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| After... |
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| ...and before! |
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Blog #18: Then and Now
I thought it would be fun to show the template I used for building my website as I downloaded it compared to what my website currently looks like. Take a look:
Blog #17: Hailey's Review
I can't seem to find the Scottish Chapbooks Project website, so I will just review what I saw from the presentation.
Hailey is one member of the group which is digitizing and exhibiting information on the chapbooks collection at the University of Guelph. The Chapbooks Project is a pilot project, as digitization of chapbooks is thus far unheard of. There is very little that has been done with these documents so far. Each member of the group has focused on a specific theme which can be found within the chapbooks. Hailey's theme is superheroes. Mainly, she wanted to address whether or not superheroes had timeless qualities. She did this by comparing characters in Scottish chapbooks to those in modern-day comic books. She focused on William Wallace and Captain America and Queen Elizabeth as Wonder Woman. However, Hailey mentioned that she had a hard time finding enough information on Queen Elizabeth to make a definitive link between her and Wonder Woman. In order to define what a hero would have been considered during the time chapbooks were published, Hailey extracted key characteristics from an account of the Battle of Roslin. In addition to including images of the chapbooks examined and information on her chosen theme, Hailey also included a list of additional, related sources.
One thing that I think would have been nice is the inclusion of the chapbooks, entirely digitized. Many of the group members expressed their desire to do this, however, the University did not want the entire books available on this website. They did mention that the fully digitized books would probably be available in the future, as another Library and Archives initiative.
I think that Hailey picked a really interesting theme. The fact that she made it relevant to today's society was a really strong point. It's too bad that she seemed to have some issues with Queen Elizabeth, in particular, as she only had two examples. More examples would have strengthened her overall thesis/purpose.
Overall, this project seemed to have a lot of potential. I would have liked to have seen the completed website in order to see what she added since her presentation.
Hailey is one member of the group which is digitizing and exhibiting information on the chapbooks collection at the University of Guelph. The Chapbooks Project is a pilot project, as digitization of chapbooks is thus far unheard of. There is very little that has been done with these documents so far. Each member of the group has focused on a specific theme which can be found within the chapbooks. Hailey's theme is superheroes. Mainly, she wanted to address whether or not superheroes had timeless qualities. She did this by comparing characters in Scottish chapbooks to those in modern-day comic books. She focused on William Wallace and Captain America and Queen Elizabeth as Wonder Woman. However, Hailey mentioned that she had a hard time finding enough information on Queen Elizabeth to make a definitive link between her and Wonder Woman. In order to define what a hero would have been considered during the time chapbooks were published, Hailey extracted key characteristics from an account of the Battle of Roslin. In addition to including images of the chapbooks examined and information on her chosen theme, Hailey also included a list of additional, related sources.
One thing that I think would have been nice is the inclusion of the chapbooks, entirely digitized. Many of the group members expressed their desire to do this, however, the University did not want the entire books available on this website. They did mention that the fully digitized books would probably be available in the future, as another Library and Archives initiative.
I think that Hailey picked a really interesting theme. The fact that she made it relevant to today's society was a really strong point. It's too bad that she seemed to have some issues with Queen Elizabeth, in particular, as she only had two examples. More examples would have strengthened her overall thesis/purpose.
Overall, this project seemed to have a lot of potential. I would have liked to have seen the completed website in order to see what she added since her presentation.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Blog #16: Project Log
Just a quick list of things I've done recently:
- Updated the template of all the cookbook pages so that they match the new website design. Filled out most of the information for each cookbook, and added "TBA" in places where I still need to add stuff
- Found another digitized cookbook! I'm now only missing 8 cookbooks (plus a few that only have US editions online)
- I did some work on the blog, including adding more information to the sample post and adding sources. I also added a Pinterest feature.
I'm planning to try and integrate the blog into the website today or tomorrow, or at least have it link up nicely.Done! http://canadiancookbookstimeline.blogspot.ca/ Currently adding the title page images to each cookbook's webpage. Have done a few; lots more to go. Requires some minor trimming of images.Done!Apr. 3: Realized I forgot to add my search bar to the new design, so will be doing that shortly. Don't you hate websites without a search bar?Done on the main pages, will be adding it to the rest shortly.- Apr. 11: Added a Twitter feed as a sort of news ticker. Starting to add subjects to each cookbook's page. About halfway done.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Blog #15: Project Log
My hope is to have the entire book in a pdf and available on my website by Tuesday.
I'll talk a bit about the scanning process on Tuesday, but I probably won't be able to go into much detail, so I'll do it here.
