Visualizing Topolski: Using Digital Tools to Augment Library Collections

Presenter Information

Luke Leither, University of Utah

Location

Room 207/205 Traditional Presentations

Document Type

Presentation

Start Date

24-2-2018 9:00 AM

End Date

24-2-2018 10:30 AM

Description

This presentation will focus on the planning, execution, and value of a digital arts initiative from the University of Utah’s Marriott Library titled “The Topolski Visualization Project.” This GIS-based project was designed to introduce scholars to the wide-ranging work of acclaimed artist, Feliks Topolski. Our current scope is centered on the artist’s self-published opus titled The Topolski Chronicle, for which he published an issue biweekly for over twenty years. The Chronicle is a visual record of the artist’s remarkable life, and offers a unique view of world events during the dates of its publication: 1953-1979. Currently, our project includes only a small percentage of the 3000 drawings that make up the Chronicle. Drawings were selected to demonstrate the diversity of the work with at least one image chosen from each issue held by the library. In addition to assigning locations to each scan, we also applied tags from a controlled vocabulary developed specifically for the project. With these tools built into the online interface, the user can browse by location, genre, persons of interest, or subject.

In its original published form, The Topolski Chronicle is inherently visual in nature. However, it is difficult to appreciate due to the volume of work and the unwieldy size of each issue. Additionally, the individual sheets have become brittle with age and need to be handled with care. Thus, we chose to apply a GIS framework in order to help our users appreciate the scope and depth of the Chronicle without causing undue stress to the physical collection.

During the presentation I will discuss our process for defining the scope of the initiative, why and how we developed a controlled vocabulary, how we selected appropriate images, and what our plans are for the future. The project offers a unique strategy for adding value and access to rare library collections. We hope that by sharing our work with the public, we will be demonstrating new methods for exploring collections around the world.

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Feb 24th, 9:00 AM Feb 24th, 10:30 AM

Visualizing Topolski: Using Digital Tools to Augment Library Collections

Room 207/205 Traditional Presentations

This presentation will focus on the planning, execution, and value of a digital arts initiative from the University of Utah’s Marriott Library titled “The Topolski Visualization Project.” This GIS-based project was designed to introduce scholars to the wide-ranging work of acclaimed artist, Feliks Topolski. Our current scope is centered on the artist’s self-published opus titled The Topolski Chronicle, for which he published an issue biweekly for over twenty years. The Chronicle is a visual record of the artist’s remarkable life, and offers a unique view of world events during the dates of its publication: 1953-1979. Currently, our project includes only a small percentage of the 3000 drawings that make up the Chronicle. Drawings were selected to demonstrate the diversity of the work with at least one image chosen from each issue held by the library. In addition to assigning locations to each scan, we also applied tags from a controlled vocabulary developed specifically for the project. With these tools built into the online interface, the user can browse by location, genre, persons of interest, or subject.

In its original published form, The Topolski Chronicle is inherently visual in nature. However, it is difficult to appreciate due to the volume of work and the unwieldy size of each issue. Additionally, the individual sheets have become brittle with age and need to be handled with care. Thus, we chose to apply a GIS framework in order to help our users appreciate the scope and depth of the Chronicle without causing undue stress to the physical collection.

During the presentation I will discuss our process for defining the scope of the initiative, why and how we developed a controlled vocabulary, how we selected appropriate images, and what our plans are for the future. The project offers a unique strategy for adding value and access to rare library collections. We hope that by sharing our work with the public, we will be demonstrating new methods for exploring collections around the world.