About COSMIC
About COSMIC
COSMIC is a confederation of independent organisations, services and projects
working together to foster and sustain co-operation between Libraries, Archives,
Museums, Electronic Learning Services and others actively engaged in building
and developing 'virtual Scotland'. It is part of a developing Scottish co-operative
infrastructure, the other aspects of which are:
-
Scottish Co-operative Infrastructure
(SCI) currently being developed under the auspices of the SPEIR Project.
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A joint research and development plan to help
improve these embryonic services and generally take forward a range of
initiatives of value to COSMIC and COSMIC members
-
Central co-operative support for distributed, otherwise independent,
Scottish portals based on these core services. The Union Catalogue of
Art Books in Libraries in Scotland (Ucablis)
provides the catalogues of members of the Scottish Visual Arts Group (SVAG)
via the CAIRNS framework and is one such independent organisation to have
benefitted.
-
The creation of a Scottish
Distributed Digital Library (SDDL). This entails the creation of a
'coherent digital learning, information and research landscape for all
Scots, collaboratively built and maintained via an agreed nation-wide,
standards based, globally interoperable, cooperative infrastructure’.
Some components of the SDDL include:
-
A CAIRNS-based distributed
Scottish union catalogue with a dynamic landscaping mechanism driven
by an associated collection descriptions database and potentially
capable of generating virtual portals for member organisations where
this is desired.
-
A SCONE-based
collection descriptions database with staff updating facilities and
collaborative collection management support, aiming in time to be
one part of a cross-searchable collections system that also includes
independent archives (SCAN)
and, in time, museums collections databases.
The current model of the SCI
can be found at the SPEIR web
site.
Mission
COSMIC’s mission is to support and promote cooperative activity in
the provision of information services for Scottish citizens.
Aims:
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To bring together for mutual benefit independent organisations working
at local levels, within specific sectors or across sectors or domains,
with a particular focus on building and developing a coherent, standards-based
'Virtual Scotland' to support lifelong learning, research and cultural
activities of any kind and at any level.
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To provide a forum for exchange of information among member organisations,
by meetings and through electronic discussion lists.
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To chart and record any activity among member organisations, and others,
which contributes to the overall aims of COSMIC.
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To promote research and development projects from member and other organisations
which help further COSMIC's aims.
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To encourage the most cost-effective use of resources and skills available
in Scotland in furthering these aims through co-operative effort.
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To identify infrastructure, standards and other fundamental issues which
should contribute to (or whose lack will hinder) these aims.
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To identify needs and promote provision of training, both for staff
of member organisations and for end users, where such training is seen
as generic in nature and suitable for collaborative provision.
Objectives:
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To establish and maintain an organisational framework to allow COSMIC
to pursue its aims.
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To produce, review regularly and progress as far as resources allow
a research and development plan to further these aims.
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To monitor/review progress on projects related to the aims of COSMIC
or for which COSMIC has a role as sponsor or facilitator.
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To identify specific areas of activity which may best be taken forward
by collaboration between two or more members.
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To offer advice and experience from within the membership (or identify
other sources) in response to specific requests of members.
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To identify other bodies which might either be invited to participate
in COSMIC or with which it would be mutually beneficial to maintain contact.
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To identify and record meetings and projects likely to be of interest
to members or to be relevant to any of the aims of COSMIC.
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To identify and record collections of digital or physical content which
will contribute to either Virtual Scotland or to support of lifelong learning,
research and cultural activities.
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To identify and promote the wider adoption of technical standards to
facilitate access to records (metadata) and materials.
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To publicise the activities of COSMIC as a whole to the professions,
o funding and administrative bodies and to the general public as appropriate.