How to scan archival material:
1. Get the item that you're scanning. At the archives you need to fill out an item request form.
2. Go to the scanning room. Turn on the computer and the scanner and wait 5 minutes for them to start up. While waiting, clean the scanner to remove any dust or particles.
3. Place your item in the scanner, being sure to line it up so that the image is as straight as possible. Open up the scanning program. Make sure that the correct parameters are set and that your file is being named and numbered appropriately (for example, the image above is uas041b06CANRECEIPTBOOK001 - the first part is the call number of the item, the second part is the title of the book, and the last part is the scan number).
4. Do a preliminary scan to create a preview of the image. Zoom in. Use the marquee tool to select what you want scanned and to crop out any excess grey areas. Now you can create the actual scan!
5. Open up the scan in Photoshop and make correction with the brightness and contrast. This is to improve readability and reduce bleedthrough.
6. Repeat!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Blog #14: Building a Website
I've made some more modifications to my website, although nothing too significant. The biggest change was that I linked up all the digitized cookbooks I could find online to the pages I had created.
In other news, I've been meeting with Melissa McAfee and I've started the process of digitizing a cookbook. I would have liked to do more than one, but at this point I don't have the time for that sort of commitment (I'll also write more about digitization later). Melissa also suggested I look at using Omeka. I also realized that you can sign up for a free account on Omeka.net...I'm kind of embarrassed that I missed that. However, I've been messing around with Omeka a bit and I wasn't really thrilled. Even though Melissa upgraded her account, there was still a huge restriction on themes (which you are unable to significantly alter) and plugins. Overall, I wasn't impressed, so I decided not to use Omeka.
I was also browsing the internet and came across a website called Wix. This website would be a great tool for our course, I think, as it provides free webspace and appealing templates which are highly customizable - and you don't need to know any HTML or CSS! The only drawbacks are that Wix puts two ads on website and that the URL is a bit ugly (username.wix.com/sitename). I'm considering using Wix, but we'll see. The website I'm creating is something that I want to be online forever, and I'm pretty sure that my student webspace will disappear a year or so after I graduate, so that bothers me. However, that's something I can focus on during my own time, and at this point I'm really into making content rather than design, since I present in two weeks.
In other news, I've been meeting with Melissa McAfee and I've started the process of digitizing a cookbook. I would have liked to do more than one, but at this point I don't have the time for that sort of commitment (I'll also write more about digitization later). Melissa also suggested I look at using Omeka. I also realized that you can sign up for a free account on Omeka.net...I'm kind of embarrassed that I missed that. However, I've been messing around with Omeka a bit and I wasn't really thrilled. Even though Melissa upgraded her account, there was still a huge restriction on themes (which you are unable to significantly alter) and plugins. Overall, I wasn't impressed, so I decided not to use Omeka.
I was also browsing the internet and came across a website called Wix. This website would be a great tool for our course, I think, as it provides free webspace and appealing templates which are highly customizable - and you don't need to know any HTML or CSS! The only drawbacks are that Wix puts two ads on website and that the URL is a bit ugly (username.wix.com/sitename). I'm considering using Wix, but we'll see. The website I'm creating is something that I want to be online forever, and I'm pretty sure that my student webspace will disappear a year or so after I graduate, so that bothers me. However, that's something I can focus on during my own time, and at this point I'm really into making content rather than design, since I present in two weeks.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Blog #13: Spencer's Review
Spencer is a fellow classmate and I am reviewing his project proposal.
He began his brainstorming by thinking about Montreal and how physical space changes over time. What he came up with as a final project idea is an interactive map of St. Patrick's Ward (otherwise known as just "The Ward") in Guelph which displays how it has been gentrified over time, especially focusing on the railroad. This area of Guelph experienced similar changes to Montreal, so it would not only tell the history of Guelph, but also the history of a greater trend throughout Canada.
Spencer's plan is to create and design a website which will house his interactive map. He is planning to use Google Earth to create his map, which will include photographs, text, and quantitative data. Spencer will also be using digitized maps from 1879, 1908, 1960, and 1989 and a digitized fire insurance plan from 1878 in the creation of his project. Currently he is using the University of Guelph archives as a source for his project, but he is looking into other locations, such as the Guelph Museum and the Wellington County Museum. If he has time he would also like to create a walking tour based on the historical data he has collected. His goal here is to use a multifaceted approach, rather than focus on just one medium. I think this will work well with the idea of an interactive map. It would be great if the items on his map also had links to more information which was housed on his website, or external links (which he may be planning on already, not sure!).
