I know we have some folks who are using or are interested in using the CultureObject plugin for WordPress. A great update from Mike Ellis at Thirty8 digital, the plugin's developer, is below. Megan Forbes CollectionSpace Program Manager megan.forbes@lyrasis.org 917.267.9676 Cell meganbforbes Skype ________________________________ From: Mike Ellis <mike=thirty8.co.uk@mail68.atl11.rsgsv.net> on behalf of Mike Ellis <mike@thirty8.co.uk> Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2016 4:41 AM To: Megan Forbes Subject: Culture Object update: CSV import, display plugin, storytelling theme.. Culture Object update - December 2016 View this email in your browser<http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654&id=31946d68b6&e=390e288d54> [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654/images/81c8b7a3-9f3f-4b1a-bbe3-8d42671e5dc6.png] Hello! It's been some months since I last emailed. Lots has been going on! Remind me…? Culture Object<http://thirty8.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654&id=8dd8c2b8bc&e=390e288d54> is an open source WordPress plugin which can ingest cultural object metadata. Ok…but what does that actually mean? The ultimate aim of CultureObject is to help you get your collections objects on the web in a beautiful, user-centric and integrated way no matter what you’ve got to manage your collections in-house. You can install CultureObject on an existing (or new!) WordPress site, make a couple of settings changes and then point it at some data. It’ll then pull in the records and you can then display, list, gallery-ify and search them however you like. Why are you emailing me? You joined up via cultureobject.co.uk<http://thirty8.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654&id=077c0858e9&e=390e288d54>. It goes without saying that you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link below. NEW - import CSV object records As you may remember, CultureObject uses a thing we call "providers" which are in non-geek terms really just a way of mapping from museum collection management formats (AdLib, KeEMu, CultureGrid etc) into native WordPress. We're very happy to announce that we now have a CSV (comma separated value) provider. We've worked with lots of museums over the past few years and many of you either 1) don't have a collections management system and are using Excel or 2) have a collections management system but can only get your data out in CSV form. The new provider is very flexible and only asks you for two things: Firstly, you have to specify a unique ID for each museum object (which you should have already, probably in the form of an accession number) and secondly, each object must have a title / name. We've done a lot of work building the CSV provider into a solid Ajax framework - this means that even on really slow hosting you should be able to import 10's of thousands of records without any timeout issues. One of the nice things about the CSV approach is that because it is so simple and portable, you can really quickly build and develop sites which use museum object data - rapidly build prototypes, mobile sites, Raspberry Pi based kiosks, or whatever else takes your fancy. CSV is simple to understand - just load it into Excel or Google Docs to view and edit your records, then import into CultureObject when you're ready. Want to have a play? We've got a WordPress multisite set up and ready to go - just ping an email to support@cultureobject.co.uk<mailto:support@cultureobject.co.uk?subject=Set%20me%20up%20a%20demo> and we'll set you up a test site. Culture Object Display Plugin What if you're not a theme developer and just want to set up a simple site for displaying museum objects without having to get your hands into theme code and PHP? That's the question we asked ourselves - and we came up with the idea of a "display plugin" - an add-on for CultureObject which features a simple WYSIWYG interface to drop in the fields you want to display and then apply some simple styling. So far, we've built this for the CollectionSpace provider but we're beavering away to add it to CSV as well. Keep tuned on this list for announcements very soon. Telling object stories with CultureStory I'm super excited about this development - we've been working with Bristol Museums to make a rich "storytelling" theme for WordPress - this basically means you can import your museum object records using CultureObject, then easily create rich interactive narratives around those objects. You can: * Drop in a timeline based around your object data * Add object records to a map * Create rich modal boxes to support "read more" content for museum data * Add call-outs, quotes, background images, video, etc as part of your narrative Fairly soon, we'll be open-sourcing CultureStory for anyone to use for free - and into the future we hope to turn CultureStory into a plugin so it can work with any existing theme. Again, watch this space for further announcements! [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654/images/9c886ece-b59d-4c0c-b2e2-e84917a9b3f1.png] CultureStory: an open source theme for telling stories with museum objects WordPress for museums It's not directly to do with CultureObject - but I'm sure you'll forgive me for mentioning a new thing we just launched - http://wpformuseums.com<http://thirty8.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654&id=823f110c09&e=390e288d54> is a site we're aiming to make a hub of all things WordPress / Museumy. You can find help guides, articles, worksheets and online courses - all about how to make WordPress work in a museum environment. Hop over there and join the mailing list for updates - and please do send details on to anyone else you think may be interested. ...and finally... Got questions, thoughts, ideas? Using CultureObject in the wild, testing it out or wondering how to get started? Please ping me on Twitter at m1ke_ellis<http://thirty8.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654&id=1ecbd6de4b&e=390e288d54>, or send an email to support@cultureobject.co.uk<mailto:support@cultureobject.co.uk> and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Peace, happiness and a great festive season to all. Mike Copyright © 2016 Thirty8 Digital Ltd, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via the CultureObject website Our mailing address is: Thirty8 Digital Ltd Room 16, Neetside Bude, Cornwall EX238LB United Kingdom Add us to your address book<http://thirty8.us7.list-manage.com/vcard?u=77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654&id=62071744e2> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences<http://thirty8.us7.list-manage1.com/profile?u=77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654&id=62071744e2&e=390e288d54> or unsubscribe from this list<http://thirty8.us7.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654&id=62071744e2&e=390e288d54&c=31946d68b6> [Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp]<http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=monkey_rewards&aid=77fc0e678aa563e1d2e61c654&afl=1>