Lesley Humphreys and Neal Johnson Presentation at User Focus, the UXPA DC Chapter conference, Washington, D.C. – October 17, 2014 In 2009, The Getty Foundation issued a challenge to eight art museums: translate a scholarly catalog rich with cultural heritage data, images, and interpretation into an online resource that strives to reach beyond the limitations of print in creative and useful ways. "Systematic catalogs" are a time-honored and resource-intensive method of publishing the core art historical data and art research associated with the cultural objects that these institutions hold in public trust. And so the Online Scholarly Catalog Initiative (OSCI) was begun with the goal of "blowing up the book"... not to eliminate or destroy, but rather to expand the utility and audience of these important resources. In the spring of 2014, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC launched their OSCI publication of its Dutch Paintings of the 17th Century systematic catalog. Through thoughtful and elegant design, the Gallery translated the printed catalog into a sustainable digital publication that extends the audience, usefulness, and sustainability of the information contained within. This talk presents a case study on incorporating academic research information from a traditional printed publication into the public web site for the National Gallery of Art. It also offers lessons that can be applied to other information sites.

1. Blowing
up
the
Book
Design
challenges
for
book-­‐to-­‐online
transla7on
of
cultural
heritage
informa7on
USERFOCUS
17
October
2014
•
Washington,
DC
USA
www.designforcontext.com
Lesley
Humphreys
@leslo
lesley@designforcontext.com
Neal
Johnson
@vanWinkleTunes
neal@designforcontext.com
On
Slideshare
now:
Go
to
www.designforcontext.com/publicaFons

2. Photo
of
addiFonal
presenter
here
(in
Lesley
Humphreys
INTERACTION
DESIGNER
&
INFORMATION
ARCHITECT
Lesley specializes in the user-­‐
centered design of rich
informaEon sites and
applicaEons.
@design4context
2
grayscale)
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
Photo
of
addiFonal
presenter
here
(in
grayscale)
Neal
Johnson
INDEPENDENT
CONSULTANT
TO
CULTURAL
INSTITUTIONS
Neal has craHed
informaEon-­‐rich educaEon
media strategies for
museums around the U.S.

3. 3
What
is
an
Art
Historical
SystemaFc
Catalog?
Authorita)ve
scholarly
informa)on
on
an
ins)tu)on’s
art
collec)on
@design4conte
x
@design4context
Bt
l
o
Bwloinwgi nUgp Uthpe t hBeo oBko o Uk s e Ur sFeorc Fuos c2u0s1 240
14

4. 4
What
is
an
Art
Historical
SystemaFc
Catalog?
Authorita)ve
scholarly
informa)on
on
an
ins)tu)on’s
art
collec)on
@design4conte
x
@design4context
Bt
l
o
Bwloinwgi nUgp Uthpe t hBeo oBko o Uk s e Ur sFeorc Fuos c2u0s1 240
14

5. 5
@design4conte
x
@design4context
Bt
l
o
Bwloinwgi nUgp Uthpe t hBeo oBko o Uk s e Ur sFeorc Fuos c2u0s1 240
14
The
GeYy
FoundaFon’s
Online
Scholarly
Catalog
Ini)a)ve
• 7
partner
insFtuFons
• Challenged
to
“go
beyond
the
book”
• develop
sustainable,
scalable
digital
publicaFon
of
scholarly
art
historical
informaFon
• Improve
access
to
and
extend
the
uFlity
of
these
resources

6. 6
Discovering
Design
Drivers
through
User
Research
@design4conte
x
@design4context
Bt
l
o
Bwloinwgi nUgp Uthpe t hBeo oBko o Uk s e Ur sFeorc Fuos c2u0s1 240
14
• How
do
art
historians
seek
&
use
informaFon?
• Academic
literature
review
• Usability
tesFng
the
book
• Museum
business
needs
&
constraints

7. We
wished
to
avoid
another
“one-­‐off”
site
and
make
it
discoverable
from
mul7ple
points
of
entry
7
@design4context
X
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

8. Establish
a
presence
for
the
Dutch
Catalog
as
an
en7ty…
8
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

9. …but
integrate
it
with
the
collec7on
search
capability
9
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

10. Printed
Catalogue:
Discoverability
limited
to
academic
resource
gateways
10
@design4context
Library WorldCat
OPAC
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
Academic
Library

11. Online
Catalogue:
Discoverability
increased
through
mul7ple
access
points
11
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
One
URL!
WorldCat
NGA
Collection
Home Page
NGA site
Google,
Bing, et al.
Library
OPAC
Artist
Browse
Online
Editions
Dutch Ptgs.

