ISLT 9452 - Tutorial Part 2

Introduction to a Digital CollectionFeaturing the letters and pictures of Evelyn Birkby "Radio Homemaker"

One of several collections hosted by Iowa Digital Libraries

Introduction to a Digital Collection - Page 2

● Personal Collection– This presentation is about a collection of

personal papers, including scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, promotional photographs, and audio clippings

– Why? Preservation of a personal viewpoint and material not available in more formal publication

A few words about the collection...


● Digital Collection– Digital versions of the photographs and

sound recordings and digital images of the physical pages have been stored in electronic form

– Why? Creates a duplicate record that is less fragile and easier to manage.



● Digital Collection– Digital versions of the photographs and

sound recordings and digital images of the physical pages have been stored in electronic form

– Why? Creates a duplicate record that is less fragile and easier to manage.



http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/birkby/

Welcome HomeThe beginning of our exploration

Introduction to a Digital Collection - Page 6Welcome HomeThe beginning of our exploration

The Home Page is alsoA Table of Contents and

Introduction

This includes a short biography of Mrs. Birkby and the importance of the items in the collection as well as offering contacts for those responsible for maintaining the online material.

This header at the top, or "head" of each page reminds you what collection you are browsing

Introduction to a Digital Collection - Page 7Welcome HomeThe beginning of our exploration

Home:Also our map back

If an avenue doesn't work out, no problem, that's what the "Home" link is for.

This will bring you back to this main page

There is already a great deal of information on the home page. Can you find the radio station that aired Mrs. Birkby's radio show?

This home page also mentions a couple of other collections. What is their relationship to the Birkby Collection?

Time to ExploreNow you can look at the home page at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/birkby/ on your own terminal and we can consider some additional questions.


There is already a great deal of information on the home page. Can you find the radio station that aired Mrs. Birkby's radio show?

KIOS

This home page also mentions a couple of other collections. What is their relationship to the Birkby Collection?

The Iowa Women's Archives Digital Collections offers items that my be useful or helpful to those needing additional information about women's contributions in Iowa. This is part of the larger Iowa Libraries organization.

Time to ExploreNow you can look at the home page at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/birkby/ on your own terminal and we can consider some additional questions.




Choosing our pathWhere can we go from home

Introduction to a Digital Collection - Page 9Choosing our pathWhere can we go from home

Some available paths

Of course you CAN dive right in to the entire collection if you want to "Browse All"

Provided, of course, that you have the patience and the time

This also makes it more difficult to come back to any prizes you discover later


Keeping it Simple

Using the "Sample Searches"

These offer some categories within the larger collection

Popular and often requested items as well as unusual or special to this collection

For this example, we'll show the search for Photographs


...and Photographs we getThis shows a small part of the entire collection

Because you selected "Pictures" only those items labeled as "Pictures" will show here


Hey Mom, I want to go HomeNo problem. The "Home" button moves in this view but have no fear, it's still here.

What searches on this example list might have some of the same items?

These searches are based on one particular property of the items in the collection. Are there other types of searches that might be useful?

Time to ExploreNow look more closely at the links in the "Sample Searches" at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/birkby/ on your own terminal and we can consider some additional questions.


What searches on this example list might have some of the same items?

KMA Radio and Radio Broadcasts

These searches are based on one particular property of the items in the collection. Are there other types of searches that might be useful?

These search options focus primarily on what kind of item it is; photographs, scrapbooks, audio recordings, etc. Other useful options might be by subject, for instance Current Events, Homemaking, or Women in Broadcasting, or by age of the item.

Time to ExploreNow look more closely at the links in the "Sample Searches" at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/birkby/ on your own terminal and we can consider some additional questions.



Further refinementOr, "Still too much stuff, now what?"

Introduction to a Digital Collection - Page 14Further refinementOr, "Still too much stuff, now what?"

More options available to refine your searchIn some cases, there still may be more results than you want to page through or you would like a more specific or "refined" list of results.


On the left side of the screen offering the Photographs search for browsing, there are other options to further narrow the hunt

The Digital Collection options offer some other labels of photographs in this group and places where this collection overlaps other subjects.

Remember, these "refine" the search, that is, these are lists within this search group


On the left side of the screen offering the Photographs search for browsing, there are other options to further narrow the hunt

Another option is the groups of items arranged chronologically according to the date of the original photograph

Again, these dates only refer to pictures, if looking for other material you would need to return to a less specific group

In this example, three of the four "refinements" by Digital Collection actually include all twenty-seven photographs. Why might this be both a bad thing and a good thing to notice when browsing the collection?

Examine some of the groups sorted by date. Why are the two with a far more recent date be included in this collection?

Time to ExploreNow that we have seen some other options to narrow and refine searches for photographs in the Evelyn Birkby collection, we can use these options to answer a couple questions.

In this example, three of the four "refinements" by Digital Collection actually include all twenty-seven photographs. Why might this be both a bad thing and a good thing to notice when browsing the collection?

It does defeat the purpose, if intending to shorten the list for individual browsing. However, it also reinforces the subject and content overlap of the photographs and encourages exploring them all as a group.

Examine some of the groups sorted by date. Why are the two with a far more recent date be included in this collection?

They are taken on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the radio show "Down a Country Lane" commemorated in this collection

Time to ExploreNow that we have seen some other options to narrow and refine searches for photographs in the Evelyn Birkby collection, we can use these options to answer a couple questions.

Digital archives not only preserve history, but make it available to audiences around the world and right here at home. These programs allow us to explore, on our own time and at our own pace, the history of other countries and our own home town. There are many paths to discover, I hope you enjoy your adventure.

A Few More Words ...

Thank you for joining us today. I hope that you have enjoyed your time and learned something more about navigating a fascinating and ever expanding resource.

If there are further questions about this program or tutorial, or if I can do anything else to aid you in your exploration, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Jesse L [email protected]

http://issuu.com/jesseljones

mailto:[email protected]

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ISLT 9452 - Tutorial Part 2