FAQs

1. What is a federated archive?
2. How safe will my content be?
3. Will UC CEISMIC content be available to everyone?
4. How can I contribute content?
5. What if someone asks me to participate in research?
6. Reusing items found using UC CEISMIC Search
7. Why do we need UC CEISMIC search?
8. Why are there historical images in the collection?
9. What kind of content can I expect to find?
10. How long is the service going to be around for?
11. How many items are available?
12. Where else can I go to find content?
13. I have content I think should be included in UC CEISMIC search. What should I do?

What is a federated archive?

UC CEISMIC is a federated archive. A federated archive is an archive spread across several different 'nodes'. Each node looks after its own content, but agrees to share their content with everyone in the federation. UC CEISMIC is powered by DigitalNZ's API (Application Programming Interface). That means that DigitalNZ has brought together the descriptive data (metadata) from each of the 'nodes' and has made it available in a data format that the federated search tool could be built upon. For more information about DigitalNZ visit www.digitalnz.org. The approach has great benefits, because not only does it distribute responsibility across all the repositories in the federation, it also allows for the development of a federated search function, that allows users to search all nodes in the archive from one place. It's the open, collaborative approach to archive development.

How safe will my content be?

We take our role as custodians of digital quake material very seriously. QuakeStories and QuakeStudies have been designed by academic, government and commercial organizations to the highest standards. Care has been taken to offer tight controls over the way content is stored and accessed and the project will constantly monitor its standards in this area.

Will UC CEISMIC content be available to everyone?

Yes, of course. UC CEISMIC is designed as a public resource as well as a research asset. The only content that will be access-controlled will be sensitive content deposited in the QuakeStudies repository that isn't suitable for public consumption, or content that has been embargoed for a set period of time due to a request from a contributor. The intention is to make as much metadata as possible available on an Open Access basis too, so developers will be able to remix the content for a variety of purposes.

How can I contribute content?

There are a variety of ways to contribute content to the UC CEISMIC archive:

• QuakeStories:
  Adult members of the public and children over the age of 13 can contribute their stories and photographs through QuakeStories.
• whenmyhomeshook.co.nz:
  Primary and intermediate school children under the age of 13 can contribute their stories through When My Home Shook.
• Christchurch City Libraries - Earthquake Kete:
  Regular users of the Christchurch City Libraries website might like to use their Kete service to contribute photographs.
• UC QuakeStudies:
  Researchers and organisations can contribute through UC QuakeStudies.  Members of the public with large collections of photographs, or other content (such as videos or audio recordings) may also wish to contribute through UC QuakeStudies.  Email us on ceismic@canterbury.ac.nz to discuss the best way to get your content to us.

What if someone asks me to participate in research?

You should know that if anyone asks you to participate in research, you:

• have the right to say no at any time
• should be asked for your consent
• should be given information about the research process
• should be shown evidence of who has approved the research
• can review, change and withdraw information collected by the researcher without penalty
• should be informed where data will be stored and who will have access
• should know who to contact with any concerns about the research

Reusing items found using UC CEISMIC Search

Your Responsibilities

Before downloading, copying or reusing any item found through UC CEISMIC search, you need to examine the terms of use and/or copyright statement on the content partner's web page. Confirm, for example:

• whether you can copy and share the object
• whether you can modify the object
• whether you can use the object commercially
• whether you need to license new creations under identical terms
• whether the original creator has specific requirements about how they should be credited

Using the Usage Filter

To help find material that may be suitable for reuse, the Usage filter provides a general guide. After performing a search, select one of the filters (such as share, modify, use commercially) to show objects from your results that may be suitable for your purposes.

Further guidance

Using a Creative Commons Licensed Work (http://www.creativecommons.org.nz/using_a_cc_licensed_work)

The Make it Digital Guide to Enabling Use & Reuse (http://makeit.digitalnz.org/guidelines/enabling-use-reuse/)

Copyright terms and the public domain in New Zealand (http://www.digitalnz.org/make-it-digital/enabling-use-re-use/public-domain-guide)

Why do we need UC CEISMIC search?

Everyone knows there are many different search services available on the internet, and they all return thousands of results for any search query from an extremely broad variety of content providers. UC CEISMIC search is designed to do something different: it only searches across a limited number of high-quality sites in an effort to only return high-quality content. A good percentage of the results will be from national cultural heritage organisations that we can be sure will continue to make their content available, augmented by content from important community collections we think you'll be interested in. This means that, rather than having the process controlled by an overseas company's (admitedly excellent) algorithm, we can curate a collection of earthquake-related material ourselves - a collection for present as well as future generaitons of New Zealanders. By 'shepherding' quality content into one place, we also have the opportunity to work with partners like the National Digital Heritage Archive at the National Library, who are responsible for the long-term preservation of digital content. In short, we don't just want to make quake-related content easy for you to find, we want to make sure it's preserved for future generations.

Why are there historical images in the collection?

This issue was discussed at some length by the programme team. It was felt that the earthquakes have had such a large impact on Canterbury's local heritage that it was important to remember it alongside contemporary events. As we continue to build the collection the expectation is that contemporary content will far out-weigh historical content, but we want to allow future generations to be able to compare 'before and after'. It's an issue we intend to monitor.

What kind of content can I expect to find?

UC CEISMIC search will return results for any digital content our content providers offer, including images, audio, video, documents, reports and even 3D panoramas. The collection will develop over the years as more content types are included by providers. Most of the content is contemporary, but we're including historical content too.  The collection will cover not only the earthquakes and their immediate aftermath, but also the process of recovery and rebuild.

How long is the service going to be around for?

The UC CEISMIC Consortium has made a long-term commitment to not only ceismic.org.nz, but the broader UC CEISMIC Programme. We want to keep working with Canterbury, New Zealand, and international communities for decades to come, to enhance the service and ensure it's preserved for future generations.

How many items are available?

On day one of the service there were approximately 10,000 items available, which is modest by internet standards. Our challenge is to keep building the platform we've created to the point where we have hundreds of thousands of objects. Our emphasis is on quality over quantity, and human-curated content over computer-curated content. Remember, we aim to be a useful new service among many, not the Next Big Thing. The collection will grow as new providers come onboard and existing providers add to their collections.

Where else can I go to find content?

The search function on ceismic.org.nz aggregates content from a variety of different sources, the core of which are existing New Zealand cultural heritage organisations. We encourage you to visit our Consortium members' sites, along with all our other content providers too.

I have content I think should be included in UC CEISMIC search. What should I do?

The best place to start is the UC CEISMIC Programme Office, at the University of Canterbury. Contact ceismic@canterbury.ac.nz and they'll work with you to either add your content to Digital NZ's search service, or find the best place to store your content (that might be at any number of locations within, or even outside, the UC CEISMIC Consortium).