Journey into the Third Dimension: Extending IRs to Support 3D Model Data

Abstract

For the last 2 years, Florida State University Libraries' Technology and Digital Scholarship department has been exploring ways to incorporate 3D model data into DigiNole, FSU's digital repository built on the open source Islandora 7 platform. In August 2023 we finally reached a major milestone with a publicly viewable demo open for review and testing by internal stakeholders. This represents the culmination of much collaborative work between 3D modeling subject experts and developers, and a lot of hard lessons learned along the way that we are ready to share with others trodding a similar path. Join us for a summary of our journey into the unfamiliar realm of 3D modeling, and learn how you can extend your IR to handle 3D model data as well! This session covers the specific requirements for supporting 3D model data as scholarly research outputs stored in an institutional repository, and is aimed at an audience familiar with standard scholarly content in an institutional repository but with little to no prior knowledge of 3D modeling. Topics covered will include the production and use of scholarly 3D model data by students and faculty, unique metadata elements for 3D model data, how to create a 3D model test suite, tips for integrating a 3D model viewer like the Online 3D Viewer (https://3dviewer.net/) into your repository, an overview of the most popular 3D model file formats, and a discussion about the complexities of building a system that creates a consistent user experience for ingesting and displaying 3D models with surprisingly inconsistent data structures.