{"id":8077,"date":"2020-06-08T22:27:32","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T02:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.library.duke.edu\/bitstreams\/?p=8077"},"modified":"2020-06-08T22:27:32","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T02:27:32","slug":"morphosource-features-in-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.duke.edu\/bitstreams\/2020\/06\/08\/morphosource-features-in-development\/","title":{"rendered":"MorphoSource: Features in Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the last two years, developers in Software Services and Duke’s department of Evolutionary Anthropology have been working to rebuild MorphoSource<\/a>, a repository for 3D research data representing physical objects, primarily biological specimens. MorphoSource 2.0 is being built using Hyrax<\/a>, an open-source digital repository application widely implemented by libraries to manage digital repositories and collections. While Hyrax already provided much of the core functionality needed for management, access, and preservation of our data, the MorphoSource team has been customizing the application and adding additional features to tailor it to the needs of our users.<\/p>\n

As a preview, here are some of the features we’re developing for the MorphoSource community:<\/p>\n

Guided Submission Process<\/strong><\/p>\n

MorphoSource is open to subject experts, collection curators, and the public to submit their data and make it accessible to others. The MorphoSource submission process will guide users in entering metadata that provides additional description and context for the files being uploaded<\/a>. Users will be able to save information about the specimen that was scanned, the equipment that was used to capture the 3d data, the data capture process, and related media in MorphoSource. The form is multi-step and nested, with different fields available or data pre-filled in depending on what the user has already entered in earlier sections of the form. The user also has opportunities to search for related organizations, devices, specimens, and media to link to their submission. Once the submission process is complete,\u00a0 depositors are able to return to their data page to edit\u00a0 metadata and redefine relationships to other MorphoSource records.<\/p>\n

\"Morphosource
A user proceeds through the MorphoSource media submission process.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the gif above, a MorphoSource user proceeds through the submission process. If the media being uploaded (such as an image stack or 3d mesh) is a derivative of another object that is already in MorphoSource, the user can search for that media and link it to their submission, whereupon related metadata will be auto-filled for them. If it is a totally new submission, the user will proceed from filling in information about the object that was scanned (ownership, taxonomy, and descriptive details) to devices and processing steps used before attaching their files. This ability to nest, search and associate metadata from the organization level all the way down to an individual object component in a single interface is unique to MorphoSource and is a substantial addition to Hyrax’s code.<\/p>\n

Displaying and Updating Media Records<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
A media record in MorphoSource.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following submission, the depositor can view their completed media record, as shown above. Data owners (and other users who have been granted edit permissions by the data owner) have the ability to freely edit their submissions at any time. The edit view (below) allows the user to move between tabs to update metadata or change links to other records in MorphoSource. These tabs\u00a0 offer a fast summary of the types of associated data that are typically collected for complex objects and digitization strategies. This system is also designed to encourage best practices in project and object documentation by reminding the user of critical metadata categories.<\/p>\n

\"Editing<\/p>\n

3D Viewer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Through a collaboration with Mnemoscene<\/a>, MorphoSource has created Aleph<\/a>, a web viewer for 3D models and volumes that can be used by itself or as an extension to the popular library document viewer Universal Viewer.<\/a> A live example of a specimen in the viewer is below. You can rotate the object by clicking and dragging inside the frame, or switch between slices and volume view by changing the mode under tools.<\/p>\n