2018 Washington conference submission
Breathing Life into Museum Digital Features with IIIF
Dan Brennan - Princeton University Art Museum (United States)
Abstract: This lightning talk will illustrate several examples from the last year in which the Princeton University Art Museum has used IIIF APIs and IIIF-adjacent technologies and viewers (Image API, Presentation API, Mirador) to reinvigorate tech-deprecated or hard to maintain in-gallery and online experiences. Like many museums, after years of investment in boutique digital features and experiences Princeton found itself faced with a portfolio of under-documented, standalone projects that existed completely apart from the museum's recently revamped technology stack and architecture. While still relevant in terms of content and still looked upon favorably by visitors and curators, these digital projects were often built with technologies (notably, Flash) that were no longer able to be modified, nor did they take advantage of years of advances in imaging and web technologies. Observing that many of the experiences they provided were image-oriented and could be (if not totally in design than in spirit) replicated using IIIF, the Museum elected to do so - the ultimate result being a set of digital features that take advantage of the capabilities of the IIIF APIs and are far more sustainable in terms of the Museum's ability to support, modify, and replicate them for future use.
Presentation type: 7 minute lightning talk to be given in a plenary session
Topics:
- IIIF content communities (museums, manuscripts, newspapers, archival content, etc.),
- IIIF-compatible software and experimentation
Keywords:
- museums,
- mirador,
- exhibition