Presentation on ways to improve the quality of the content that is available via Europeana. Given on 30 October 2014 at the Europeana AGM 2014 in Madrid.

1. Content Quality and
Europeana
Paul Keller, Madrid, 30/10/2014

2. 1. Some context

4. apple promo image (5120*2880px)

5. detail from the nightwatch (14K * 13K pixels)

7. downloaded image from Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (1000*997 px)

8. same image relied to fit Europeana thumbnail size (200*150px)

9. same image resized to 800*600px (very common image size)

10. compared with non retina iPad screen

11. compared with high end android telefoon screen (1920*1080px - full HD TV)

12. compared with screen of a macbook air

13. compared with retina macbook screen

14. compared with retina iPad screen

15. 2048px
1536px
The screen size of a retina iPad is probably a good
departure point for determining what “good enough” means
when providing images that you want others to enjoy and
possibly to re-use.

16. to stay relevant we
need to be ahead of
the curve
we need
to be here

17. 2. A new Approach

18. Europeana currently exposes digital
objects via 3 display modalities
1. Via the portal at www.europeana.eu
2. Via the portal with added Lightbox
functionality
3. Via the Europeana API
(2) requires a direct link to the digital object, (3)
works best with a direct link. also a direct link to an
image is required for preview generation. there are
(at least) two types of direct links (edm:object and
edm:isShownBy).

19. this is confusing*
* i am saying this for the perspective of promoting content re-use, but it is probably
confusing in many other situations as well.

20. Europeana has no clear guidelines for
image quality.
1. Previews need to be at least 200px (but
are not required)
2. There is no minimum size requirement/
reccomendation for exposure via
Lightbox or via the API.
The same is true for the quality of other
types of objects. However this issue us
most pronounced with images (and to a
lesser degree video)

21. this does not help*
* again i am saying this for the perspective of promoting content re-use but it also
affects the overall user experience with the portal

22. How to fix this
We need clear guidelines/
requirements for all three display
modes and we need to help data
providers target the display
modes according to their own
preferences*.
* the following section deals with images as an example, obviously these
arguments need to be adapted for other file types

23. The Portal
Some data providers may wish to use Europeana
only as a aggregation portal that drives traffic ti their
website. They should be able to do so as long as
they provide previews and good enough metadata*.
Requirements: provide edm:isShownAt and a direct
link to preview image (at least 400px wide).
Use by Europeana: Europeana will not expose direct
link, link to edm:isShownAt from portal
* as defined by publication policy and the edm metadata specification

24. Portal + Lightbox + API
Data providers that want to provide a better user
experience on Europeana and/or who want to allow
the reuse of digital objects can do so by providing a
direct link to a medium quality version of the digital
object.
Requirements: provide edm:isShownBy and a direct
link to a image ressource of at least 800 px wide. Any
rights statement
Use by Europeana: Europeana will expose direct link
to full size digital object via the API, will provide a
lightbox view on the portal (800 px wide). If
edm:isShownAt is also present the portal will link to
this URL.

25. Content for reuse
Europeana will be specifically highlighting digital
objects that meet the recommendations and provide
additional search tools to allow users to identify
content that is suitable for reuse.
Requirements: provide edm:isShownBy and a direct
link to a image ressource of at least 800 px wide and a
rights statement that allows reuse.
Recommendation: provide images with a minimum
resolution of 300 dpi
Use by Europeana: Europeana will expose direct link to
full size digital object via the API, will provide a lightbox
view on the portal (800 px wide). If edm:isShownAt is
also present the portal will link to this URL.

26. How to explain to data providers (1)
If you want to use Europeana only as a portal that
allows users to find your content then you need to
provide a preview (min 400px)
If you want to use Europeana as a platform that
actively distributes your content online then you
need also need to provide a direct link to the digital
objects (min 800px)
if you want to make your content available and
suitable for re-use the you need to provide a direct
link to the digital object (min 300dpi) and a rights
statement that allows reuse.

27. thanks!
Questions? pk@kl.nl
Kennisland works with Europeana and its partners to
improve the accessibility of Europe’s cultural heritage
online. Learn more about Kennisland at www.kl.nl