Public Submissions
From QuiltIndex
Quilt Index Signature Quilt Project Training Tutorial
Introduction:
Welcome to the Quilt Index! Thank you for participating in this pilot project and submitting your signature quilt to the Quilt Index. By doing so, you are participating in our pilot project for public submission of quilts. We are maintaining a wiki page for this project where we will continually post updated information at Signature Quilt Pilot Project.
The Quilt Index is a partnership project of the Alliance for American Quilts, Michigan State University’s MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online, and the Michigan State University Museum. The Quilt Index operates through MATRIX’s digital library repository, called KORA (http://www.matrix.msu.edu). This digital library management system is, in essence, a very large database. Contributors have password-protected web pages, which they use to enter (ingest), edit and verify data and upload images. KORA is optimized for use with the Firefox browser, for both PC and Mac users.
For the Signature Quilt Pilot Project, the Quilt Index staff has adapted its comprehensive fields (which can be found at http://www.quiltindex.org/about.php#compfields) into a streamlined data entry form.
Your Quilt Index Online training:
This tutorial and the Quilt Index training will demonstrate the Quilt Index repository for Signature Quilt Project. During the training, you will learn the four main steps to using the repository:
1. Create and activate a new account
2. Create ("ingest") a new quilt record
3. Upload images for your quilt
4. Edit your record
Step 1: Create and activate a new account
First you will need to go to the repository page and create a new account.
Go to: http://quiltindex.kora.matrix.msu.edu/login.php
Click on: "New Account" button, which will take you to the "Account Registration" page, seen below.
Username: Enter your name as "firstname.lastname", for example, Mary.Worrall.
Password: Enter a password that has more than 8 characters and that you will remember!
Verify password: Re-enter the password.
Email address: Enter your main email address, you will need to check it right after you register.
Full Name: Enter your name.
Organization: If you are affiliated with an organization, such as a museum, please enter that, or you can enter "Signature Quilt Project"
Click the "Create Account" button to submit your registration.
This will take you to the "Account Creation" page, with the message: "Your account has been created. Please check your email for instructions on how to Activate Your Account."
Under normal circumstances, the email should come within a few minutes. It will be from "KORA Activation" <kora@quiltindex.kora.matrix.msu.edu> and will have the subject line "KORA Account Activation". The email will include directions and a link to activate your account. You can click on the link or paste the link into a browser to automatically activate your account. You can also use the unique number (or "token") given in your email and follow the "Activate Account" button on the website.
Once successfully activated, you will receive the message "Your account has been activated. Please Log In."
After your activation, there is an internal administrative step that Quilt Index staff must take to assign your individual user account to the Signature Quilt Project. We will NOT activate any accounts until after the June 2009 training sessions. After that, we will routinely activate new accounts around Noon Eastern Time each weekday. If you are having trouble activating your account after your training, or have an urgent reason that you cannot wait until the next day, you may send Mary or Justine an email and we will try to accommodate you.
Step 2: Create (ingest) a new quilt Record.
This will demonstrate how to log in to the Signature Quilt Project and enter a quilt
These steps will be demonstrated during your training.
1. Go to: http://quiltindex.kora.matrix.msu.edu/login.php.
Log in with your new username and password information.
2. After you log in, the body of the next page will say “Project Selection.”
If you have a message that reads, "You are currently not a member of any active projects" that means that the QI staff have not assigned you to the Quilt Index Demo and Signature Quilt Project yet. Please wait until Noon the following day, or send an email to let us know you need to be activated.
Once you have been assigned to the Signature Quilt Project, you will have one project name option: "Signature Quilt Pilot Project". Click on the project name “Signature Quilt Pilot Project.”
3. This will take you to the "Scheme Selection for Signature Quilt Pilot Project" page. A "scheme" is a particular set of fields that make up an entry form that you will use to describe the quilt object. In the future, there may be additional schemes for, say, an audio recording about a signature quilt. Now, there is only the "Signature_Form" scheme for the quilt itself. Click this link.
4. The page will read “Scheme Layout for Signature_Form.” And the body of the page is a list of all the fields in the Signature Quilt Data Entry form. You can scroll down the page to review what the fields are called. (Note: this is NOT the entry form itself, just the layout of the scheme of fields.)
Notice the menu options on the left side of the screen. After logging in, you selected a project first, Selected a Scheme next, and now you have an option to enter or "ingest" a new record.
To start to enter a new quilt record, click on "Ingest Record" in the bottom left navigation.
5. This page will read “Ingestion.” This is where you will begin entering the information about your signature quilt. The fields that are marked with a * are required fields. For the rest of the fields, it is okay to leave them blank if you do not have information for that field.
There are five pages of data entry in the Signature Quilt Project form.
Page 1: Basic description fields, including required title, for the quilt, maker, date, provenance and history.
Page 2: Inscription Information
Page 3: Technical Information: Detailed description of quilt fabric and construction techniques
Page 4: Submitter Information: Required Fields on Submitter, plus ownership, copyright, and image upload fields.
