About this Project

Bernard Becker Medical Library’s Exploring Object Virtual Reality: A Manual for Libraries and Museums documents best practices and standards in the application of Object Virtual Reality (VR) to small-to-medium sized artifacts.  Our goal was to present not only interactive digital surrogates of artifacts in our collection but also provide documentation of best practices for Object VR that can be applied and replicated in future digital projects in our own and other institutions.  This online exhibit includes twenty VR object movies, documentation of best practices (including images of the process), recommended guidelines, lessons learned, a listing of equipment/materials, and resources related to Object VR.

The Object VR digital collection is based on twenty historic hearing devices from the Central Institute for the Deaf–Max A. Goldstein Historic Devices for Hearing Collection at Washington University Bernard Becker Medical Library.  The devices were selected to portray a variety of sizes, colors, and shapes, as well as those having unusual features, in order to expose the many tools offered by Object VR in creating the digital files.  These devices and others from the collection are featured in the Deafness in Disguise: Concealed Hearing Devices from the 19th and 20th Centuries digital exhibit.

Object VR involves capturing a series of sequential digital surrogates of an artifact or object in degree increments (horizontal and vertical views) and “stitching” the digital surrogates together with VR software to create an interactive digital file.  The resulting digital file allows for immersive viewing from all angles controlled by the viewer and the viewer’s mouse, unlike a still digital surrogate which presents a linear or flat view.  Becker Medical Library used VR ObjectWorx software to author the sequential series of digital surrogates into a single Object VR file and tested several non-proprietary and proprietary viewers.

Funding for the Exploring Object Virtual Reality: A Manual for Libraries and Museums project was awarded by the Missouri State Library using funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the federal Library Services and Technology Act.

Becker Library welcomes staff members from libraries and museums to visit us to test out the Object VR equipment in our workstation.  Please contact Archives and Rare Books to set up an appointment or if you have any questions.

This Web site is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the state of Missouri.

CREDITS:
Project Director: Barbara Halbrook
Web site content: Ellen Dubinsky, Emily Kelly, and Cathy Sarli
Digital Imaging Specialist: Emily Kelly
Multimedia Specialist: Billy Kaufmann
Programmer: Simon Igielnik
Web site design: Emily Kelly and Ellen Dubinsky

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