My Experience with Exhibit.so – Nonfiction Books about WWII

For this assignment, I’ve worked to create an exhibit using Exhibit.so. This particular exhibit focuses on nonfiction books centered around events that happened in the Second World War, mostly military campaigns and battles. Many of these books contain photos and other images of those campaigns and battles so that readers could get a grasp of what it was like on the front lines. There are two items in total within the exhibit: “World War II in the Pacific – An Encyclopedia” and “World War II – the Definitive Visual History.” I’ve posted here a link to the exhibit so anyone interested will be able to access: https://www.exhibit.so/exhibits/CnvpvDqVqHKb5D6u9G85

So far, my experience with using Exhibit.so was met with only a few challenges. One such challenge was finding the appropriate IIIF manifest that could function within the digital system, especially those that were from the Internet Archive, where I got my two sources. Unfortunately, most of the IIIF manifests that I found within the Internet Archive, save for the two listed above, did not seem to integrate within the Exhibit.so digital system. Which in turn led to my next challenge: the inability on my end to change the sources. As I was still new to the mechanics of exhibit.so, I had some issues with removing the problematic sources from my exhibit. Most times, whenever I clicked on the slide that contained the source that had technical issues, it would just continue to try and load with no progress made at all. Eventually, I believed that it was better to just start another exhibit from scratch using sources that would function properly within the digital system.

Despite these issues, my experience with Exhibit.so was fairly positive, if I do say so myself. I believe that my experience with the digital system would reflect upon the benefits it provides, which may amplify if museums across the globe would allow for wider adoption of the system. One of the benefits it has is its flexibility. The editor within Exhibit.so was very user friendly, fast and responsive, so long as you have a IIIF manifest that would function within the digital system. This editor would allow users, myself and LAM professionals and institutions included, to create stories with 3D models and IIIF-compatible high-resolution images, the latter of which is zoomable to allow audiences to see the fine details of the works presented in the exhibit. These 3D models and high-resolution images would allow for greater viewing by the audience, which increases audience engagement with the exhibit. Another benefit is its customization. Exhibit.so allows for users to change the backgrounds and font colors within their presentations to both suit their requirements and allow for greater visual immersion from the audience. Exhibi.so also possesses a wide range of presentation modes to allow for further audience engagement. Many of these modes include slideshows, scrollytelling, kiosks, and quizzes. These presentation modes are enhanced by Exhibit.so’s shareability of its framework. Users of this system can create public or password protected exhibits, embed their exhibits through an iframe, or duplicate and remix those exhibits. This shareability is perfect for online learning and classroom environments, allowing LAM professionals and institutions to extend their influence and the fruits of their labor beyond the libraries, archives, and museums. Speaking of which, Exhibit.so is already made sustainable through its development using the Universal Viewer. Because of this, it has received support from both a vibrant supportive community at its core and from a group of the world’s leading libraries, museums, and institutions. Some of those institutions include the British Library, Harvard Library, and the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries, as well as the Universities of St. Andrews and Cambridge, the Brighton & Howe Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust, and the Nasjonalmuseet in Oslo, Norway. With all of this in mind, Exhibit.so has already received widespread adoption across museums and other institutions, who owe their adoption of the digital system to its ease of use, customization, and shareability outside those institutions to promote audience engagement and immersion.

All in all, given how relatively easy it is to work with and how many LAM professionals and institutions have already adopted it, I can see only a few challenges adoption of Exhibit.so may face in both First and Third World LAM institutions. For the case of First World LAM institutions, especially those within smaller communities, it is a matter of both tradition and economics. Traditionally, many museums and libraries have prioritized having visitors come through their doors over making their selections available electronically. It allows them to create a record of those who came in and accessed their materials, thereby justifying their funding within city councils. However, the COVID-19 pandemic had changed the landscape of the LAM fields. Soon, many museums across the globe had to adapt to the conditions of lockdowns and other COVID-19 transmission prevention procedures. These included locking down libraries, archives, and museums from the public and searching for innovative ways to make their content accessible to the public during this crisis. Digital systems like Exhibit.so became heavily sought-after tools to help develop those electronic exhibits and databases. That challenge was especially difficult for LAM institutions within the Third World. The problem facing Third World LAM institutions with utilizing digital systems is not a matter of tradition, but a matter of accessibility to that technology. There are many Third World libraries and museums that may not have access to the necessary technology needed to create electronic exhibits through digital systems, or at the very least those necessities are not as prioritized within infrastructure discussions among city, regional, provincial, and national councils. However, the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic put focus on those issues those Third World LAM institutions faced. Many institutions within the LAM field, as well as technology companies, worked with those Third World LAM institutions to develop and set up those electronic exhibits, some of whom had utilized digital systems like Exhibit.so. Because of these changes, the challenges faced by these LAM institutions have been alleviated to a certain degree.