1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Libraries have invested money, staff time, and effort in digitizing collections. But that is just the beginning. To engage users in these collections, some supporting intellectual context is often needed, especially for a public audience. Digital library exhibits organize digital images, articles, books, and ephemera offering visual appeal but, more importantly, tell a coherent story that shows the significance of the content. Several open-source digital platforms are available for exhibits, including Omeka, Scalar, and WordPress via the DH Press toolkit. Whatever software you choose, there are trade-offs. Emily Marsh describes how the National Agricultural Library created three digital exhibits for their library. She shows ways Omeka often helped and sometimes hindered their story-telling efforts. One very useful tool for telling a story is a timeline. Kenn Bicknell shares how his organization used web-based timeline tools on interactive public kiosks to highlight three different chronologies: an historic train station, a notable light rail project, and the infrastructure of regional highways. Bicknell also explains how the Transportation Authority uses collaborative digital sites such as Historypin in conjunction with Google Street View to add historic photographs to maps and create an augmented reality experience. Take home ideas on creating your next digital exhibit that pops open the hood on amazing content and engages your users. Learn how the kiosk environment is scalable, suitable to all types of libraries, and how to start building augmented reality experiences using library assets.
