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Use case
Digital collections
Digital collections become valuable when they are not just stored, but easy to find, explore and use.
Many organisations hold valuable digitised materials: books, journals, manuscripts, personal papers, maps, plans, documents, images or other collection items. To make this content usable, it needs more than a storage location. It needs an interface where users can find, view, search and work with it.
Imageware helps organisations present digital collections in a structured and accessible way. From digitisation and preparation through to presentation, the right products can be combined into one connected workflow.
Make digitised collections visible and usable
Digital collections should be searchable, understandable and easy to use. To achieve this, digital objects need to be connected with metadata, structural information and, where available, OCR data. Users should not simply open individual files; they should be able to navigate a collection, search within content and access relevant materials directly.
Depending on the organisation, this may involve historical holdings, openly accessible digital objects, collection portals, full texts or digital services that users reach from catalogues, specialist portals or other systems.
A collection is more than a set of files
When digital objects exist only as files, they often remain hard to find and inconvenient to use. Metadata, full text, structural information, viewer functions and links need to work together. Only then do individual digital objects become a digital collection.
At the same time, organisations have different requirements for design, search, navigation and integration with existing systems. A presentation platform therefore needs to be flexible enough to support different document types, collection structures and usage scenarios.
The connection to earlier process steps is also important. Digital objects need to be created, described and handed over in the right structure so they can be presented reliably later on.
A platform for presenting digital content
Imageware supports digital collections with a platform that makes content visible, searchable and usable. Digital objects can be presented in a structured way, connected with metadata and made available through a configurable interface.
mybib eL is the central solution for presenting and providing digital content. The platform combines a presentation system, electronic reading room and delivery portal. For digital collections, the focus is on presenting openly accessible or publicly usable content in a convenient way.
The mybib eL interface can be adapted both functionally and visually to the organisation. Users can view and navigate content and, depending on the configuration, search metadata or full text.
BCS-2 supports the digitisation process before presentation: materials are captured, processed, structured and exported in suitable formats.
mybib eDoc can extend the process when the digitisation or preparation of the collection needs workflow management – for example with jobs, status tracking, metadata enrichment and documented handovers.
A typical workflow
Select and prepare the collection
Collections, titles or objects are selected for digital presentation. Requirements for structure, metadata, use and target systems are clarified.
Create or import digital objects
Materials are digitised with BCS-2, or existing digital objects are brought into the workflow.
Structure the content
Metadata, page information, hierarchies, OCR data or other structural information is added and prepared for presentation.
Organise the handover
In larger projects, jobs, processing statuses and handovers can be managed and documented through mybib eDoc.
Provide the collection in mybib eL
The digital objects are added to mybib eL and made available through a suitable interface.
Enable search and navigation
Users can view content, navigate collections and, depending on the configuration, search metadata or full text.
Maintain and expand the collection
New content can be added, existing information updated and digital services expanded over time.
Digital objects become usable online services
With Imageware, organisations can present digital collections in a way that makes content easier to find, understand and use. Users gain structured access to materials that would otherwise be less visible or only available on site.
At the same time, organisations benefit from clear handovers from digitisation, flexible presentation options and a platform that can be adapted to their design and use cases.
For organisations with digital collections and holdings
Digital collections are especially relevant for organisations that want to make holdings visible, support research and improve access to digitised materials.
Let’s talk about your digital collection.
Whether you are working with historical holdings, full texts, a collection portal or a new presentation platform, we can help you clarify the requirements and shape a workflow that fits your content, user groups and target systems.