Yesterday I attended training in Indianapolis on how to customize the CONTENTdm interface. It was very useful. Customization requires editing HTML files, and on occasion, editing some PHP. I wish my Design of Complex Web Sites had taught me PHP instead of Ruby, since I'm not in a position to program Ruby anyway, and even if I could, would not be using it here. Then again, learning Ruby actually did help me understand the PHP code.
We currently use CONTENTdm for digital images at Earlham. Prior to my arrival, the Plowshares Project was finished, and right now students are working on getting Earlham College and Friends United Meeting materials online. I will link to the site when they are done.
CONTENTdm has many uses, yet I worry about what we will use down the road. It is not a long term preservation solution; it is good for displaying images and increasing access and description of our collections, particularly photographs. While there are a large number of text documents in Plowshares, I'm not sure how I feel about uploading more manuscript collections in the software. I just hope if we get something new, or CONTENTdm dies, we can easily migrate to a new system.
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11 comments:
coding!
i just came across the term 'dark archive' and it sounds SO DRAMATIC.
I am reading about the semantic web. Also, I'm considering the usefulness of providing subject terms/topics in describing a digital collection.
We are very serious tonight.
i think that would help make it more searchable for students, but does archiving have specific subject terms? or do you have to make them up?
also, you should have a 'hats' section. i am just saying. 'bonnets' can be a subsection.
ALSO, I am always SERIOUS.
Ms. Serious, Well, we can use LC headings and other such things. But if you get too specific in your topics, you end up adding every topic out there. When does the madness stop? And, I wonder how often students use advanced search functions, rather than searching across all fields... it just depends on what you are searching. Sometimes advanced search functions are NOT user friendly.
sample heading:
Hats--Bonnets--Amish--peacock feathers
We're working on CONTENTdm in Access Systems. It's pretty hairy. It seems like there are so many steps, e.g. for ultimately publishing, that it can take a while to learn it well. But it's a cool system. Appreciate hearing about your results.
Ms.Machiavelli & Ms. Serious!!!! We would be an EXCELLENT cartoon. I am just saying.
Indexing is the step in CONTENTdm I always forget. I wrote a tutorial and evaluation for it for one of my internships while at SI. Perhaps I shall post it.
Or, a podcast or youtube series. We can work on it in January!
WE ARE GOING TO MAKE TO MAKE A VIDEO WHEN YOU COME I AM NOT KIDDING AT ALL. PREPARE YOURSELF!!!!!
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