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Cabinet of Curiosities

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Mike Caprio edited this page Nov 8, 2016 · 72 revisions

####Use the Museum's Library and Special Collections to Create Engaging Experiences

##Background

The Museum's Library and Special Collections tells the story of the museum. We manage rare books, personal paper and research collections, over a million photos, scientific artwork, and exhibition tools and objects which tell the story of the creation of the dioramas and museum displays. Our memorabilia collection is often considered "the museum of the museum", and like our other special collections it usually connects with other spaces in the museum.

Many people don't know the museum has always had a library and that it is a part of the founding charter. From the start the library has been charged with supporting the work of the museum scientists, but we would now like to reach a wider audience.

Staff of Third Asiatic Expedition, Mongolia, 1925, by James B. Shackelford, ID 410730

The challenge is to promote the museum library in a fun and engaging way that enriches the general public's experience in the library and throughout the museum using library resources. Build some kind of experience that is connected to physical items on display that will help us reach out to the public and teach them about the role of the library.

##Solutions

  • Dive into a Rare Book. Help us connect a visitor who is looking at a rare book on display with the complete digitized book on BHL, allowing them to take in more context and allowing them to view the rest of the book.

  • Resource Curation Interface for memorabilia. Build an interface that allows us to show all the resources we have that inform the objects that we hold. We want to be able to tell an object's story with our resources.

  • Curate your own exhibit game or simulation. Build an interface that allows visitors to curate their own exhibits using the library's resources. Send the player on a journey through the museum! Role play as a researcher. What can be discovered about your favorite object? Use the labels in public exhibits as search terms to generate results from our library resources. Through research via the library in your pocket create a Virtual Exhibition and share it on social media.

  • Let your imagination run with this one!

##Resources

###Dive into a Rare Book - Gessner: The Father of Modern Zoology Approximately 200 years before Linnaeus Konrad Gessner (1516-1565) attempted to classify all known animals, this is his resulting work.

We rarely open our copy of Gessner's 1551 Conradi Gesneri medici Tigurini Historiæ animalium Lib. I. de quadrupedibus uiuiparis as it is the earliest original binding in our collection. The library would like to be able to display the closed book to the public someday and would like connect visitors with a version of the book which as been scanned and is available in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

###Library in your Pocket - Central Asiatic Expedition Sweater

Dive deeper into something in our exhibit cases or throughout the museum by using library resources! We have records for items in the library and we would like to connect them to items displayed with objects/specimens in the public halls. Allow people to play onsite or at home!

http://images.library.amnh.org/digital/item/410730 (3rd expedition staff)

http://images.library.amnh.org/digital/item/6503 (field book image)

http://images.library.amnh.org/digital/item/410760 (dino eggs pic)

http://data.library.amnh.org:8082/orbeon/xeac/id/amnhc_2000167-1 (EAC record for Central Asiatic Expo)

The new conquest of central Asia : a narrative of the explorations of the Central Asiatic expeditions in Mongolia and China, 1921-1930 http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12474243 (scanned book) http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/12200#/summary (catalog record for book)

American flag used during the 1925 Central Asiatic Expedition.(Hall outside from Cafe on 4) http://tumblr.amnh.org/post/145920391829/happy-flag-day-this-flag-which-hangs-on-the

Dinosaur Eggs. (http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/fossil-halls/hall-of-ornithischian-dinosaurs)

###Other Resources:

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