practices. This includes an open-source collection
management database, and an access system that allows searching across
international materials collections to support research and applications in
the design fields
· Material Order is accepting of all design materials collections
regardless of size or collecting scope, it is open, shared, inclusive, and
welcoming
· It is our hope to inspire more to join and expand the consortium
*Draft Vision Statement*
The consortium is the leading resource for design materials collections.
*Membership Benefits*
· Collections management system already built—no need to develop or
maintain the software personally
· Delivery mechanism for users
· Community and information sharing including access to technical and
user support
· Eligibility to serve on the Steering Team and working groups
· Authority control is managed by the consortium and decisions made
by working groups
· Maintenance, hosting, and future development costs are shared
· Potential to drive future development and enhancements
· Testing and feedback processes are formalized
· Professional community of like-minded professionals
· Foundational taxonomy is provided, schema is developed
· Cataloging standards maintained
· Training and development provided
· Shared platform
· Opportunities to contribute to the ongoing development of the
taxonomy
· Ability to request future enhancements
*Budgeting and Costs [preliminary stages]*
· Significant investments have already been made
• Taxonomy development
• Schema development
· Mini-grant from Mellon for CollectionSpace
<http://www.collectionspace.org/mini-grant-awarded-harvard-university-graduate-school-of-design-and-rhode-island-school-of-design/>
· This is not intended to be a cost recovery model
· Goal is to make the consortium sustainable and affordable
* Proposed Organizational Home*
The Society shall seek opportunities for collaboration across institutions
and cultural organizations to promote the informed management,
preservation, discovery, and access to collections amid their evolving
publishing manifestations.
ARLIS/NA actively seeks collaborative relationships with other arts and
information organizations to further the goals of art information
professionals.
*Proposed Working Group Structure*
Steering Team
Working Groups
· Needs Assessment and Evaluation
· Identity, Brand, and Digital Presence
· Marketing and Communication
· Taxonomy, Schema, and Testing
· Training
*Conversation about How to Participate *
Discussion ensued across a variety of topics with consensus to continue the
conversation and formulate next steps.
3) New / Old Business, Mark Pompelia
Mark asked group for a volunteer to chair or co-chair the Materials SIG.
--
*MARK POMPELIA*
Visual + Material Resource Librarian
*Fleet Library at Rhode Island School of Design*
library.risd.edu
401-709-5935
*Digital Commons @ RISD <http://digitalcommons.risd.edu>*
*Art Libraries Society of North America*
Website Content Editor
Materials Special Interest Group material|resource
<http://materialresource.wordpress.com>
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