Page 5: Administrative Information: Do NOT change any of these fields. If you are entering a quilt TOP, please let us know.
We will go through each field on each page during the training.
You will notice a "Submit Data" button at the bottom of each page. You cannot submit your record in draft form unless you have filled in the required fields(marked with a red asterisk). on page 1 and page 4
The form includes instructions below each field to help guide you through completing the form. You will notice that there are several different kinds of fields. Many are intended for text. You can type your information into these fields. You can also copy and paste text from another document where you have saved information. See the SQP page (http://www2.matrix.msu.edu/~quilti/wiki/index.php/Signature_Quilt_Pilot_Project) for more information about avoiding the introduction of strange characters when copying and pasting text.
For some fields, you will need to select from a list of options. In some cases you may see the Quilt Index comprehensive field code beneath the field. The codes look similar to this: QuiltTitleF009. These codes are the way we identify the fields for our programmers.
After you finish the each page, click “next” or 2. As you work through the form, you can flip between pages using the “Prev|1|2|3|4|5| Next” options that appear at the top and bottom of the screen.
The first page will ask you to fill in basic information about the quilt. The training will review page 1 fields.
The second page of ingestion will ask you to add information about the inscriptions on your quilt. After you finish this page, click “next” or 3.
Page three will ask you for technical information about the quilt such as color and the techniques used to make the quilt. After you finish this page, click “next” or 4.
Page four will ask your submission information. Several fields on this page are required. Page four is where you add images of your quilt.
Step 3: Upload images for your quilt:
You will upload digital image(s) of your quilt to the Quilt Index. In addition to the image of your full quilt, you can also add detail images or a diagram of your quilt (in jpeg format). Images should be jpeg images, 700 or 1424 pixels wide. For more information on Quilt Index Image Specifications, go to http://www2.matrix.msu.edu/~quilti/wiki/index.php/Signature_Quilt_Pilot_Project.
a. Click on the “Browse” button next to the field.
b. You will then select an image that you have saved on your computer or disk. Selecting the image will upload it to the Quilt Index. This process is similar to adding an attachment to an email message.
Page five contains administration fields. You do not need to fill out anything on this page.
After you have finished entering the information about your quilt on page 4, click “Submit Data” at the bottom of the page. You MUST click “Submit Data” for your information to be saved.
You will see the message: "Object Ingested"
To view the quilt record that you entered, click on the "Search within Project" link, in the upper left part of the navigation.
Search for a Record:
Enter YOUR (the submitter's) first and last name in the "Keywords" field and click the button next to "All".
Click "Search". This will bring you to the Search Results page, below. (If you get 0 results, search again and be sure that you entered your first and last name exactly the same way you entered it on page 4, "Submitted by" field.)
To view your record, click on the identification number in reddish color in your search results.
You can scroll down this page to read everything that you entered into your quilt record. You may find things you want to add or revise, or typos you want to edit.
Step 4: Editing Your Record:
You may find that you need to log out before you have finished entering your record, discover new information that you would like to add to your record, or find that you have made a data entry error in entering your record. These are all reasons why you may want to edit your record.
Follow these steps in order to update or edit existing records in KORA.
1. From the “Scheme Layout for Signature_Form” page select “Search within Project.”
2. Search for your record by your first and last name.
3. Click on the underlined string of numbers to the above left of your quilt’s title. This number is the unique identifying number that the Quilt Index has assigned to your quilt.
4. The top of the page will say “Viewing Record:” and the number that the Quilt Index has assigned to your quilt. You will see a list of the Signature Quilt fields and the information that you entered into each field.
5. Click “Edit this Record” at the bottom of the page.
At the very bottom of the Viewing Record page, you will find three links. Choose "Edit this Record"
6. Locate the field(s) that require updating/editing by scrolling/clicking through the data entry form.
7. Update or edit the appropriate field(s).
8. You MUST select “Submit Record” after you have made your edits for the new information to be saved.
Tips for data entry:
In some lists, only one option can be selected. The options in single selection fields are presented in a drop down menu. To make a selection, simply click on the desired list item in the menu.
Some lists allow you to make multiple selections. The options in multiple selection fields are listed within a rectangular field. The choices for multiple selection fields are selected by clicking on all applicable list items.
Fields with textboxes allow you an open entry form to enter text.
When entering a date, the preferred method is month, date, and year: mm-dd-yyyy or c. yyyy.
Names should be entered as “lastname, firstname.”
Multiple text input (or Multi-name) fields allow multiple entries by entering in entry field and clicking “add.” Entered options show to the left of the entry field. You MUST click “add” to ensure that information is recorded.
If a field asks for a measurement, please specify unit of measure, for example, “inches.” The unit of measure can be preset.
Questions? Contact both Justine Richardson, Justine.Richardson_at_matrix.msu.edu and Mary Worrall, worrall_at_msu.edu.
