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Mesolithic Miscellany

Mesolithic Miscellany. developing an information-exchange platform for a specific archaeological interest. Sven Feldmann and Nicky Milner Department of Archaeology University of York. Mesolithic Miscellany a very brief history.

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Mesolithic Miscellany

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  1. Mesolithic Miscellany developing an information-exchange platform for a specific archaeological interest Sven Feldmann and Nicky Milner Department of Archaeology University of York

  2. Mesolithic Miscellany a very brief history 1980: MM started by T. Douglas Price, University of Wisconsin „as a means for informal communication among individuals interested in the Mesolithic in Europe“ initial annual subscription fee: $3,00 /£2,00 68 subscriptions for the first volume 1994: Clive Bonsall, University of Edinburgh, takes over as editor 1996: last paper-volume published

  3. Mesolithic Miscellany a very brief history 2006: all old volumes are scanned by the ADS and deposited there for download as pdf-files

  4. Mesolithic Miscellany starting the online - newsletter general aim: easy and informal communication about Mesolithic research in Europe 2006: Nicky Milner decided that since all old MM-volumes were available for dowload it would be time to relaunch Mesolithic Miscellany general problems: no money availabe only a small amount of time available

  5. Mesolithic Miscellany so much more than just a newsletter? • online-newsletter provides the chance to: • publish without printing-costs • make free download possible for everybody similarities to the SPARC-movement (http://www.arl.org/sparc/) Just publish the newsletter online ? or – as the website is there – switch from a newsletter to an information-exchange platform ? information-exchange platform !

  6. Mesolithic Miscellany the newsletter – which format ? pdf via email / to download (XML-based) online + pdf-version webjournal without offline-option • easy to produce • printable • Easy to download • platform independent • graphics etc. easily included • linkable • different languages includable • rearrangeable • different styles applicable • textlength not important • non-linear hypertext-structure ++ ++ ++ ++ + + o - - -- -- +* + + ++ ++ ++ + + + o - - -- -- ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ *with CMS e.g. Altova Authentic® 2007

  7. Mesolithic Miscellany publishing it in „volumes“ ? • disadvantages of volumes: • break between publishing dates => to slow and boring for the everchanging Internet? • perhaps only remains of the old paper-days? • advantages of volumes: • easier to refer to • specific publication-date: • catches more attention • gives more pressure on authors to finish their papers • „feels“ more reliable • reader can than be sure to have seen everything new • „proper p-publication“-like and thus more likely to get trust and attention

  8. Mesolithic Miscellany publishing it „continuously“ ? • Advantages of • continuous publishing: • always new content => people might tend to come back to the page more often • better spread of workload • information as up-to-date as possible • makes it easier for readers to keep in touch with the page • Disadvantages of continuous publishing: • more continous editorial work • constant need to inform readers on new releases or • readers might not always realise that there are actually new publications • less uniformity in publications as they tend to be more diverse when not published and edited together Publish two volumes a year

  9. Mesolithic Miscellany paper vs. screen • The sad truth about online-reading: • Paper can hold up to 50 times more information for a given area than a monitor. • Because of flicker and other factors, we loose up to 40% of the information presented on a computer screen (even greater for above average readers). • We also read 25% - 30% more slowly on-screen. • Readers tolerate only limited amounts of electronic text, information that satisfies a specific need and does not require a great deal of scrolling through screens. publishing the volumes as pdf-files For more information see: E. J. Valauskas, First Monday and the Evolution of Electronic Journals. The Journal of Electronic Publishing 3, 1997 (http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/03-01/FirstMonday.html) M. Aldenderfer, Data, Digital Ephemera, and Dead Media: Digital Publishing and Archaeological Practice. Internet Archaeology 6, 1999 (http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue6/aldenderfer_index.html)

  10. Mesolithic Miscellany archiving the information • thinking about data-storage: • problem: • As the old MM was no „proper“ journal with an ISSN, it was not archived by the British Library or the Library of Congress. • Only a few volumes survived. • Dr Caroline Wickham-Jones provided the missing volumes from her private archive. • The new MM should be permanently stored under the same URL to make reliable references possible. • How and by whom will the information be archived? • reliable partner: the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) • deposition as pdf

  11. Mesolithic Miscellany editing until the fingers bleed? • Questions to be asked about editing/running the platform: • How often should the content be refreshed? • Who is to edit the site/the newsletter? • And who contributes? • How complicated is still manageable and how much computer-knowledge is needed? • Can new editors take over without complications? essential for success: own content first, otherwise too dependent on the ability of others to continuously produce new content

  12. Mesolithic Miscellany the information-exchange platform • already included • inside MM: • Newsletter published as pdf ready for download twice a year • all old volumes available • outside MM: • forthcoming conferences • Conference on the Mesolithic • Mesolithic projects on the web • to be included • more content: • inside MM: • Index for all volumes • outside MM: • Databases, e.g. 14C-database, site-database • general information on Mesolithic research • technical improvements: • search function • upload-possibilities

  13. Mesolithic Miscellany what comes next? • Aims for the future: • build an XML-version with pdf-conversion possibilities (via FOP) • introducing a MesoWiki • including a discussion-forum • wait for feedback Aims for the future after that? building a self-installing communication-platform-kit enabling any special-interest group to have their own platform. And now lets have a look at the new Mesolithic Miscellany!

  14. Mesolithic Miscellany have a look!

  15. Mesolithic Miscellany have a look!

  16. Mesolithic Miscellany have a look!

  17. Mesolithic Miscellany have a look!

  18. Mesolithic Miscellany have a look!

  19. Mesolithic Miscellany have a look!

  20. Mesolithic Miscellany Many thanks to: Prof. Julian Richards, University of York Kieron Niven, ADS CHIRON EU Marie Curie Action Dr. Caroline Wickham-Jones all authors of the 1st new Mesolithic Miscellany

  21. Mesolithic Miscellany Mesolithic Miscellany website: http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/Mesolithic/index.htm download this paper: http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~sf527/links.htm Thank you for your attention!

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