From Finding to Discovering

EuropeanaTech, Paris, February 12, 2015

Jaap Kamps

How to Empower Visitors and Curators?

Motivation• Current CH access tools are framed by web search tech

• privilege ultra-fast look-up search for facts, navigational needs

• mismatch in use-case!

• Need new/different tools supporting users

• to explore and experience,

• to learn and be amazed, and

• engage with the material from many different angles

• Although still fragmented these tools are emerging

• ground work is done,

• work on realizing the full potential of cultural heritage online

Four slogans…

#1Web ≠ Cultural Heritage

Searching for CH

Web Search CH Search

Find information Discover and learn

Clear information need Non goal directed search

Search outcome Search process

Navigational Exploratory

Fast search: 1 click Slow search: engagement

… …

#2Rage against the machine

Empower

Curator (back office)

Visitor (front office)

Take control Control over content++

Control over search trajectory

Beyond metadata From access to narratives

From finding to discovering

Beyond objects Tools to build digital narratives

Interaction builds own narratives

Beyond one perspective

Multi facetted/layered

information

Explore layer by layer

Reunite Digital content into gallery

Traditional + non-experts views

#3Embrace complexity

Flat text turned into richly annotated XML

Search and explore any level, both content and structure

From search to strategy: build your own tools

#4Art is all about interpretation

extensionalist (object) vs. constructivist (meaning)

Bring social aspects into the digital

Recommendation of content *and* other people

Wrap Up

• From Finding to Discovering

• Different use case → Different systems

• From “access” to enriched content

• Power to enrich/store/organize

• Empower users and curators

• Put visitors/curators in the driver’s seat

• Make other people’s trails explicit

Questions?

• Thank you to all collaborators:

• EU FP7: meSch project

• NWO CI: ExPoSe project

• Digging into Data: DiliPad project

• NWO CATCH: WebART project

• CLEF: Social Book Search Lab

• TREC: Contextual Suggestion Track