CollectionBuilder-GH

Contents: About CollectionBuilder-GH | About the About Page | Tech

About CollectionBuilder-GH

This demo site features objects from the University of Idaho Library’s Digital Collections and is generated using CollectionBuilder-GH, a project to create a free and simple digital collection hosted on GitHub Pages from:

• a CSV of collection metadata
• a folder of JPG images or PDF documents

collectionbuilder-gh is intended as a simple template for hands-on teaching about digital libraries.

collectionbuilder-gh can be used in a workshop setting to take participants through digitization and metadata creation, to having a live collection site hosted on GitHub. Similar learning experiences use DAMS/CMS platforms that are often overkill for one-off projects. Although CMS feature familiar GUI administration interfaces, they are not necessarily simple to host, learn, and customize.

collectionbuilder-gh aims to be well documented and easy to configure by following the example. A project in “minimal computing,” it provides a depth of learning opportunities, allowing users to take complete ownership over the project and make their work open to the world.

Learn about:

• Git and GitHub basics for collaboration and project management
• Markdown for plaintext writing and content creation
• HTML, CSS, and JS literacy
• Jekyll basics
• working in the Open, open source and open data
• digital libraries concepts such as “collections as data”, minimal computing, data-driven design

About the About Page

We want to make engaging interpretive pages easier to create, so CollectionBuilder gives you tools to write with your collection content!

The template comes with a customizable “About” page layout designed for long form content with rich media embeds. Content is written in Markdown and enhanced using “includes” that pull in collection content, external media, and Bootstrap features like cards and modals. We hope this makes it easier for site builders to develop the collection AND add interesting and engaging contextual information.

Each “include” file has several options, which are documented in the files themselves–copy the examples to see how it works with your content! In the demo below, we’ve given display widths of 25% and 50% to save space, but you can feature the entire image or document.

You can also see a page featuring a bonanza of feature includes options on our CollectionBuilder-GH demo site.

Include Collection Items

The template provides includes to pull your collection objects and metadata into your interpretive page, allowing you to write with your materials directly embedded in the content.

Include an Image

• Image –> {% include feature/image.html objectid="demo_001" width="75" %}

Include a PDF

• PDF – > {% include feature/pdf.html objectid="demo_002" width="50" %}

Include a Video

• Video: {% include feature/video.html objectid="demo_004" %}

Include an Audio File

• Audio: {% include feature/audio.html objectid="demo_003" %}

Good News – Power (Radio Episode Excerpt)

Include Bootstrap Features

The template also provides includes to make it easier to add Bootstrap components to your Markdown writing. These features allow you to better organize and highlight your content.

Include a Card

• Card – > {% include feature/card.html header="This is a Card" text="The card features an image from the collection as a cap" objectid="demo004" width="25" centered=true %}

Include a Button

• Buttons – > {% include feature/button.html text="Button Link to Somewhere" link="https://collectionbuilder.github.io/" color="success" %}

Include an Alert

• Alerts – > {% include feature/alert.html text="this is an *alert* that 'warns' a user" color="warning" align="center" %}

Include a Modal

• Modals – > {% include feature/modal.html button="This is a modal using a 'primary' colored button to invite clicking" title="when clicked:" text="A Modal will pop out a box with some more information" color="primary" %}