Use the Web more intelligently

MANCHESTER Metropolitan, in partnership with Oxford University, has launched a new online information service for the arts and humanities.

MMU is a key partner in Intute, a new Internet service designed to promote intelligent use of the Internet launched at the Wellcome Trust in London on 13 July 2006.

Intute is the new face of the national Resource Discovery Network (RDN) which has spent the last twelve months undergoing a complete transformation of its branding and organisation. Manchester Metropolitan University, in partnership with Oxford University is leading the new Arts and Humanities service of Intute.

Free service

Intute: Arts and Humanities builds on the services previously provided by the Humbul Humanities Hub (Oxford) and Artifact (Manchester). It is is a freely available service which enables lecturers, researchers and students to discover and access quality Internet resources.

Professor Colin Harris, Director of the arts team of Intute: Arts and Humanities based at MMU, said: “The new service provides a single point of access for discovering the best of what the Web has to offer for staff and students in the arts and humanities. The service depends on the contribution made by our partners who bring their academic skills to the discovery and review of online resources.

“Whilst we are primarily an online service, our foundation remains firmly located in the arts and humanities academic communities.”

Easy-to-use

Caroline Williams, Executive Director of Intute said: “Issues of trust and quality are real concerns for users, and we have responded by creating a service which takes the best of the RDN and streamlines it into one easy-to-use interface. We are delighted to continue the partnership with Oxford University and Manchester Metropolitan.”

Intute is hosted by MIMAS at The University of Manchester, and is a collaboration among a large network of partners and contributors. At the heart of the organisation is a consortium of seven universities, including Oxford University and Manchester Metropolitan, bringing together a wealth of expertise and knowledge. Intute is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), with support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Intute is freely available at www.intute.ac.uk

For more information, please contact Jayne Burgess, Manager Intute: Arts and Humanities
Manchester Metropolitan University +44 (0)161 247 6109 jayne.burgess@mmu.ac.uk