In addition to great added functionality like item-level statistics for external users, the UF Digital Collections‘ underlying SobekCM system is always improving in terms of internal infrastructure. One recent major enhancement is the “Directory” view.
The Directory View is very important to ensure we can easily and quickly check and verify all files, including all metadata files, and locate, copy, and send any files per patron request. This was a very small technical change, with significant day-to-day operational benefits. In keeping with principles for smart design, the internal Directory View is built within the same external user views – ensuring that we trouble-shoot and verify all systems are operating properly simply as part of doing our work.
Plus, it’s neat to see the different files that enable each item to be displayed in so many ways and to be interoperable with so many other systems.
2010-09-22
This is parallel to the way the new Digital Collections from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) displays all files for an item, which is within their “Resource Record” under the “Additional Files” section below the metadata. It’s shown at the bottom of their help page here: http://collections.nlm.nih.gov/help.html
Also, their Digital Collections look great!