Design and Implementation of a Comprehensive Database of the Written Heritage of Science and Technology

This study aims to design and implement a comprehensive database of the written heritage of science and technology in the Regional Information Center for Science and Technology (RICeST) and determine the metadata elements required to describe the manuscripts.

This research was carried out by the content analysis method to identify the metadata elements needed to describe the collection of manuscripts. The study population includes a microfiche collection of Arabic manuscripts in RICeST in science and technology, including Encyclopedias, Protosciences, Medicine, Mathematics, Astronomy, Geography, and Miscellaneous works (about 1203 manuscripts). Due to the study’s comprehensiveness, all manuscripts in science and technology were considered, and sampling was not performed. The data gathering method was structured or systematic observation (of non–participant type), and the data gathering tool was a checklist.

The metadata elements were first identified through a process including a review of the studies conducted in this field, an analysis of manuscript databases available inside and outside the country, and an examination of the specific needs, vision, and policies of the RICeST, and then design of the database was carried out in seven stages. These stages include identifying and organizing manuscript microfiches, identifying metadata elements to describe manuscripts, identifying appropriate software and developing the manuscript data entry form in the database, digitizing the manuscript microfiches collection, documenting and cataloging the manuscripts, data entry into the database, and uploading files, and evaluating and editing the information entered in the database. This collection is currently available at https://manuscript.ricest.ac.ir.

Originality/value: 

The mission of the RICeST in disseminating written knowledge and the need to organize, digitize and make manuscripts accessible to users made it necessary to conduct research in order to identify the required metadata elements and design the ‘comprehensive database of the written heritage of science and technology’. Given the emphasis of the RICeST on the fields of science and technology, in the first step, creating a database for these fields was prioritized. As an educational and research support for Iran’ universities and scientific centers, this database can solve some of the information needs of the scientific community at the national and regional levels. One of the features of the present research is the selection of required metadata elements according to the characteristics of the Iranian-Islamic context and relying on the studies conducted in this field to provide users with suitable access points for effective retrieval of manuscripts. The content coverage of the database and the variety of its metadata elements are such that different groups of audiences (including general users, researchers, students, copyists, etc.) can benefit from its services depending on the type of needs. This research brought valuable achievements and outputs in different phases, including preparing a manual for manuscript cataloging and data entry, creating a comprehensive manuscript database, equipping and launching a manuscript section in RICeST, training human resources for cataloging manuscripts, holding several workshops, interacting with other manuscript centers in Iran and creating areas for cooperation, and providing a bibliography for all references used in the process of documenting and cataloging manuscripts.