UK Museums and the Web
Snippets from your host

Things I come across, that Museums Web people may not be aware of...
Warning, Techy stuff ahead.

Google searches your online database...

The most popular search engine on the planet can spider, index and make available your database, if you follow a few simple rules. This avoids having to publish your database to flat pages for accessibility...
1. Create a navigation system around it that uses URLs (it does not need to be the main public one of course). Google cannot follow a free text box search or a drop-down menu.
2. If you use image links or FORM methods, DONT use POST. Instead use GET. The query that finds the content is hidden to Google in a POST but is visible in a GET. It looks a bit messy with a long URL, but isnt that a worthwhile sacrifice for having it 'out there' and not an invisible part of the deep web?
3. Make sure that your object - level data pages include the right keywords. Make sure you or your developer gets the prime keyword in the TITLE, KEYWORD metadata and Body text of the page. That guarantees a better search placing.
E.G. If you search google for Abelisaurus you'll see an NHM page as 3rd (and 4th). Yes, thats a dynamic database query. Note the title. Go to the Dino Directory to see the aphabetical browse and image links that provide URL navigation to object-level records (this is not a new idea, the Museum's 2 year old EarthLab also takes this approach, but uses frames, which present a different but equally solid barrier to internet search engine retrieval).

Of course this is easier to do for small databases, but not impossible for larger ones if you generate the navigation itself dynamically. The NHM's future 'Citizens Tree of Life' will include this approach.

XML Primer

I noticed at the conference that the term XML worries people deeply. Its really very simple: <xmldefinition>XML is customised tags that describe content, like this sentence</xmldefinition>. If the concept of a tag worries you, look for another job!
It does 2 things well. 1. seperates meaningful content from format and style, 2. allows data to be transferred between systems in a standardised format
XML is therefore useless without something that understands the tags!
Its the practical use of it thats tricky. As Richard showed, it can be very powerful, but requires very careful creation of TEMPLATES (XSLT) to display nicely for humans. Only when easy to use template-creation tools become available will XML become commonly used by humans (a lot of machines already use it!).

What there is now, is Netskills. Here is an intercepted email. It may cost you, but it will be worth it: I have been on this course myself, in sunny Aberystwyth. 

Date:         Fri, 16 Nov 2001 14:59:58 GMT
Reply-To:     Netskills 
Sender:       List for the UK HE community to discuss all aspects of managing
           an institut 
Subject:      Exploring XML - UWE (University of the West of England),
              30th November 2001
To:           WEBSITE-INFO-MGT@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

This popular workshop comes to Bristol shortly:

Netskills Workshop:
Exploring XML


09:30 - 16:30 Friday 30th November 2001 UWE (University of the West of
England)

The advent of XML heralds a revolution in web development,
providing a means of delivering information in a variety
of ways and to different devices.
XML offers new opportunities and challenges to both people
creating web pages and those involved in sophisticated
back-end information systems, set to provide a powerful
and flexible alternative to the long established language
HTML.

This practical workshop, aimed at experienced HTML authors,
introduces a wide range of new and exciting possibilities
from multiple content transformations to creating WAP pages
and producing XML from databases.

Workshop Content:
The workshop will comprise presentations, demonstrations and
hands-on sessions with opportunities for questions and discussion.
Participants will each receive a workbook which contains workshop
exercises, presentation slides and other relevant materials.

Topics covered will include:
 * What is XML?
 * The relationship between SGML, HTML, XML and XHTML
 * Definitions of namespaces, DTDs and schemas
 * Separating content from appearance
 * Connecting Style Sheets to present XML documents
 * Using XSL - the eXtensible Style Language to transform information
    within pages
  * Server side XML and databases, including Active Server Pages
  * Data exchange and XML applications
  * Creating WAP pages in WML

 By the end of the workshop participants will have:
  * Created XML documents
  * Developed Style Sheets in XSL to transform data
  * Gained an awareness of terminology and new developments
  * Used server-side scripts to interface to a database and produce XML
  * Transformed XML into XHTML and other formats
  * Created WAP pages and seen other applications of XML

 Workshop Requirements:
 Participants are are expected to be familiar with the windows
 desktop and MUST have experience in writing pages in HTML
 including Forms. A basic knowledge of Cascading Style Sheets
 is assumed and familiarity with the concepts of scripting and
 server side processing. Experience in writing scripts would
be an advantage but not essential.

The cost of the workshop is £ 120 for participants from UK higher and
further education. Other participants should contact Netskills for the
relevant fees.
Note: Costs include lunch, morning coffee and afternoon tea.


For more information about Netskills workshops, including
online booking forms, look at the Netskills event pages on the World
Wide Web at:
 http://www.netskills.ac.uk/workshops/

or contact Netskills directly by email:
netskills-admin@netskills.ac.uk

or by Fax:
0191 222 5001

or leave a request for booking forms on the bookings hotline:
0191 222 5008

- Mike Lowndes. Please dont email me about these snippets, unless I have it wrong or you have a good snippet of your own to add.

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