Most students and researchers of the theatre arts would seize the chance to stroll through a virtual museum featuring work by one of the world’s most prolific producers of scenic, costume, and lighting designs. That was the vision presented to Furman University when they were given the extraordinary opportunity to digitize the life’s work of renowned New York theatre designer, producer, painter, sculptor, and photographer Peter Wexler. The opportunity also presented a challenge. For a small staff at a liberal arts college, developing a strategy to digitally archive more than 6,000 artifacts within a tight timeframe could be daunting. Before converting the first item into digital format, consideration had to be given to how the collection might be used for teaching and scholarship. Furman’s Digital Collections Center is tackling this challenge as they document the creative process from preliminary sketches to final productions. In their presentation for NITLE Shared Academics, Furman University’s James B. Duke Library colleagues Rick Jones, manager of the Digital Collections Center, and Christy Allen, assistant director for Discovery Services, detailed the strategy and process of digitizing Peter Wexler’s work and how they prepared for the ways in which it will support teaching and scholarship.

1. Opportunities for
Scholarship and Learning
Rick Jones and Christy Allen
Furman University Libraries
Digital Collections Center
Building a Digital Museum

2. About
Furman University
•Private liberal arts
college in Greenville, SC
•2,700+ students
•239 faculty
•37 digital collections
containing 56,000+
digital items

3. About
the Digital Museum
•Peter Wexler
•The physical collection
•Goals and scope
•Timeline

4. Planning
the Digital Museum
•Managing the collection
• Building the team
•Setting up the equipment

5. Building
the Digital Museum
• Digitizing
• Organizing
• Describing
• Accessing

7. Goals of
the Digital Museum
1. Support teaching and
learning across disciplines
2. Hands-on Experience
3. Demonstrate the creative
process
4. Serve as a catalyst for
interdisciplinary research

8. 1. Support
Teaching and Scholarship

9. Theatre

10. Art

11. Music and Dance

12. Graphic Design

13. Architecture

14. 2. Hands-on Experience
• Digital technology
• Scanners and cameras
• Lightroom and Photoshop
• Library and archival skills
• Standards
• Metadata
• Handling rare materials
• Collaboration
• With other students
• With the artist

15. 3. Demonstrate
the Creative Process

37. 4. Serve as a Catalyst for
Interdisciplinary Research

38. Screenshot from Chris Black

39. Questions

40. 40
The Peter Wexler Digital Museum at Furman University
is made possible by a generous and deeply appreciated gift
from Todd and Karen Ruppert.
Unless otherwise stated all models, sculptures, sketches,
graphics, designs, and color photos are the property of and
are copyright Peter Wexler. All rights reserved.
All the digital images are the exclusive property of Furman University.
The Peter Wexler Digital Museum at Furman University
is for archival, personal, educational, research, and non-commercial use
as defined by U.S. Copyright Law.
Commercial use is prohibited without written permission.