By Kendall Millman
My Creation
Seeing as I have never used a system like this one, I decided to experiment with the linked data capabilities on Exhibit.so. Even though it seemed far less intimidating and technologically challenging than the other options, I still managed to struggle with it.
My collection, which is linked above, includes three watercolor paintings by Agnes Chamberlin. The paintings are of three different types of fungi named amanita muscaria, armillaria mellea and boletus. The Agnes Chamberlin Digital Collection can be found at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto and is also managed digitally. This collection holds over three hundred paintings that were created between 1863 and the 1900’s. Additionally, Chamberlin’s public work can be found in the collection. Each of the works included in the collection has a unique International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) protocol which made it really easy to transfer to Exhibit.so.
Challenges with Technology
At first glance, Exhibit.so looks relatively easy to use, but I quickly found out that this was not the case. The first few times I tried to run Exhibit.so for this project, I could not get anything to load. I figured this must be due to too many users on the program at once — so, I tried to find a time that would work for me. Once I got Exhibit.so to work, I did not run into any trouble starting my exhibit, though I do wish that examples of the different template formats were available to see prior to starting the project. My problems started when it came to importing multiple IIIF Manifest URLs. Even though Exhibit.so lets you import multiple URLs at a time, it does not add them all to the exhibit which I got hung up on. It took me a little while to figure out that each item had to be manually added to the exhibit after the URL was imported.
This technology is not the most intuitive to use, especially when it comes to beginners, like me. There is no real way to toggle between slides and comments in an efficient manner. When I started adding comments, I assumed that I would be able to see a preview on the image of how it looked, but that was not the case. To make sure that my comments were saving properly, I had to open a separate preview of the entire exhibit, which seemed unnecessarily time complicated. From my experience, Exhibit.so is a very linear system. You must put your item in and add all the comments relevant to that source before adding the next item or related comments. When I wanted to add more comments to my first image, but had already imported my second one, I found that I had to completely erase my second image and comments to go back and do so. There is no easy way to go back and edit the work that has been done. I could never quite figure out how to zoom in to different areas of the image to attach comments or annotate different locations, however I am sure this was entirely user error. Finally, I found it surprising that there was no clear way to save your work to return to it later. I ended up creating several projects by the time I was finished simply because I had lost my previous work. All in all, Exhibit.so was usable, if frustrating at times.
Benefits of Technology
Technological systems that allow library, archive, and museum (LAM) professionals to utilize IIIF manifest URLs increases public access to high quality cultural heritage collections and images (GalerySystems, 2023). Linked data permits data that is housed in LAM spaces to be searchable and usable on the web. The systems that utilize linked data, like Exhibit.so, are beneficial to libraries, archives, and museums. They allow LAM professionals to create and share customizable exhibits with resources from institutes all over the world (Zhang, 2022). These systems allow for increased virtual collaboration across LAM research and institutions, while maintaining standardization. Using IIIF manifest URLs guarantees standardization which allows for use across platforms. It is beneficial for LAM professionals to have the IIIF URL to be able to easily access necessary metadata information.
The fact that Exhibit.so is free to use allows for increased accessibility for both creating and viewing exhibits. This exhibit allows users to view, interact, and learn about exhibits, with high quality images, without having to travel to a physical museum space. Systems like this greatly increases the audience that can interact with the collections. Digital collections though these systems could be used in educational facilities in order to improve student engagement with specific topics.
Challenges with Implementation
When implementing online systems that uses linked data, there are some challenges to consider. The digital literacy of both the staff and users, as well as technological requirements for running the system should be considered prior to implementation. According to Zhang, “[s]tudies on linked data projects and communities worldwide show the challenges to implementing linked data including technological issues related to ontology, linked data tools, existing datasets, lack of financial resources and skilled human resources, low level of awareness among the community, lack of open licenses, and non-availability of standards and best practices” (2022). Additionally, it is important to note that resources may not be available to use for every subject which can create challenges for determining which images and sources to include in a collection (Zhang, 2022). Whenever it comes to implementing new technology, there is a learning curve involved. Staff must be adequately trained, technology must be updated enough to run the required program, and users must know how to access the final products. Additionally, it is important to consider the limitations of the technology being used. Exhibit.so, for example, may not be ideal for large collections. Also, the technical problems with Exhibit.so itself not being powerful enough to serve all of the users could be a great hindrance. LAM spaces that do not have adequate funding or training may be unable to implement even the most basic digital system.
References
Gallery Systems (2023). International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) for museums and cultural institutions. Gallery Systems Inc. Retrieved from: https://www.gallerysystems.com/international-image-interoperability-framework-iiif/
Zhang, L. (2022). Empowering linked data in cultural heritage institutions: A knowledge management perspective. Data and Information Management, 6(3), 100013.
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