About this digital library
Mission Statement
The goal of this digital library is to share appreciation and passion for the comedy, drama, music, and great entertainment value of stage productions with others who also enjoy the performing arts. The mission is to raise awareness of and generate support for the arts through enjoyment of the theater.
Collection Policy
The digital library’s collection consists of memorabilia from stage productions I have personally seen since January 2001.
Links on the “Links” page include external Web sites for businesses and organizations that are relevant to the theater.
Organization of Collection
Memorabilia includes scanned images (jpg) of program book covers; when and where I saw the shows; synopses of plots; and lists of directors and lead actors and the characters portrayed. If the show is a musical, memorabilia also includes scanned images (jpg) of CD covers; lists of lyricists and composers; lists of songs with links to sound clips (mp3s) of the show-stopping musical numbers.
Resource Descriptions
Library resources (program books and CDs) are described using metadata available through the library's Web site host, http://www.yola.com/. Metadata is imbedded in the html coding for the digital library. To view the metadata codes, right click anywhere on the Web page and choose “View Source.”
Metadata includes:
Title – name of the stage production
Description – comedy, drama, musical, or CD
Keywords – includes name of the program book, name of the production, and name and location of the theater
Access and Use
Users may browse the library's collection by show title. A search engine on the "Search" page enables keyword searching of all fields, including show titles, creators, directors, actors, and song titles.
Service Features
Service features include a search function, links to useful resources, and contact us function which enables user questions, comments, and general assistance.
Interface Design
After spending many hours attempting to utilize Greenstone software, I could not figure out how to configure the user interface I desired. Eventually I decided to use yola.com, a free Web site builder and hosting service. The simple interface design I created includes a navigation bar across the top of the page for: home, browse, search, links, about and contact us.
Enhancement, Evaluation &/or Maintenance Plan
Evaluation and enhancement of this digital library will be ongoing. The library will be updated as I attend more stage shows. User feedback received through the “contact us” feature will be evaluated and used to identify future upgrades and improvements.
Potential future enhancements include:
A brief history of the theaters hosting the performances
Lists of awards won by each performance, i.e. Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards, etc.
Critics' reviews of the performances
My critique of the performances (may be done as a blog)
This digital library was created for educational purposes in fulfillment of a requirement for Southern Connecticut State University's ILS 655, Digital Libraries, Dr. Yan Liu, professor. Copyright 2010, Julie T. Rio.