12. Expanded
poten7al
to
serve
mul7ple
audiences
12
Serendipity!
•Direc)ons
to
explore
•Connec)ng
interests
@design4context
Tourist
Casual
explorer
•Engagement
•Shareable
discoveries
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
Educator
•Bridges
among
disciplines
•Catalysts
for
engagement
Researcher
•Insights
for
interpreta)on

13. Offer
“layers”
of
informa7on
and
interac7on
op7ons
in
support
of
user
interests
and
goals.
13
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
Technical
Notes
Scholarly
Essay
ComparaFve
Figure
Bibliography
X

14. “Layered”
informa7on
presenta7on
14
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

15. “Layered”
informa7on
presenta7on
15
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

16. Suppor7ng
informa7on
availability
16
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

17. “Layering”
supports
progressive
movement
–
driven
by
user
goals
&
mo7va7on
17
Researcher
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
Educator
Casual
explorer

18. Promote
scholarly
confidence
in
the
online
resource
and
support
18
the
full
history
of
informa7on
updates
using
persistent
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
URLs,
or
PURLs.

19. Suppor7ng
cita7ons
with
convenient
preformabng…
and
PURLs!
19
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

20. Suppor7ng
future
updates,
addi7ons
through
versioning
20
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

21. PURLs
as
a
method
of
guaranteeing
persistence
of
access
to
specific
informa7on
resources
21
1995
version
• hYp://purl.org/nga/collecFon/artobject/1236/1995-­‐01-­‐01
2014
version
• hYp://purl.org/nga/collecFon/artobject/1236/2014-­‐04-­‐24
Future
2020
version
• hYp://purl.org/nga/collecFon/artobject/1236/2020-­‐10-­‐18
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

22. Allow
convenient
saving
and
export
of
informa7on
resources.
X
22
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

23. Suppor7ng
export,
sharing,
saving
23
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

24. Allow
for
visual
comparison
of
images
which
are
the
lifeblood
of
the
art
historian’s
professional
endeavors
24
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
Object
A
image
Object
A
ComparaFve
image
Object
B
image
X

25. We
wanted
to
give
art
historians
powerful
tools
for
comparing
and
analyzing
images,
because
that
is
the
lifeblood
of
their
work.
25
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014

26. @design4context
TopicTitleHere EventTitleAndYear
26
26
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
● Accommodate
art
historical
research
● Enrich
interacFon
and
the
potenFal
for
discovery
● Support
progressive
movement
through
the
informaFon
space
SERENDIPITY
VIA
LAYERING
● Promote
trust
in
the
use
of
online
material
for
scholarly
citaFon
● Provide
the
full
scope
of
scholarship
around
a
work
PURLs
&
VERSIONS

27. @design4context
TopicTitleHere EventTitleAndYear
27
27
@design4context
Blowing Up the Book User Focus 2014
● Ensure
the
ability
to
scale
from
143
to
130,000
objects
● Represent
the
change
in
scholarly
interpretaFon
over
Fme
SCALE
&
SUSTAIN
● Increase
discoverability
● Expand
audiences
and
secondary
uses
for
the
material
MULTIPLE
ACCESS
POINTS

28. Blowing
up
the
Book
Design
challenges
for
book-­‐to-­‐online
transla7on
of
cultural
heritage
informa7on
USERFOCUS
17
October
2014
•
Washington,
DC
USA
www.designforcontext.com
Lesley
Humphreys
@leslo
lesley@designforcontext.com
Neal
Johnson
@vanWinkleTunes
neal@designforcontext.com
On
Slideshare
now:
Go
to
www.designforcontext.com/publicaFons