Collections Trust to Deliver Digital Services to the Cultural Sector
9th May, 2008
The Collections Trust has taken responsibility for DiSCS-UK, an innovative online service providing support to culture-sector practitioners when planning, commissioning and procuring digital services.
DiSCS-UK was developed by Museums, Libraries and Archives North East with the support of One NorthEast and also with funding from the European Regional Development Fund. The service emphasises the importance of cultural organisations working in partnership with technology providers to deliver world-class services for their users. It includes an interactive Supplier Selector toolkit, and a unique training and assessment programme for technology providers wishing to work with cultural collections.
From April 2008, the Collections Trust will take responsibility for running the DiSCS-UK service and for extending its reach to a UK-wide audience.
Collections Trust Chief Executive Nick Poole commented, 'DiSCS-UK is remarkable because it spans the cultural and commercial communities. The first step in any great technology project is finding the right partner, and DiSCS-UK makes this easier than ever before. DiSCS-UK will be the first in a portfolio of services which the Collections Trust is developing to help cultural organisations get the best out of New Technology.'
MLA North East Director Penny Wilkinson commented, 'DiSCS-UK is an excellent example of how effective partnership working can be. With the support of One NorthEast, we have been able to create a service which meets a clear need in the sector. I am delighted that the Collections Trust has agreed to take DiSCS-UK forward and to help it realise its potential as a truly national service.'
DiSCS-UK is free to use and available online at http://www.discs-uk.info
