EMMEL: a framework for historical manuscript analysis and presentation

In this paper, a generic framework for historical manuscript image and data processing, visualisation and analysis is introduced with a focus on the modelling of manuscript metadata underpinning the interaction. The goal of such a framework is to capture the requirements from three types of activities involving historical manuscripts: presentation, management and analysis. In addition to an overall text-based description of an historical manuscript, a central requirement of such a framework is to associate rich media information (e.g. video, flash component, etc.) to the manuscript or a specific region of the manuscript. A second requirement is to enable interchange of the manuscript data as well as the attached information between users. As a result of an extensive analysis of requirements collected across a wide range of target user groups, an XML-based metadata language derived from a relational database model is proposed to form an historical document data model, and a prototype system is developed to demonstrate some of the advanced functionalities enabled by this data model. Thus, the proposed framework provides an important tool in promoting access to historical documents on a wide and diverse basis, embracing the fundamental principles of universal access to a shared cultural heritage.