Non-traditional Asset Submissions
Relevant Ex Libris Documentation
Non-traditional Asset Submissions
Last updated 1/7/2025, Seth Thompson
There will be times you will need to add assets that do not fall under the typical article, book, dataset, etc asset types. Especially in the humanities, you will run into publications like audio recordings, sculptures, paintings, plays, costume designs, set designs, and more. While Esploro has asset types like ‘theater’ and ‘musical composition,’ not every asset is going to fit perfectly in one of the predetermined categories, or even have standard metadata to enter. By virtue of being ‘non-traditional,’ it is impossible to explain how to make a deposit for every possible medium. The following are examples of assets I have worked with directly:
Art
For an individual piece, you will ideally have an image(s) of the piece and a
description of the format/medium/dimensions. This info can all be placed in the
abstract field. Esploro supports the hosting of short videos as well, if the creator is
so inclined.
Music
An album is a good example of when to make use of both ‘creators’ and ‘contributors.’
You will want to pay close attention to the album credits, as not everybody who works
on a recording can necessarily be labelled as a creator. In this example, the composer
is listed as the creator, while the performing musicians are listed as contributors
under the generic ‘music/band’ role. When it comes to music, there are limited choices
for the creator roles. While the nature of this asset implies that every musician is on
cello, if you wanted you could use the abstract field to indicate the specific role of
each contributor – i.e. ‘Miranda Wilson – Cello’
Theater
A theater production will naturally have many unique roles associated with it – playwright, costume design, set design, or even being an actor. In addition, many faculty will work on the same individual production. Instead of making a unique asset for the set designer, costume designer, etc., it is best to have one asset for a single instance of a play and add all the faculty to it as contributors. Images of costumes, the set, promotional poster, etc. are always welcome.