CASE STUDY

Industry Sector - Government

MemoryNet Website Brings the Scottish Borders to Life Online

Scenario:

The Memory Bank team was established by Scottish Borders Council to create a snapshot collection of people's ‘living memories’, told in their own words, in their own way, using a variety of media. The Council’s aim was to build an online, interactive archive to gather and preserve these ‘living memories’ from the region.

Background:

The Scottish Borders is an area of rich social and cultural heritage, with a multitude of information detailing its past, collected across all media. The challenge for Scottish Borders Council was to find a solution that would protect and preserve this heritage in all its forms, and yet still be easily accessible to the public and researchers.

An idea by Scottish Borders Memory Bank Project Co-ordinator, Wendy Ball, was the basis of the resulting MemoryNet solution, developed by Scottish Borders Council and Infographics.

MemoryNet is an exciting new technology that enables cultural and social history to be published directly to the Web – from anywhere in the world. Simply put, it allows an interactive online archive to be created, continually added to and preserved for the enjoyment of the entire community.

Implementation:

MemoryNet was implemented so that members of the public are able to publish content recorded in a variety of forms, including printed text, photographs, video and audio. It then weaves these different media into one colourful historical, social and cultural resource, using an editorial workflow that ensures suitability of content.

A comprehensive search engine, categorisation facility and automated pointers to other articles of interest have also been built in, making it an ideal research tool for all levels of user – individuals, schools, colleges, universities, professional researchers and organisations.

Business Benefits:

  • Valuable online service to the public
  • Markets the area by increasing awareness and interest
  • Efficient and effective archive storage, safely preserving social and cultural heritage
  • Streamlines and simplifies the publishing process

Operational Requirements:

  • Comprehensive Search Engine
  • Editorial workflow
  • Easy to use
  • Supports multi-media publishing - text, photos, video, audio
  • Links to other digitised archives for simultaneous access to multiple information resources

Summary:

MemoryNet has involved the people of the Scottish Borders in relaying their experiences of life from the last century to present day to build an exciting Web resource that has proved highly popular and successful.