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Error - unable to initiate communication with LISTSERV (errno=10061, phase=CONNECT, target=127.0.0.1:2306). The server is probably not started. ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Thaks very much, Paul, for posting the comments you received to the list. Although I don't normally read ARLIS-L they were forwarded to me. I'd like to offer a bit more information to the list about the background for the foundation of AMICO and the development of our strategies, which we hope can be a first step towards creating a sustainable, self-supporting resource. AMICO - http://www.amico.org - is a not-for-profit consortium, whose members are collaborating to enable educational use of the digital documentation of their collections. The focus of the AMICO Library is art, broadly defined. Our users are educational, in colleges and Universities, in K-12 schools, in public libraries, and yes, in museums. As well as the University Testbed Project that is underway in the 1998/99 academic year, we have a project beginning in 1999 Indianaopolis (funded by IMLS) to study the delivery of the AMICO Library to K-12 and Public Library Users. This may be the root of the mis-conception that AMICO is abandoning higher education. That's not the case. But we're hopeful that the Library will find users beyond traditional art historical teaching, and are looking forward to the results of the University Testbed, that will be reported at a meeting of the participants in early June, and published shortly thereafter. As of July 1, 1999 the AMICO Library will be available for subscription through the not-for-profit Research Libraries Group (RLG). Rates are as follows (Dana Beth will notice that these are Less than the fees charged in the University Testbed Project in some cases-- we're trying!) and include both a license fee to help support the work of the Consortium, and a distribution fee to cover RLG's delivery and support services: RLG subscription fees for Academic Institutions: (based on undergraduate enrollment) under 2,000 $2,000 2-8,000 $4,000 8,001-15,000 $6,000 15,001-25,000 $7,000 25,000 + $10,000 See http://www.rlg.org or email Ricky Erway <[log in to unmask]> for more information. RLG does have a free trial of the Library available, under a limited license. Their application is primarily a reference database, and has not been designed to support classroom use. But they are open to suggestions for future development paths. We hope that the AMICO Library will also be available through a number of other distribution channels in the coming months and years, in systems with differing capabilities to support different kinds of users and uses. A few notes about AMICO's economic foundations: AMICO's subscription fees are based on recovering costs (a break-even budget, and lean staff) for the coallation and distribution of the AMICO Library. We are not subsidizing the creation of images and documentation; no money is returned to the member museums. We are also not licensing images commercially. AMICO member museums all pay dues ($2,500 - $5,000) to belong to the consortium, as well as contributing staff time and adding content to the library. They are also clearing rights to include works in the Library with contemporary artists and artists estates. As a benefit, AMICO Members get access to the Library. While interesting, the economic figures in the Mellon-funded study of MESL do not directly apply to AMICO, because they are based on a scenario where each institution received and mounted the entire library. While the AMICO Library Agreement does allow this, access through RLG (or any other central distributor) removes a significant amound of redundancy from the system, and reduces local development, storage, and support costs. This study also does not account for major costs in the creation of digital documentation in museums. For other background on the circumstances leading up to AMICO, see David Bearman and Jennifer Trant, "Economic, Social, Technical Models for Digital Libraries of Primary Resources," New Review of Information Networking, (invited contribution) #4, 1998, pp 71-91,available at http://www.archimuse.com/publishing/amico/. And about content: It's true that as a consortium that began with museums AMICO's library has content that is based on museum collections. But we're not just strict art museums; AMICO membership is open and we're growing. The Library of Congress has joined AMICO, and is making many thousands of images of photographs and drawings available in the AMICO Library that cannot be distributed on the public web at this time. The 1999 AMICO Library will include over 54,000 works of art, documented in at least 55,500 images, and accompanying catalog records, many with extended associated texts. The works are still coming in, so we can't give a full profile yet, but here's a rough outline. Object types Rounded to 50 Architectural/Archeological 500 Book or scroll 750 Ceramic 1250 Drawing 7750 Furniture/furnishings 1450 Metalwork 450 Miscellaneous 450 Painting 8800 Photograph 20400 Print 8900 Sculpture 3300 Textile 700 Yes -- the classification system needs work! and the AMICO Editorial Committee is developing strategies for making the documentation of 27 members form a coherent whole. Consider this a 'pre-release' summary. There will be a full profile of the 1999 AMICO Library on the AMICO web site at http://www.amico.org/ by June, and you can also search a catalog that includes thumbnails works in the Library on AMICO Web site. The editorial committee is also looking at ways to 'key' AMICO works to the chapter divisions in textbooks, so that the Library can function as a source of complementary imagery to that already found in collections. There has also begun to be some discussion among users and AMICO members about the contribution of works to the Library, and we're hopeful that there will be more give and take about the development of the collection. This is a very vexing problem, and one that will take a lot of time, and incremental building of a collection to resolve .... Particularly when one considers that many art historians are stuggling against the cannon, and recommended in our focus groups that the AMICO Library contain things that "can't be found elsewhere and are in places that are hard to get to" -- the exact opposite of the art historical textbook approach! Only one participant in the AMICO University Testbed responded with specific requests to our call for suggestions, and she got good results. However, we're looking at strategies, and the consortium as a whole may also pursue funding to enable gaps in the Library to be filled by digitization projects. AMICO is addressing the question of intellectual property rights in contemporary works. In addition to museums working directly with rights holders, we're in discussions about a consortium-wide agreement that would enable the educational distribution of more works of 20th century art. AMICO and the AMICO Library are both works-in-progress; there is still a lot that the community as a whole has to learn about the use of digital images within and beyond the classroom. AMICO is actively working with initiatives such as the Dublin Core, and leveraging work like the Categories for the Description of Works of Art to make sure that the piece of the Digital Library puzzle that we can contribute is one that connects with others. We're open to suggestions and look forward to ongoing collaboration with those in the art library and visual resource field who are also struggling to take advantage of the full potential of networked cultural heritage. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, thoughts or suggestions that you might have. best wishes, jennifer ________ J. Trant 2008 Murray Ave, Suite D Executive Director Pittsburgh, PA 15217 USA Art Museum Image Consortium http://www.amico.org Phone: +1 412 422 8533 [log in to unmask] Fax: +1 412 422 8594 ________