An initial project to explore ways to develop Scottish Archives Online is currently underway led by consultants Julian Tomlin and Martin Bazley on behalf of the Scottish Council on Archives. The assumption behind the project is that searchers for information, historical and current assume that if it can not be found on-line then it does not exist. Although information about collections of Scottish Archives can be found on-line, only a small percentage of individual names, places, dates and subjects held within such collections can be located. Scottish Archives require an infrastructure to open their rich and diverse holdings to people everywhere.

The final report will be ready by the end of June 2009.

Comments are welcome on their blog as to whether such an on-line catalogue is a desirable; do archivists have time to create on-line catalogues; who will use them; what do users want from archive catalogues; who is going to catalogue archival backlogs of collections?

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