Technical Documentation

Contents: Items Chosen | Imaging Standards | Metadata Standards | Tech

Items Chosen

The items in this collection were chosen because they were all projects sewn by Ruth Kramer. The collection’s creator, Abigail Suddarth, chose to only include images of living subjects if those subjects consisted to having their names and faces included thus choosing to omit certain scanned pictures and deferring to photographing clothing on hangers in many instances.

Imaging Standards

For this library, photographs from family weddings were scanned and uploaded with no additional image editing. Photos and videos of the garments and quilts were taken at the Monroe County Public Library’s film studio.

Metadata Standards

The metadata standards were created for this library with guidance taken from Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus Controlled Vocabulary.

Below is an explanation of what Dublin Core and text item type elements are used and what standards have been applied to their input.

Dublin Core elements

Title - required, 1 value allowed

Examples: Ruth Kramer Wedding Suit, Scott Suddarth Quilt Top

Creator - required, multiple values allowed

This element refers to the photographer or videographer for an item. For the two videos taken, this element also includes a friend of the videographer who is featured in the video showcasing the dresses. Because this entire collection consists only of Ruth Kramer’s sewing, there is not a metadata element discussing the seamstress.

Date - optional, 1 value allowed

This element refers to the date the sewing project was completed, not necessarily the date that the photograph was taken. For that reason, clothing made for a specific event such as a wedding may have a different year than the event itself. Likewise, for many of Ruth Kramer’s sewing projects, particularly ones she made for herself or ones that she originally intended to sell, the date she made the project may be unknown.

Description - required, multiple values allowed

This element consists of a few sentencing explaining the sewing project.

Subject - required, multiple values allowed

This element consists of keywords an enderuser may use when searching for a particular sewing project.

Type - required, 1 value allowed

This element refers to the category of sewing project the object was.

Examples: Doll Clothes, Wedding Dress

Format - required, 1 value allowed

This element refers to the file type, either an image/jpeg or a video/mp4.

For - optional, 1 value allowed

This element refers to the original intended recipient of the sewing project, regardless of who owns the item now. For this reason, a dress that Ruth Kramer originally made for her oldest daughter would have “Marti Suddarth” for this element even if Ruth Kramer’s other daughters also wore the dress after Marti Suddarth outgrew it. On the other hand, a pair of matching dresses that Ruth Kramer made for two of her grandchildren to wear at the same time would have “Grandchildren of Ruth Kramer” for thsi element. This field will remain blank for items Ruth Kramer originally intended to sell.

Event - optional, 1 value allowed

This element refers to the event for which the sewing project was originally intended.

Example: Wedding

Fabric - optional, multiple values allowed

This element refers to the primary types of sewing fabric used for a project.

Skirt Length - optional, 1 value allowed

This element describes the length of a skirt relative to the wearer: Short, Knee, Calf, Tea, or Full.

Sleeve Length - optional, 1 value allowed

This element describes the sleeves of a top relative to the wearer: Sleeveless, Shoulder, or Long.

Color - optional, multiple value allowed

This element refers to the most used color(s) in a project.

Pattern - optional, 1 value allowed

This element refers to the decorative pattern on the fabric of a sewing project.

Examples: Floral, Gingham

Complete - required, 1 value allowed

This element refers to whether or not Ruth Kramer finished a sewing project before her death in February of 2020. Most of the items in this collection are complete, but the quilt tops she made for her children and grandchildren have not been sewn to the fabric she intended for their backings.

Dimensions - optional, 1 value allowed

This element refers to the length or the length and width of a sewing project. For dresses, only the length from the top of the shoulder to the hem of the skirt is taken. For quilts, both the length and the width are taken.