Project Builder and MediaMatrix: Redefining Access in the Digital Age Dean Rehberger and Michael Fegan MERLOT August 7-10, 2006 New Orleans, LA

MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences On-line at Michigan State University –Humanities Technology Research Center –Faculty from Humanities, Social Sciences, Engineering, Communications, Education –Full time professional staff –Sixteen full time employees –Graduate and Undergraduate Students –Continuing University funding + Grants and Contracts (NSF, NEH, IMLS, USDE, Ford, Mellon)

Time to Move Beyond the Static Repository: Flexible Frameworks for Preservation and Publication To meet the preservation and access responsibilities of libraries and archives Empower smaller institutions, organizations and individuals to preserve, organize, and publish To meet the complex pedagogical and publishing needs of faculty To take full advantage of networked digital media –Combine and contextualize objects

Digital Objects and Access Tools to promote access, access that goes beyond the ability to link to a network : Equity - the ability of “every citizen” and not simply technical specialists to use the resources Usability - the ability of users to easily locate, retrieve, use, and navigate resources Context - the conveyance of meaning from stored information to users, so that it makes sense to them Interactivity - the capacity for users to be both consumers and producers of information.

Tools for Preserving, Documenting, and Publishing Online Content Project Builder –Repository -- content creation MediaMatrix –Segment, annotate, and publish with online media

Project Builder Flexible, yet standardized repository/publishing framework –Publish for multiple purposes –Project design - any metadata scheme Automation –Ingestion forms, basic and advanced searches, search returns and browse views, etc… –PBTools - automated delivery code Very technical, non-technical solution –Point and click creation of projects –Concentrate on content

Building Complex Objects Associator Tool - Objects are managed separately and combined together: Image galleries Lesson plans Contextual materials Etc…

Demo

Other Features Segment audio or video into clips with no proliferation of files Share metadata schemes across projects XML output –Data and structure Interface skinning Public ingestion forms

Case Study – Explore PA History –22 stories, 4000 images, 700 historical markers, 100 lesson plans, 17,000 tourist attractions harvested from visitPA (web service) –$24,000 per story to practically no cost for technology –Remote, simultaneous development

Diverse Output Studs Terkel Historical Clothing Patents American Black Journal Knight Center for Environmental Journalism Flint Labor Strikes Lamqua – 19 th century representations of tumorsLamqua – 19 th century representations of tumors African Online Digital Library Quilt Index Explore Pa History

MediaMatrix Helps users work with online, digital media “Segment or record” portions of media Annotate that media Organize entries on their media tree Create online publications with the media and annotations from their tree Demo

MediaMatrix Server Side –No need for server space or publishing applications –Does not store any files annotated Works with the media player normally to engage digital object –Real Audio –Quicktime –Windows Media WAV, MP3, MP4 Flash - Soon

The Big Picture: Designing a Digital Repository for a Flat World Cyberinfrastructure that disaggregates functions and removes barriers to entry –Best practices built into the software –Democratization of authorship/curratorship Cyberinfrastructure that facilitates new forms of publishing and educating –Re-usable digital objects –Creation of complex digital objects –Anticipating a multimedia future

For Further Information open source release in Septemberhttp://matrix.msu.edu/pbuilder Dean – Mike – –Acknowledge: National Science Foundation, award no. IIS