The arts and humanities data service three years' on

Abstract

As the Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) reaches the end of its first funding cycle, it is taking stock of its aims, organisations, and achievements. It is also evaluating possible trajectories which may see the service develop from a testbed project into a sustainable service. As part of that process, the AHDS has commissioned a formal evaluation, now partially complete (1). The following article is based on the evaluation's interim report. It provides a brief description of the AHDS's organisation and aims, and looks in more depth at two areas in which the AHDS has been particularly active: collections development and resource discovery. It concludes with an outline of the principal challenges which confront the Service in the next 12 to 18 months.