The Joannes Gennadius Scrapbooks Digital Collection

The metadata were recorded in the e-preserve assets system using Dublin core standards adapted to the needs of the collection.

The language of the metadata is Greek in the monotonic system. In general, titles, personal names and place names are transcribed in the language in which they appear.

The material contained in the scrapbooks is diverse: print, correspondence, ephemera, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, photographs, engravings, etc. The metadata were grouped in 19 categories not all of which pertain to all materials. For instance, when an item is part of a book the bibliographic information includes the name of the engraver, printer and publisher to assist in the identification of the source of the item.

The Date field is filled only when an exact date is mentioned on an item. In the case where the date is not indicated on an item but could be deducted by the cataloguer the information has been added to the field Date of coverage (from)/(to).

In addition, the Description and Notes fields are of paramount significance as they contain information gleaned by the cataloguers but not mentioned on the item itself.

The user has the option to use a Search in all collections (simple search) typing a keyword from any field from the metadata or a Choose one category search (advanced search).

The search returns a list of items, the number of which is indicated on the right: thumbnails of the digital images are accompanied by the item ID in the database, the subject(s), and a description.

By pressing More… a larger image opens in a new window. It is accompanied by the following information:

scrapbook, volume, bifolio/spread, and item number;

subject(s);

description;

type of material/document and physical description;

date;

geographical location;

monument; and,

names related to the production and/or authorship of the item.

In the Choose one category search option the user can choose to Browse the Scrapbooks selecting each one from a clickable list which includes their number and title. By clicking on a particular scrapbook thumbnails of spreads (bifolios) are shown; the user has the option to select a particular spread from the list on the right or to browse all of them by clicking on the << Prev or Next >> buttons. A larger image of the spread appears by clicking on the thumbnail.

The Items Search category allows the user to search all the metadata in a detailed manner. Nineteen categories representing all fields of the metadata appear; some of them contain a clickable list. The terms on the lists appear exactly as they are recorded on the scrapbooks; some minimal standardization of spelling was attempted in names of major cities (Αθήνα, Paris, London, etc).

In the cases where there is a separator between the pages of a scrapbook, the spread has been digitized twice; this is indicated with the @ sign.