Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future

32 for formal education, packages to support particularcommunities of interestProgrammes already exist that could encompass theseareas and there is no new fundamental research ordevelopment required to implement them. Thus, giventhe necessary investment, programme start up will bevery rapid.Looking Forward to theKnowledge WebMLA is implementing a campaign of advocacy (Investingin Knowledge) that includes within it a proposal to use theCommon Information Environment approach to createseamless access to the collections and servicesof museums, libraries and archives in the way that isproposed for archival collections within the ArchivesGateway. This proposal – the Knowledge Web – ifsuccessful, will offer to everyone an amazing storehouseof knowledge of all types. Programmes such as thecreation of technical infrastructure and digitisation willcall for new investment, but within the existing workprogramme of MLA there is the potential to pilot userenvironments and undertake the planning and programmedevelopment that will be necessary. The Task Forcetherefore believes that while success will only come frombroad support across the whole of the domain andbeyond, through partnership collaboration, MLA andThe National Archives must lead jointly the planningand implementation of the Gateway.The Archives Gateway would bring to the Knowledge Webthe means to enable users to search for the materialrelating to a specific place, person, topic etc. and bringit together for the user without their needing to know theprior existence of archives, and to enable those resourcesto be integrated with others from museums and libraries.Users can search from school, home or through thePeople’s Network terminals in libraries.programme of development proposed by the KnowledgeWeb offers much more, creating user environmentsdesigned to match particular styles of searching andlearning, providing context and meaning for the enquirerwhether schoolchild, student, local historian, businessperson or someone exploring their own interests. Thewhole purpose is to match the right resources to thesearchers’ particular needs without their need to knowabout supply mechanisms. Providing that searchmechanisms are sufficiently flexible and sophisticated, it isonly once the resources have been presented to the userthat it matters where the information has come from. Weare convinced that as richer, more relevant information isprovided and more digital surrogates are created, manyusers will become more purposive in their behaviour andwish to explore more deeply.How will this be Implemented?It is certain that much of this will be done in partnershipbetween the archives community and others. For,example, services to support education will be developedwithin the context of Curriculum Online and other learningprojects. And partnerships will certainly help long-termsustainability through funding and a sense of ownershipby the particular partnership mix. However, to enable theArchives Gateway to become a reality will require strongleadership, commitment from all parts of the archivesdomain and tangible support from stakeholders andfunders in the UK.There will of course be technical challenges. The NationalArchives and the National Council on Archives are alreadyinvestigating how best to link together the existingprofessional networks. Much of the necessary knowledgeis already out there and ready to be tapped for the benefitof archives and their users. It requires only the marshallingof that knowledge to meet those needs.Of course, the Task Force’s vision is not simply oneof several reservoirs of raw information. The rounded