Scalar Support
Visit the blog, see Scalar's webinars and user guides, and more.
Scalar Guide
Quick link to Scalar 2 user guide.
Box
Chicago Collections uses Box for file storage and co-working. After your exhibit has been approved, use this link to quickly get to your Box account.
Before you submit a Digital Exhibit Proposal Form, please make sure you can answer the following:
Do you have a single person designated as the exhibit/project manager?
This is the person who communicates with the Digital Resources & Collections Committee about the exhibit proposal and review. This person will have some administrative permissions in Scalar. Permissions level will depend on their role in the creation of the project. You may have additional people on your exhibit team other than the exhibit/project manager, but this is the only role that is required. The exhibit/project manager must be part of a CCC member institution.
Are there at least three institutions that will contribute content?
Because Chicago Collections digital exhibits exist to promote the collaborative spirit of our collections, we recommend a minimum of three media files for your exhibit from three different institutions.
Do you have enough content for an exhibit? And enough background knowledge to support your exhibit?
We know history in Chicago can be big or small, so there is not a minimum or maximum amount of content pages beyond at least one media file from three separate organizations (for a minimum total of three.) If you are not sure about your exhibit content, you are welcome to contact the Digital Resource & Collections Committee or ask questions in our Slack channel. The Slack channel is also a great place to see if there are other librarians or archivists who would be interested in collaborating on an exhibit.
Have you verified that the majority of the content you're interested in has already been digitized or is able to be digitized? Has it been uploaded to EXPLORE or can it be uploaded to EXPLORE?
To be added to a Chicago Collections digital exhibit, content must be digitized and have metadata. Digital file requirements for Scalar and minimum metadata standards are outlined in the Using Media Not in EXPLORE section, and more detailed metadata requirements can be found in the Appendix - Metadata Guidelines page.
One of the many reasons we encourage you to consider content that is in EXPLORE Chicago Collections is that it is significantly easier to build exhibits in Scalar with content that is already in EXPLORE. In addition, this content already meets file format standards and minimum metadata requirements, and almost always is legally permitted to be displayed in a digital exhibit, although we encourage you to double-check on permissions. If materials you are interested in are not already in EXPLORE, the Digital Exhibits Committee can help you find out if uploading them to the portal is a possibility.
Have you verified that there is content you will be legally permitted to display in a digital exhibit?
Content in a digital exhibit does not have to be in the public domain but you should have the right to display it online. This means that you have permission from the copyright holder to display the image online (or it is in the public domain) and that there are no privacy issues associated with the content.