The University of Scranton Archives and McHugh Special Collections

The University of Scranton Archives and McHugh Special Collections is an extensive archive of the University of Scranton’s digital and special/archival collections. The website integrates finding aids for all special/archival (non-digital) collections, includes detailed overviews for each collection, features dynamic news displays from RSS feeds, and allows searching and filtering of digitized and born-digital content via advanced search tools and custom database queries.
For more details on design decisions and the rationale behind combining Archives & Special Collections with Digital Collections, see: Jennifer Galas and Kristen Yarmey, A New Look for Special and Digital Collections, The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Memorial Library Information Update, Fall 2016, p. 2.






Project type
Website
Technologies used
- OCLC’s CONTENTdm digital collection management software.
- Landing pages, collection guides, informational pages and University history pages custom designed and coded using jQuery and Bootstrap UI framework (2020 version) and PHP (2015 version).
- Dynamic features integrated using React JavaScript framework.
- Integration of content pulled from Library publications’ RSS feeds.
- Maps developed from digital content using Leaflet mapping library and GeoJSON for storing geographic data.
Deployment method
- Local development in Git repository, manual file upload to CONTENTdm server (the only method available at this time).
Related documentation & case studies
- Jennifer Galas and Kristen Yarmey, A New Look for Special and Digital Collections, The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Memorial Library Information Update, Fall 2016, p. 2
- Building Order: Using Free Tools to Build a Simple App and Streamline Workflows
- Creating Fusion Table Map of Campus Buildings
- Modifying CONTENTdm error message for restricted or unpublished collections