More about the History Data Service...
History
In 1990 a feasibility study was funded into the establishment of an archive for historical data materials. The feasibility study arose from two factors. First, as a development of the growth and increase in the use and application of automated techniques in historical research. Second, as an attempt to capture and disseminate information on the level and extent of work being undertaken
within the historical community. The study resulted in a publication listing details of over 500 historical datasets, K. Schürer and S. J. Anderson
with the assistance of J. A. Duncan, comp., A guide to historical datafiles
held in machine-readable form (Association for History and Computing, London,
1992) and a clear recommendation that a centre to archive and disseminate historical
data materials be established.
Following on from this, in January 1993, the History Data Unit (HDU) was established
as a specialist unit within the UK
Data Archive, University of Essex. In 1995 the Arts and Humanities Data
Service (AHDS) was established as a distributed organisation comprising a managing
Executive and five service providers, with The Data Archive hosting the service
provider for history. At this time the History Data Unit was re-named the History
Data Service and formally became a part of the AHDS. In October 2003 AHDS service
providers became subject centres and all the subject centres of the AHDS were
renamed with History Data Service (HDS) becoming AHDS
History [note: the AHDS History website will not be updated after 31 March
2008).
In May 2007 the Arts and Humanities Research Council announced its decision
to withdraw funding for the AHDS from April 2008. AHDS History was closed on
31 March and a History Data Service based at the UK Data Archive was relaunched on 1 April
2008.
Purpose
The History Data Service provides services, assistance and advice to data creators, researchers and teachers and the wider historical community:
The History Data Service helps data creators and data providers by:
- offering guidance on creating and documenting digital resources from historical
sources
- working to ensure that researchers receive full recognition for the creation
of fully-documented data collections
- providing long-term preservation of deposited data collections
- minimising the administrative burden arising from enquiries about deposited
data collections
- providing information about deposited data collections to the research and
teaching community
The History Data Servicwe helps researchers and teachers by:
- establishing a collection of historical digital resources drawn from a wide
range of sources and with broad temporal and geographic coverage for use in
research, learning and teaching
- providing a fully searchable catalogue record and set of indexes for all
data collections held in the collection
- supplying downloadable copies of data collections held in this collection
- facilitating access to and providing information on data collections held
by other national and international organisations
- establishing thematic special collections, and enriching and enhancing selected
data collections
The History Data Service helps the wider historical community by:
- working with others to develop standards and recommendations for best practice
in the creation, description, preservation and use of electronic materials
- promoting standards and best practice in the creation, description, use and
preservation of historical digital resources
- working to ensure that issues of preservation and re-use are fully taken into
account by data creators and funding bodies
- working to raise awareness of the value of historical data collections and
of their potential for secondary use
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