Virtual reality (VR) is a rich visualization and analytic platform that furthers the library’s mission of providing access to all forms of information and supporting pedagogy and scholarship across disciplines. Academic libraries are increasingly adopting VR technology for a variety of research and teaching purposes, which include providing enhanced access to digital collections, offering new research tools, and constructing new immersive learning environments for students. This trend suggests that positive technological innovation is flourishing in libraries, but there remains a lack of clear guidance in the library community on how to introduce these technologies in effective ways and make them sustainable within different types of institutions. In June 2018, the University of Oklahoma hosted the second of three forums on the use of 3D and VR for visualization and analysis in academic libraries, as part of the project Developing Library Strategy for 3D and Virtual Reality Collection Development and Reuse(LIB3DVR), funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This qualitative study invited experts from a range of disciplines and sectors to identify common challenges in the visualization and analysis of 3D data, and the management of VR programs, for the purpose of developing a national library strategy.
IntroductionFor Indiana University (IU) Libraries, and for most libraries out there, our collections comprise more than just books. We have more than just a series of things on a shelf with descriptions that can be searched. We have items that are part of a larger donated set; we have original pieces that tell a story or are part of a story in history; we have art objects; we have sound and moving pictures; we have born digital items; we represent and reflect our community. All of these items are in the library (or gallery, archive, or museum) to be preserved, viewed, and researched. Many times, however, those goals are conflicting, particularly for physical items. Digital library efforts have pursued digitizing and providing some kind of online access to as much content as possible. These efforts can result in specialized web sites focused on a particular collection using functionality so specialized to the collection or metadata as to be unusable anywhere else. In the opposite direction, online access can come in the form of web sites focused solely on a format resulting in the loss of context and significance. How can we reveal the significance and context of individual items and provide access to them in a way that makes them more collectively available? Online exhibition tools allow libraries (along with galleries, archives, and museums) the opportunity to provide access to items that are fragile, popular, or both and that have a story to be shared, regardless of the digital management process. These were our needs at the Indiana University Libraries -to find an alternative to both specialized collection sites with functionality that cannot be generalized and repository--based service sites that offer an aggregation of items based on format (i.e., images) or type of content (i.e., archival finding aids). We satisfied this need using Omeka, an open source online exhibition software tool from the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Following is the full story of IU Libraries' use of Omeka, and includes other uses for Omeka that have developed at IU, an examination of available online exhibit tools, and what our use of Omeka means to IU Libraries' digital collections moving forward. Omeka Overview
This study identifies challenges and directions for 3D/VR repository standards and practices. As 3D technologies become more affordable and accessible, academic libraries need to implement workflows, standards, and practices that support the full lifecycle of 3D data. This study invited experts across several disciplines to analyze current national repository and preservation efforts. Outlined models provide frameworks to identify features, examine workflows, and determine implications of 3D data on current preservation models. Participants identified challenges for supporting 3D data, including intellectual property and fair use; providing repository system management beyond academic libraries; seeking guidance outside of academia for workflows to model.
This study identifies challenges and promising directions in the curation of 3D data. 3D visualization shows great promise for a range of scholarly fields through interactive engagement with and analysis of spatially complex artifacts, spaces, and data. While the new affordability of emerging 3D capture technologies presents greater academic possibilities, academic libraries need more effective workflows, policies, standards, and practices to ensure that they can support the creation, discovery, access, preservation, and reproducibility of 3D data sets. This study uses nominal group technique with invited experts across several disciplines and sectors to identify common challenges in the creation and re-use of 3D data for the purpose of developing library strategy for supporting curation of 3D data. This article identifies staffing needs for 3D imaging; alignment with IT resources; the roll of archivists in addressing unique challenges posed by these datasets; the importance of data annotation, metadata, and transparency for research integrity and reproducibility; and features for storage, access, and management to facilitate re-use by researchers and educators. Participants identified three main challenges for supporting 3D data that align with the strengths of libraries: 1) development of crosswalks and aggregation tools for discipline-specific metadata models, data dictionaries for 3D research, and aggregation tools for expanding discovery; 2) development of an open source viewer that supports streaming and annotation on archival formats of 3D models and makes archival master files accessible, while also serving derivative files based on user requirements; and 3) widespread of adoption of better documentation and technical metadata for image capture and modeling processes in order to support replicability of research, reproducibility of models, and transparency of scientific process.
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