Content Quality and Europeana

Paul Keller, Madrid, 30/10/2014

1. Some context

apple promo image (5120*2880px)

detail from the nightwatch (14K * 13K pixels)

downloaded image from Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (1000*997 px)

same image relied to fit Europeana thumbnail size (200*150px)

same image resized to 800*600px (very common image size)

compared with non retina iPad screen

compared with high end android telefoon screen (1920*1080px - full HD TV)

compared with screen of a macbook air

compared with retina macbook screen

compared with retina iPad screen

2048px

1536px

The screen size of a retina iPad is probably a good departure point for determining what “good enough” means when providing images that you want others to enjoy and possibly to re-use.

to stay relevant we need to be ahead of the curve

we need to be here

2. A new Approach

Europeana currently exposes digital objects via 3 display modalities

1. Via the portal at www.europeana.eu 2. Via the portal with added Lightbox functionality

3. Via the Europeana API

(2) requires a direct link to the digital object, (3) works best with a direct link. also a direct link to an image is required for preview generation. there are (at least) two types of direct links (edm:object and edm:isShownBy).

this is confusing*

* i am saying this for the perspective of promoting content re-use, but it is probably confusing in many other situations as well.

Europeana has no clear guidelines for image quality.

1. Previews need to be at least 200px (but are not required)

2. There is no minimum size requirement/reccomendation for exposure via Lightbox or via the API.

The same is true for the quality of other types of objects. However this issue us most pronounced with images (and to a lesser degree video)

this does not help*

* again i am saying this for the perspective of promoting content re-use but it also affects the overall user experience with the portal

How to fix this

We need clear guidelines/requirements for all three display modes and we need to help data providers target the display modes according to their own preferences*.

* the following section deals with images as an example, obviously these arguments need to be adapted for other file types

The Portal Some data providers may wish to use Europeana only as a aggregation portal that drives traffic ti their website. They should be able to do so as long as they provide previews and good enough metadata*.

Requirements: provide edm:isShownAt and a direct link to preview image (at least 400px wide).

Use by Europeana: Europeana will not expose direct link, link to edm:isShownAt from portal

* as defined by publication policy and the edm metadata specification

Portal + Lightbox + APIData providers that want to provide a better user experience on Europeana and/or who want to allow the reuse of digital objects can do so by providing a direct link to a medium quality version of the digital object.

Requirements: provide edm:isShownBy and a direct link to a image ressource of at least 800 px wide. Any rights statement

Use by Europeana: Europeana will expose direct link to full size digital object via the API, will provide a lightbox view on the portal (800 px wide). If edm:isShownAt is also present the portal will link to this URL.

Content for reuseEuropeana will be specifically highlighting digital objects that meet the recommendations and provide additional search tools to allow users to identify content that is suitable for reuse.

Requirements: provide edm:isShownBy and a direct link to a image ressource of at least 800 px wide and a rights statement that allows reuse.

Recommendation: provide images with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi

Use by Europeana: Europeana will expose direct link to full size digital object via the API, will provide a lightbox view on the portal (800 px wide). If edm:isShownAt is also present the portal will link to this URL.

How to explain to data providers (1)

If you want to use Europeana only as a portal that allows users to find your content then you need to provide a preview (min 400px)

If you want to use Europeana as a platform that actively distributes your content online then you need also need to provide a direct link to the digital objects (min 800px)

if you want to make your content available and suitable for re-use the you need to provide a direct link to the digital object (min 300dpi) and a rights statement that allows reuse.

thanks!

Questions? pk@kl.nl

Kennisland works with Europeana and its partners to improve the accessibility of Europe’s cultural heritage online. Learn more about Kennisland at www.kl.nl