Overall, Spencer's two main goals are for the project to be used as a community resource and as a place for research. As a community resource this project would be a nice addition to what is already out there on the internet. I think that the walking tour would be especially nice to add to his website, especially if he makes it into a printable brochure or something similar, which could then be printed out and used by interested individuals. I could see that being useful for elementary/high school students or even homeschoolers. For the research aspect of his project, Spencer intends to include call numbers and references on the archival items he will include in his map (like photographs). This will enable viewers to find where he originally sourced the information from. I think this is a good way to allow for research opportunities within a website which is aimed towards a non-scholarly audience. A bibliography on his website would also add a degree of credibility and be useful for those seeking more information or related scholarly works. Spencer needs to make sure his website and map are accessible and relatable to the average viewer but still act as a useful source for those who might be visiting for scholarly reasons.
It looks like Spencer has an interesting project with a lot of source material out there to work with. His project also seems to fit in well with the greater scheme of Canadian history, even though it focuses on just one case study. It seems like a project which would be of interest to both the average, non-scholarly viewer as well as those seeking a more academic approach. Personally, I am very interested to see the final outcome. I was looking online at the Guelph Archives a few months ago and I noticed that they had some digitized photographs online. I was searching for images of my house here in Guelph, but unfortunately there were none. It was also difficult to search the archives when there was no map to reference, so I can see the wider appeal of something like what Spencer is proposing.
He began his brainstorming by thinking about Montreal and how physical space changes over time. What he came up with as a final project idea is an interactive map of St. Patrick's Ward (otherwise known as just "The Ward") in Guelph which displays how it has been gentrified over time, especially focusing on the railroad. This area of Guelph experienced similar changes to Montreal, so it would not only tell the history of Guelph, but also the history of a greater trend throughout Canada.
Spencer's plan is to create and design a website which will house his interactive map. He is planning to use Google Earth to create his map, which will include photographs, text, and quantitative data. Spencer will also be using digitized maps from 1879, 1908, 1960, and 1989 and a digitized fire insurance plan from 1878 in the creation of his project. Currently he is using the University of Guelph archives as a source for his project, but he is looking into other locations, such as the Guelph Museum and the Wellington County Museum. If he has time he would also like to create a walking tour based on the historical data he has collected. His goal here is to use a multifaceted approach, rather than focus on just one medium. I think this will work well with the idea of an interactive map. It would be great if the items on his map also had links to more information which was housed on his website, or external links (which he may be planning on already, not sure!).
Overall, Spencer's two main goals are for the project to be used as a community resource and as a place for research. As a community resource this project would be a nice addition to what is already out there on the internet. I think that the walking tour would be especially nice to add to his website, especially if he makes it into a printable brochure or something similar, which could then be printed out and used by interested individuals. I could see that being useful for elementary/high school students or even homeschoolers. For the research aspect of his project, Spencer intends to include call numbers and references on the archival items he will include in his map (like photographs). This will enable viewers to find where he originally sourced the information from. I think this is a good way to allow for research opportunities within a website which is aimed towards a non-scholarly audience. A bibliography on his website would also add a degree of credibility and be useful for those seeking more information or related scholarly works. Spencer needs to make sure his website and map are accessible and relatable to the average viewer but still act as a useful source for those who might be visiting for scholarly reasons.
It looks like Spencer has an interesting project with a lot of source material out there to work with. His project also seems to fit in well with the greater scheme of Canadian history, even though it focuses on just one case study. It seems like a project which would be of interest to both the average, non-scholarly viewer as well as those seeking a more academic approach. Personally, I am very interested to see the final outcome. I was looking online at the Guelph Archives a few months ago and I noticed that they had some digitized photographs online. I was searching for images of my house here in Guelph, but unfortunately there were none. It was also difficult to search the archives when there was no map to reference, so I can see the wider appeal of something like what Spencer is proposing.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Blog #12: Project Log
What I've been up to recently...
- Got my pretty scrollbars to work!
- Made the font a little larger, as I noticed some people had trouble reading it during my presentation in class
- Changed the top navigation
- Added pretty titles to the pages on the top navigation
- More or less finalized my template for each cookbook's bibliographical page (can be seen at La cuisinere bourgeoise, the rest are all outdated)
- Made some graphs which are on the Data page. I'll probably end up having them on a linked page, but for now they are right there for visibility
- Added a subject category to the browse page (incomplete right now, but I've started it so that I don't forget)
- Messing around with Omeka. Having some issues installing it, which led to me uploading all the files one-by-one...Hopefully I'll be able to play with it before the semester is over, ha. If I can get it to work after all this.
- Thinking about adding interesting/important events on dates on the left sidebar without cookbooks, as per a classmate suggestion. Still need to make a list of events and add them in to see if I like the way it looks.
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