bbc :: archive catalogue web project emerges

BBC Archive on the Rails

A project to provide web access to the BBC’s Archive database will begin public beta early in 2006, according to project members Matt Biddulph and Ben Hammersley.

This won’t have any video or audio but will provide access to catalogue of the material within the archive.

“Ever wondered what’s in that archive? Who looks after it? It turns out there’s a huge database that’s been carefully tended by a gang of crack BBC librarians for decades. Nearly a million programmes are catalogued, with descriptions, contributor details and annotations drawn from a wonderfully detailed controlled vocabulary” – Matt Biddulph

From the screenshots it’s hard to see if they’ll have full timecode breakdowns of material catalogued but from the descriptions of what it’ll offer at a user and tech level it sounds like an amazing project. It will provide RSS feeds, a REST API, and describe relationships between people catalogued using FOAF.

Basically they’re opening this key information asset of the BBC up in as many ways is as possible. The project will not only provide immediate access for people to begin searching and using the archive but will enable other people to build other systems to use and present the catalogue in any way possible – remixing the catalogue if you will.

Ben Hammersley, who’s also involved in the project describes it:

“Think IMDB for the BBC, only bigger. And made by funky bastards with a penchant for structured data.”

Meanwhile here in NZ the National Digital Forum 2005 will provide an update into our archives’ efforts to enable wider access to the depth of material contained in them.

I’ll be attending that shortly after I arrive back from a brief sojourn to the Malaysian peninsula. Who knows may be I’ll full of energy on my return and convert this site from Rails to Django, and address the 17 faults that Jakob Nielsen kindly points out.