Update on DPLA-Europeana Virtual Exhibition

During a June 2012 meeting, the DPLA Steering Committee requested a short update on the joint DPLA-Europeana virtual exhibition. The small exhibition, based on the subject of migration from Europe to the U.S., will serve as the first step in a long-term relationship between the two organizations, gesturing toward what may be possible once an interoperable system has been established. The exhibition is anticipated to launch in December 2012.

In terms of structure, the virtual exhibition will run on the Omeka-powered Europeana Exhibition platform and will look similar to the projects featured in Europeana’s existing collection of exhibitions. Europeana exhibitions are usually divided into a number of themes, with each theme containing a few 150 – 200 word narratives that place 3 – 4 objects into their appropriate historical context. The DPLA-Europeana joint exhibition will contain approximately 50 – 80 objects, 6 themes, and 2 – 4 200-word narratives contextualizing 9 – 12 objects in each theme. The exhibition will be extensible, allowing for new features to be added over time.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Harvard University, the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota, and the New York Public Library have all agreed to contribute materials to the exhibition. The DPLA Secretariat is working closely with each institution to select relevant rights-cleared digitized materials. Europeana will announce their content providers as soon as they have been finalized.

The DPLA and Europeana are in the process of identifying and recruiting a duo of historians to curate the exhibition. The curators will refine the exhibition’s themes and relevant subthemes; define the structure and flow of the exhibition; conduct object research and selection; and write the contextualizing narratives.