Internet Info 1997 December/Internet_Info_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_December_1997.iso/ietf/94dec/arts-minutes-94dec.txt

Text File | 1995-02-22 | 6KB | 119 lines

The Arts:  Sharing Center Stage on the Internet BOF (ARTS)

Reported by Scott Stoner/The Kennedy Center


Session Focus

Scott Stoner and Susan Siegfried welcomed participants, outlined the
agenda, and asked each person to introduce themselves and their interest
in the arts on the Internet.  The meeting agenda focused on determining
the extent of interest and needs that would support a proposal to create
an IETF working group on the arts and humanities.  Participants received
a draft of possible working group goals that were identified during the
previous arts BOF.

Participants were asked to introduce themselves and indicate their
interest in attending the BOF, the results of which demonstrated
interests ranging from the challenges of capturing and cataloguing
non-textual information to opportunities for using the Internet as a
tool for creating and appreciating the arts and humanities.  The session
attracted a number of participants who had heard the ARTS BOF had been
one of the most stimulating sessions at the last IETF meeting in
Toronto.

Susan Siegfried summarized two recent national reports (also distributed
to BOF participants) that directly address many of the issues identified
by participants during their introductions and at the previous BOF
session.  The reports are:  ``Arts, Humanities, and Culture on the
NII,'' report of the Information Infrastructure Task Force Committee on
Applications and Technology, NIST, U.S. Department of Commerce and
``Humanities and Arts on the Information Highways,'' report developed by
The Getty Art History Information Program, The American Council of
Learned Societies, and The Coalition for Networked Information (the
reports were also made available to IETF participants at the
distribution table near the IETF registration desk.)


Discussion

Stoner initiated discussion by asking participants to consider the
appropriateness of the goals identified during the previous BOF session.
There was much discussion regarding the general need for a clearinghouse
that would assist Internet users in finding and/or cataloguing arts and
humanities information.  As a result of this discussion, participants
agreed that the IETF could be helpful in defining a methodology, tools
and guidelines for the establishment of an effective clearinghouse (or
multiple clearinghouses with similar functions) on the Internet.

The clearinghouse discussion also led participants to defining a mission
for the proposed arts and humanities working group as follows:  to
promote the infrastructure for locating, creating and presenting arts
and humanities content on the Internet.  In conjunction with defining
the mission for the potential working group, Joyce Reynolds was asked to
clarify how this would fit within the User Services area of IETF. She
responded that User Services supports a forum to produce useful
documents ``from novice to knowledgeable'' that helps users to more
effectively access and apply information and services on the Internet.
Participants then affirmed that the proposed arts and humanities mission
statement represented an important need in the field and that IETF
members could be of valuable assistance in defining and helping to meet
the goals that would achieve said mission.

In order to further define the proposed working group goals,
participants identified the audience for arts and humanities
information.  There was considerable agreement that the audience is
divided between producers and consumers of arts and humanities in
formation and resources, whether individuals, institutions, or
organizations.  For example, cultural institutions like museums produce
information that requires guidelines for archiving and cataloguing
information that is unlike that in traditional library systems.
Likewise, visual and performing arts institutions have performance-based
works of art and resources that will require specific protocols for
electronic storage and retrieval.

Much discussion focused on the ``gap'' between the non-technical arts
and humanities community and the emerging worldwide on-line userbase.
Participants identified that a priority goal should be the development
of a resource that would serve as a basic guide for the arts and
humanities community to effectively understand and use the Internet.
This should include a FAQ for the arts community that in fact represents
the existing ``gap'' of knowledge (and resistance) regarding the
information highway.

As the session drew to a close, participants identified the following as
first priority goals for the proposed working group (acknowledging that
other goals will surely emerge or become more clear as the group begins
its work):


  1. Develop a guide for the arts and humanities community that will
     help individuals, institutions, and organizations to successfully
     access and use the Internet

  2. Assist the arts and humanities to use the Internet as a tool and
     resource for developing a knowledge base of research and
     information that is not currently widely accessible electronically

  3. Assist with the development of innovative templates and technical
     tools for the coordination of scheduling and programming
     information (e.g.  performances, exhibitions)

  4. Define technical needs and requirements that are necessary for
     networking all major arts and humanities constituencies on the
     Internet


Outcomes

Following the above discussion, there was consensus that a proposal
should be prepared and submitted to the IESG to establish an Arts and
Humanities Working Group.  Stoner and Siegfried will develop a draft
proposal for review and approval by Reynolds (to be completed by the end
of February) and Reynolds will present the proposal to the IESG prior to
the next IETF meeting in April, 1995.  The draft will also be circulated
via the arts mailing list for review and comment by BOF participants
prior to submission to the IESG.