For this final project option, you’ll create a web-based digital collection on a topic or event of your choice. While the other options focus on looking at one object very closely (digital storytelling) or on looking at many objects at once (data visualization), this option focuses on actually creating data: describing multiple objects with precision and care, and then joining them together to tell a story.
Requirements
Use the Omeka content-management system to describe 50 objects of your choice using Dublin Core metadata. Considered together, these objects should tell the story of an event or topic of your choice. Your Omeka site should also contain at least two exhibits, in which subsets of objects are framed by a written narrative and assembled into a story.
You don’t have to actually own or have personal contact with the objects. They can be artifacts you’ve encountered during your research on the topic. They should exist somewhere in the world, and you should be able to include an image of the object in each object record.
You should also develop a set of cataloguing rules: instructions for consistently entering metadata. For example, all dates should be entered using the same notation. Where appropriate, you should specify the controlled vocabularies and information standards (e.g., Library of Congress Authorities, Getty Vocabularies, ISO standards) that you are applying to your metadata. Your cataloguing rules should be included on your website’s About page.
Milestones
Feb. 2: Choose the type of project you’d like to do.
Feb. 9: Choose the event or topic on which you’d like to focus your collection of objects.
Feb. 23: Submit an annotated bibliography on your topic, along with a list of the authorities and controlled vocabularies you’ll use when entering your metadata.
March 1: Your metadata must be assembled, either as a spreadsheet or entered directly into your Omeka site.
March 10: Submit the URL for the completed site, along with a five-page essay describing your process.
Grading
Metadata is clear, consistent, thorough, and complete. 30%
Objects are thoughtfully selected and, taken as a whole, compose a coherent view of an event or topic. 25%
Exhibits are thoughtfully curated, framed and contextualized by a written narrative that is composed with care, free from errors, and offers useful insight into the objects at hand. 30%
Site is visually appealing and logically organized. 15%