DiDip @ ICARUS Convention #34
We recently had the opportunity to present our work at the ICARUS Convention #34 in Budapest, Hungary (May 12-14, 2025). This international gathering focused on “Archives Reflecting 21st Century Challenges,” bringing together archivists, researchers, and other specialists to explore two main themes: how archives work with migration-related content in their collections and develop new approaches to documenting migrant histories, and how archival institutions can implement sustainable practices in their operations and preservation strategies.
Why Were We There?
Naturally, the ICARUS Convention provided an ideal platform to showcase our work on Monasterium.net’s next generation (MoM NG) and its evolution into a Virtual Research Environment (VRE). As part of our project, we’re developing innovative tools that will benefit both our VRE and Monasterium.net’s future development.
What We Presented
Our presentation, titled “Current Updates and Future Prospects for Search and User Experience,” focused on our current developments and future plans for Monasterium.net. We explained:
- Current Developments:
- Our foundation and architecture choices, emphasizing a sustainable and modular engineering approach
- The implementation of advanced similarity search, including our hybrid approach combining different search strategies
- Basic user space features like multiple baskets and import/export functionality
- Initial steps towards accessibility improvements through CSS enhancements
- Future Developments:
- Client-side computing capabilities for more efficient search re-ranking
- Enhanced IIIF integration, including planned overlays for HTR results
- NLP for real-time text type classification and query expansion
- Computer vision applications for object detection and paleographical analysis
- Plans for upcoming hackathons and user studies
Feedback and Discussion
The response was highly positive, with particular interest in the flexibility of our collection-based approach for various workflows and our emphasis on explainable AI in our search implementations. Users expressed interest in combining our new approaches with some features that are currently only available in the old Monasterium version – and we already have a clear path for implementing these integrations. We also received valuable suggestions for style features and accessibility improvements that we’ll incorporate into our development roadmap.
The discussion highlighted how our work on advanced search and text type classification enables more effective document discovery within Monasterium, while our sustainable engineering approach ensures the platform’s reliability and future development. While our focus is on Monasterium’s specific needs, participants noted that our approach to these challenges might offer insights for other digital archives facing similar questions.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue developing these features and engaging with the community through upcoming events, including a planned hackathon and user studies. The positive feedback from the ICARUS Convention #34 reinforces our commitment to building tools and interfaces that serve both the scholarly community and the broader public.
[Link to slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-IjKqjFSEI1s0MpfVC1ekxOTxWArM_ilMReLnQAbZNI/edit?usp=sharing]
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atzenhofer (May 16, 2025). DiDip @ ICARUS Convention #34. DiDip. Retrieved June 12, 2025 from https://didip.hypotheses.org/3255