Benefits

The challenge

• Digital repositories contain increasingly larger, more heterogeneous collections of research materials, from text and images to audio and video content

• As a result of this digital abundance, libraries and cultural heritage institutions are working to make these online collections more visible, accessible, and easier to use

• Scholars and researchers need new tools for reusing and accessing those materials for their own sustainable projects and exhibits

The solution

• The Spotlight at Stanford platform responds to these needs by providing an application for showcasing digital content from the Stanford Digital Repository (SDR) in the form of attractive and easy-to-produce exhibits

• Spotlight at Stanford users can quickly build their own online exhibits featuring digital content stored within and outside of the SDR without having to develop their own project interface or use a proprietary system

Key features

• Improved visibility and accessibility to large collections of research materials typically held by libraries and cultural heritage institutions, but also increasingly by researchers themselves

• Easier reusability of existing research materials in digital repositories by scholars and researchers interested in creating their own sustainable projects and exhibits

• Attractive and straightforward interface that invites users to explore the content

• Easy-to-use site-building interface that allows content owners and exhibit creators to quickly build up an online exhibit for showcasing digital collection materials without having to build it from the ground up

• Provides a platform for providing context and other scholarship around the digital materials to enrich the user experience

• Allows exhibit creators to supplement digital content from the SDR with their own digital content to enhance the user experience