What is it?
Pandora’s Box is a digital information centre which allows the user to access a diversity of useful and interesting materials. In many ways Pandora’s box is an information/records/library centre where the user has a wide choice of materials to select. Moreover, Pandora’s box can also be used to contain records useful to Govan Community Project, such user reviews, which have long term “archival value”.
Why is this resource required?
The information within this resource is specifically chosen and tailored for GCP’s needs and uses. Google is a very powerful and vast search engine, which makes finding the required information quickly extremely difficult. For example, a search for “English Classes Glasgow” produces over 4.5 Million hits (18/06/17). Pandora’s box is custom made for GCP requirements and includes information that is cherry picked for staff and users. Some of the items in Pandora’s Box took hours to find.
What sort of information does it hold?
All the information in Pandora’s box is in the form of individual “items”. Some of the items are informational, such as how to access housing in the UK, and some of the items are recreational, such as children’s books. A large part of the resource is educational, and his includes items which helps the user learn English or learn about Britain and Glasgow. These items are available in many different forms, including PDF versions of websites, PDF books, and even audio files. Many of the PDF websites have internalised hyperlinks that allow the user to access the actual webpage (assuming they have an internet connection). There are also items specific to GCP such as interviews from previous users, which indicates how active and productive the charity has been in the past few years.
How are these files organised?
All the items are organised into folders, and sub folders arranged by topic. Key topics include: Education, Employment, English (learning), Family, Govan Community Project Records, Gender, Health, Housing, Recreation, Travel, and Welfare. Many of these subs-divide further, such as education which sub-divides by age group.
How can these items be navigated?
There are three ways that the user can navigate the items in this resource. You can navigate by searching through the organised folders. Another option is to use the excel catalogue which contains a list of every item within the resource. This excel list includes the name of every item, a hyperlink to the item, key-word tags, and the date the item was last checked. The key word tags allow the user to find items by searching for certain terms, such as “courses” or “food”. The third way this resource can be navigated is by using the word sheet titled “overview”. This sheet includes a table showing all the main topic folders, and how they sub-divide. The user can access these folders by clicking on the hyperlinked titles.
What are some of the highlights of Pandora’s Box?
Among the most interesting items are the one’s relating to heritage and history. Pandora’s box includes some fascinating items about the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, the Burrell Collection, and the Mitchell Library. A particularly fascinating feature is the “Hidden Gems Glasgow Life” item which shows the user to find some very interesting Glasgow attractions and locations of interest. Among the most useful of the items are the one’s pertaining to “Immigration Support” (In the Welfare folder). This includes information about visa’s, immigration advisors, and asylum interviews among other resources. The information in this folder is both practical and interesting.
How can this resource grow?
It is hoped that as staff, and users, find new and interesting resources they will add it to Pandora’s box. If a certain type of information becomes increasingly desired, such as information about self-defence classes for example, then a new folder (probably in the recreation and general living folder-sports) will be added. And found resources can be added to this folder. Adding items is very easy. All one has to do is save/convert a webpage to PDF, save it in the correct folder, and add it to the excel sheet with the correct title, tags, and hyperlink.
Creators & Contributors
The idea was developed by myself, Sean Macmillan, in 2015 when I obtained my MSc in Information Management and Preservation. This resource incorporates several modern information management principals and mechanisms. Other few people have helped with the development of the resource. Stephanie Kelly provided much help in 2015 in designing the architecture and structure of the resource, while Moira Dato contributed in 2017 by researching and discovering more than 50 items, including information pertaining to recipes, cycling, energy suppliers, renting accommodation, and UK health and safety regulations, among several other pieces of useful information.
Pandora’s Box is a digital information centre which allows the user to access a diversity of useful and interesting materials. In many ways Pandora’s box is an information/records/library centre where the user has a wide choice of materials to select. Moreover, Pandora’s box can also be used to contain records useful to Govan Community Project, such user reviews, which have long term “archival value”.
Why is this resource required?
The information within this resource is specifically chosen and tailored for GCP’s needs and uses. Google is a very powerful and vast search engine, which makes finding the required information quickly extremely difficult. For example, a search for “English Classes Glasgow” produces over 4.5 Million hits (18/06/17). Pandora’s box is custom made for GCP requirements and includes information that is cherry picked for staff and users. Some of the items in Pandora’s Box took hours to find.
What sort of information does it hold?
All the information in Pandora’s box is in the form of individual “items”. Some of the items are informational, such as how to access housing in the UK, and some of the items are recreational, such as children’s books. A large part of the resource is educational, and his includes items which helps the user learn English or learn about Britain and Glasgow. These items are available in many different forms, including PDF versions of websites, PDF books, and even audio files. Many of the PDF websites have internalised hyperlinks that allow the user to access the actual webpage (assuming they have an internet connection). There are also items specific to GCP such as interviews from previous users, which indicates how active and productive the charity has been in the past few years.
How are these files organised?
All the items are organised into folders, and sub folders arranged by topic. Key topics include: Education, Employment, English (learning), Family, Govan Community Project Records, Gender, Health, Housing, Recreation, Travel, and Welfare. Many of these subs-divide further, such as education which sub-divides by age group.
How can these items be navigated?
There are three ways that the user can navigate the items in this resource. You can navigate by searching through the organised folders. Another option is to use the excel catalogue which contains a list of every item within the resource. This excel list includes the name of every item, a hyperlink to the item, key-word tags, and the date the item was last checked. The key word tags allow the user to find items by searching for certain terms, such as “courses” or “food”. The third way this resource can be navigated is by using the word sheet titled “overview”. This sheet includes a table showing all the main topic folders, and how they sub-divide. The user can access these folders by clicking on the hyperlinked titles.
What are some of the highlights of Pandora’s Box?
Among the most interesting items are the one’s relating to heritage and history. Pandora’s box includes some fascinating items about the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, the Burrell Collection, and the Mitchell Library. A particularly fascinating feature is the “Hidden Gems Glasgow Life” item which shows the user to find some very interesting Glasgow attractions and locations of interest. Among the most useful of the items are the one’s pertaining to “Immigration Support” (In the Welfare folder). This includes information about visa’s, immigration advisors, and asylum interviews among other resources. The information in this folder is both practical and interesting.
How can this resource grow?
It is hoped that as staff, and users, find new and interesting resources they will add it to Pandora’s box. If a certain type of information becomes increasingly desired, such as information about self-defence classes for example, then a new folder (probably in the recreation and general living folder-sports) will be added. And found resources can be added to this folder. Adding items is very easy. All one has to do is save/convert a webpage to PDF, save it in the correct folder, and add it to the excel sheet with the correct title, tags, and hyperlink.
Creators & Contributors
The idea was developed by myself, Sean Macmillan, in 2015 when I obtained my MSc in Information Management and Preservation. This resource incorporates several modern information management principals and mechanisms. Other few people have helped with the development of the resource. Stephanie Kelly provided much help in 2015 in designing the architecture and structure of the resource, while Moira Dato contributed in 2017 by researching and discovering more than 50 items, including information pertaining to recipes, cycling, energy suppliers, renting accommodation, and UK health and safety regulations, among several other pieces of useful information.
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