New knowledge
What could you discover when an interface grants open access and across contexts?
What new metadata structures would have to be designed to help us pay closer attention to and
retain some of the tangibility of the original artifact? What data do I have to access that is
attached to these collections?
Instead of a researcher going deep in one subject, what other kinds of interfaces could help
them traverse horizontally across contexts?
What other entry points can we consider to this type of system by being informed by the spaces
and experiences of modern day archives?
Is interacting with the actual space of the collection itself helpful? Like running up and down an
aisle to audibly scrub through a collection?
What types of infrastructures will have to change or be created? An archive cloud implies all
digitized objects in global collections would be shared and open online.
Which types of archives, libraries and special collections will really be attracted to this model? (I
think special collections would be a great start)
Augmenting physical objects help to show broader context.
Using a physical object to manipulate digitized archival objects is helpful in situations where one
cannot physically access the original.
Since the archivists knowledge is invaluable and should be retained just as the metadata
currently attached to objects is, I though about ways. There are some simple ways we can
capture an archivists knowledge relating to an object and add it in as part of the metadata.
Future Applications
Early on I fought with how to define who my audience was. I chose to go after the professional
or scholarly researcher by inquiring as a researcher just as they would and observing what tools
and issues researchers use to access archives today. Along the way I learned enough about the
casual hobbyist or student who also use archives enough to see what implications my
prototypes might offer them.
The Embodied Playlists interface could be found in a more comfortable research or work office
or studio for certain types of researchers, or could just as well be found in the home of anyone
and their everyday objects.
The Global Reach prototype I imagine being used in a museum exhibit, a classroom, or a
research reading room.
These prototypes are not final proposals but I hope they provoke questions about how else we
can begin to think about knowledge development away from the browser interface and towards
more tangible ones in places like:
-classrooms and learning environments
-studios
-offices
-on the go
-remediating public spaces anywhere
-location-based services contextually sensitive (aware of where you are and how you
need to work and on what)
Potential directions
Moving forward I would like to build and test the previously mentioned prototypes—Global
Reach and Embodied Playlists.
I would like to build out a real applied version of Global Reach sourcing a few related archives’
digitized collections. This would be a huge project to take on with all of the infrastructure
required. But user testing this type of interface with actual researchers at real collections would
test out this model and prototype.
I also want to keep going with exploring new tangible ways to interact with digitized objects
where the archives come to the user.
This is only beginning of where I think we need to go.
Since there are many factors that hinder access to actual collections such as geographical
location or credentials, pushing all digitized content to “the cloud” is a great way to have the
collection meet the user where they are.
My project is not about commenting on being for or against the mass digitization of archival
material culture, but more a conversation about our journey there. I’ve spent a lot of time looking
at the point of access to archives. The browser interface should not be the only target however
when pushing content out to the web. Tangible interfaces can help augment the experience of
accessing collections whether it be at the collection or with the user on the go.
