An Odyssey in Print

An Odyssey in Print: Adventures in the Smithsonian Libraries

1) Collection Principles: This selection of images catalogue a series of exhibits at the Smithsonian libraries featuring books and manuscripts about adventures and journeys. There are also some images and information that are available exclusively online, so as to encourage those who have already visited the exhibit to also visit the online equivalent. The exhibit hopes to draw attention to the wide variety of text available at the cornucopia of libraries associated with the Smithsonian.

2) Metadata: Each image is associated with biographical data on the artifact it depicts, such as titles, locations of publication, and printers, if available. There didn’t seem to be any readily available information on the creation of the digital images themselves attached to the exhibit. The short descriptions of the different works included in the exhibition also help to contextualize the images and their associated works.

3) Object Characteristics: Each image is in color and of middling quality (though there is no specific resolution information available), and each can be enlarged in a separate window. The images in no way represent a complete picture of the works that they come from—rather the exhibit gives only one or two pictures per work, as if to whet the user’s interest in the subject or in the work itself.

4) Intended Audience: This exhibit seems to be meant for the casual observer or interested patron, someone who either cannot go to see the physical exhibit or who wants to revisit it online. It is certainly not geared toward any scholarly audience, since it is at best an overview of the different works, which are only marginally related to one another and by no means extensive, exclusive, or unusual in subject matter or context. This exhibit aims to engender interest in the normal populace who might otherwise not have known about these works or (more importantly) about the institutions that house these (and similar) works.