Design Principles

  1. The database has been designed to accommodate information from multiple sources, and is being “primed” with the content of Part 2 of Boalch 3rd Edition.
  2. Different instrument types will be contained within separate “collections” in the database that can be combined for search purposes, if so desired. The first release of the database will contain the clavichord collection, but it is hoped that it will be extended to contain the other instrument types represented in Boalch 3rd Edition.
  3. Each instrument is represented as a single xml structure, and within that each item of information has its source (and therefore ownership) identified. Each instrument can therefore contain information from multiple sources.
  4. The xml structure is extendible, and can therefore be expanded to accommodate additional information.
  5. The xml structure has been designed to accommodate anonymous as well as attributed instruments, and can also accommodate alternative or conflicting information and opinions.
  6. Changes to either content or structure will be controlled by the project board (i.e. users of the system will not be able to write to the database – they will have read-only access). The project board will be appointed by the University of Edinburgh.
  7. End user access to the system for non-commercial purposes will be free of charge. The project board is investigating end-user license arrangements that protect this position on behalf of the University of Edinburgh and all content providers / owners (Creative Commons is a candidate for achieving this - see here for a good introduction to it).
  8. It is planned that the database will be published online under the supervision of the University of Edinburgh once the content quality has reached or passed the quality of Boalch 3rd Edition, and once a satisfactory end user interface has been developed (accommodating the license arrangements described in 7. above).
  9. No private ownership information will be made available to end users via the database. Where an instrument is in private ownership, the owner’s name will be shown as PRIVATE COLLECTION. This means some loss of information compared with the published book, considered by the project board to be an acceptable price to pay for protecting the identity of private individuals.