Multilingual Web Services of Data Archives: Possibilities and Pitfalls

Our article discusses the kinds of issues data archives and other data providers need to consider when setting up multilingual websites. The article, based on a presentation at the IASSIST 2007 conference (Jaaskelainen and Alatera 2007), draws from our experience at the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD), which provides web services in three different languages, and from the examination of other European data archive websites. First things first When planning a multilingual website, we recommend that the purpose and scope of the site be discussed and decided first. Website developers need to ask themselves the following questions: why are we making the website multilingual, what kind of functions or information do we wish to offer, who will use the service, and what are the users’ needs. Having web services in multiple languages means more work, so they must also consider how much money and staff resources can be allocated. Organisations often have to balance between maintaining an adequate level of services and having too much information to update.