Browsing and Curated Content

Desk View and Serendipity

One of the features of Americana's home page is what we have been referring to as “desk view.” Each time the site is reloaded, the desk view displays random items of our collections in their relative dimensions. We're trying to do three things here:

First, we encourage you to conside the materiality of the collection—something that is usually lost in digital collections, where all items seem to have the same dimensions to fit the computer screen;

Second, this view speaks to the diversity of the Americas, bringing to light items that belong to different cultures, geographies, and historical moments that help us to understand the transcultural nature of an “Americana collection”;

Third, the desk view works as a serendipity tool, by allowing you to experience unexpected discoveries on your way to more directed entry points into the collection.

< 1 of 5 >

Exhibitions

Exhibitions can serve a variety of purposes, such as showcasing the library's unique or rare items, highlighting the work of a particular artist or author, or providing historical context or background information on a particular subject.

Since foundation in 1846, the John Carter Brown Library has produced over two hundred exhibitions, which are currently being migrated to Americana. These exhibitions shed light on the public and scholarly perception of the collection—and particular items—through the years.

< 2 of 5 >

Highlighted Projects

Projects are groups of items that can be selected, described, and annotated by anyone. Using Americana's workspace the "Collaboratory" and its annotation tools, users can collaboratively create a wide variety of projects: simple lists of items; entire catalogues or bibliographies; annotated editions; teaching materials; presentations; conferences; research logs; publication companions; and even blogs — without having to pay for hosting servers or worrying for their preservation!

We regularly select special projects to feature on Americana website.

< 3 of 5 >

Selections

Selections are preset searches and legacy collections that have been based on a specific theme, subject, or purpose (such as “books published in Peru"; “items published by Juan Pablos”; “books published in indigenous languages at the John Carter Brown Library”; or other topics of interest).

At Americana, we understand these selections as a dynamic, living approaches to our holdings that can grow organically as our knowledge of these items expands. As items are added to the collection, the results will change, so check back on a search you've done before!

< 4 of 5 >

Object-Based Browsing

Have you found an object that you're interested in and want to browse through similar ones? Great! Simply go to the bibliographic record associated with the object and click on the relevant tags. This will show other items that were tagged with the same concepts by our catalogers. You will typically be able to browse the creator(s), place of publication, publisher, format, subject, media (for artwork), and much more.

< 5 of 5 >