A new website has been launched that gives a different way of accessing RCAHMS CANMORE and other sources.

http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/

MB

It's a bit much having to agree to Ordnance Survey licence condition, and provide your name and email address in order to merely download a temporary latitude and longitude pair and have the location shown in Google Earth, and be denied this feature if you don't.

(I lied to get this feature activated - so it's an utterly pointless imposition.)

I have to say that I thought finding things in Canmore was easier using the standard website procedure.  

I'd have to say I'm now a bit puzzled.

The Fox will testify for my earlier opinion that Canmore was a database disaster a few years ago, but this criticism was removed recently when it was completely reworked, and once you blow the cobwebs and preconceptions the old system had ingrained, the revamp works quite nicely, and is much more effective and useful.

We still have Canmap, a map based search of Canmore which has limited information and needs no login.

We also still have Pastmap, similar to Canmap, but requiring registration and login to access Canmore and further related databases.

Scotland's places also accesses Canmore, but offers more information around the edges, and describes parishes and county borders in more detail.

I tried having a dig around the primary holder of Canmore, ie RCAHMS, and the news sections of these various sites, but I can't find any indication of what the bigger picture is.

As The Fox noted, Scotland's Places only provides another view on Canmore data, which may or may not be better than Canmore, Canmap, Pastmap, and possibly others.

It's bad practice to have multiple systems like this, one or more will be forgotten or neglected, or time and resources are wasted maintaining them all, with none excelling at their task of accessing and presenting the data. Some allow visitors to add comments and pictures, yet others don't, but it's the same system.

They need to pick one system, and stick with it.

You need to have one consistent point of reference, not many, even if that single point can be configured differently for users with different needs.

They should announce some plans or have a consultation.

(Miserable, aren't I? )

I;ve never understood how Scran fits into this either - it is a confusing mix, though.

SCRAN doesn't really fit in to this mix or question. It doesn't share the same database.

Unlike the accessible Canmore database, SCRAN is one of the largest educational online services in the UK, supporting over 4,000 schools, libraries, colleges and universities.

If we want public access to anything other than a tiny and almost useless thumbnail, we have to pay an annual subscription.

RCAHMS was one of a number of funding partners when SCRAN was created, but it has grown immensely and is still acquiring and locking away many images and collections, and is well on its way to having almost 400,000 of them reduced to those tiny thumbnails we should be thankful for, or can buy if want to see them.

I think our local archive have their catalogue on SCRAN so it is not accessible to the "normal" user.

I like Scotland's Places access to Canmore, you can search on a place or keyword and get a gallery of records with those with photographs at the top.  I have seen a lot of aerial photographs and other photographs that I have not seen before.

If only they would make higher resolution aerial photographs available online!  Just back from access the local aerial photographs on the council computer system, very nice quality though quite difficult to find a location and many seem to be missing.  Will need to plan out the next trip a bit better.


MB

Snap!

I was drawn to the RAF Greenock area a s well, but came out little wiser, since I'd have to brush up on the dates of the very places you mentioned.
.

The mosaics seem to throw up more questions than they answer