The triumph of David: A case study in VuFind customization

Abstract

When Villanova University undertook a major project to restore a large-scale painting with possible ties to the workshop of 17th-century painter Pietro da Cortona, an important component of the work was detailed data collection, including time-lapse and multispectral photography. When this data needed to be presented to the general public, a number of open source technologies were used, including VuFind, the discovery layer developed at Villanova’s Falvey Memorial Library. This paper examines how VuFind was used as the glue to tie together the disparate components of the project, and by detailing the implementation strategies selected, demonstrates how VuFind's flexible and extensible architecture allows it to be adapted to a wide range of specialty projects.