The Italian Academies 1530-1650: a themed collection database

Project start date: 2006-09 Project end date: 2009-09
The project promotes and facilitates research on the Italian learned Academies of the late Renaissance and early modern periods and their relationship to book production, printing and publishing in this period. The precise aim is to compile a comprehensive database of information relating to the membership and activities of Academies in Bologna, Naples, Padua and Siena and their links to the book trade as represented in the holdings of the British Library. The database is designed and developed as one of the BL Themed Collections series. By adding details not currently contained systematically in the BL catalogues, the project also contributes to enhancing the BL on-line facilities, and promotes user access to material which is currently difficult to locate. The database lists information relating to members of academies, the cultural interests and activities of Academies, works published by academicians, under the auspices of Academies, dedicated to/by members of academies, nicknames, emblems, mottoes. The database is searchable both through a keyword simple search and through an advanced search based on specific fields. Digitised images of illustrations and emblems in relevant items are also included.
Era(s): 
Country/region(s): 
Methods usedCategory
2d Scanning and photographyData capture
Accessibility analysisStrategy and project management
Coding and standardisationData structuring and enhancement
CollatingData analysis
Data modellingData structuring and enhancement
DocumentationStrategy and project management
Iterative designStrategy and project management
Text encoding - descriptiveData structuring and enhancement
Text encoding - presentationalData structuring and enhancement
PrototypingStrategy and project management
Record linkagesData analysis
Risk managementStrategy and project management
Searching and queryingData analysis
System quality assurance and code testingStrategy and project management
Security planningStrategy and project management
Version controlStrategy and project management
Usability analysisStrategy and project management
musicDiscipline
textContent types
Funding sources: 
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Content types created: 
Dataset/structured data, Still Image/Graphics, Text
Software tools used: 
Javascript, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Microsoft C#
Source material used:  
The Themed Collection of the Italian Academies incorporates all printed materials held in the BL relating to the Academies in Bologna, Naples, Padua and Siena. The project enhances existing catalogue records and accessibility through the incorporation into the database of additional records, additional keywords for catalogue searching and digitised images. This promotes research, both textual and visual, in a very wide range of scholarly fields.
Digital resource created:  
a) A Cataloguing System and database b) A Discovery System and Website c) A Migration of legacy data to the new Cataloguing database These three above components comprise a BL 'Themed Collection'. The cataloguing system is implemented as a web browser and deployed in the BL and externally to the BL. It incorporates authority files to ensure that data quality is of a sufficiently high standard. The website supports multiple discovery features including simple (Google) free text searches and advanced keyword and index based searching. The themed collection database also includes digitised images.
Access to digital resource:  
Open Access
Data Formats created: 
Extensible Markup Language (XML)
Generation of HTML files from XML data for web-delivery
Institutions affiliated with this project: 

UK HE institutions involved:
Royal Holloway
UK HE institutions involved:
British Library

Project staff and expertise: 

Principal staff member:Professor Jane Everson; Mr Denis Reidy
Other staff:Computing officer(s) / Technical supporter(s), Postdoctoral researcher(s) / Research assistant(s)
External expertise:


Metadata on this arts-humanities.net record
Author(s) of recordJane Everson
TitleThe Italian Academies 1530-1650: a themed collection database
Record created2008-04-25
Record updated2010-06-11 11:17
URL of recordhttp://www.arts-humanities.net/node/2310
Citation of recordJane Everson: The Italian Academies 1530-1650: a themed collection database.
<http://www.arts-humanities.net/node/2310>
created: 2008-04-25, last updated 2010-06-11 11:17
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