Getty Scholars' Workspace™ is an online environment designed to support collaborative art-historical research. It provides a space and a toolset that enable research teams to examine digital surrogates of works of art and primary source materials, build a bibliography, translate and annotate texts, and exchange ideas. With Scholars' Workspace, research and communication are consolidated into a single online location accessible from anywhere.

The outcome of a project conducted in Scholars' Workspace might be an exhibition, a seminar, a digital or print publication, a scholarly talk, or something else entirely. While it is not designed to produce these outcomes itself, Scholars' Workspace helps research teams to organize their materials, such as texts and images, and facilitates analysis, investigation, and communication. The workspace is designed to accommodate the multiple perspectives that are typical of humanities research.

Getty Scholars' Workspace version 1.1 was released on October 25, 2016. The updated version includes new exporting and uploading functionalities as well as improvements to all workspace tools. Details about how to use Getty Scholars' Workspace version 1.1 are included in the downloadable User Guide below.

Getty Scholars' Workspace was made possible in part through generous support from the Seaver Institute.


Features


Bibliography builder: collaboratively manage citations online
Comparison tool: upload images and create comparisons on a digital light table
Essay tool: write, edit, and annotate texts
Forum: record and store project-related correspondence in a centralized location
Image tool: upload, crop, and annotate images
Manuscript presentation tool: upload a manuscript or other archival document and record team transcriptions and translations
Timeline: create an illustrated list of relevant dates in chronological order
NEW Export interface: export content in discrete batches or in its entirety for publication as a web resource
NEW Batch image uploader: upload and customize metadata for up to a thousand images at a time
NEW User Videos: a playlist of instructional videos to help users get started with Scholars' Workspace


Before Getting Started


Can I install Getty Scholars' Workspace on my own computer?
If you have the necessary technical skills, you can install a local version of Getty Scholars' Workspace, but it is not recommended as this disables its collaborative features.

Will I need help from a technology specialist?
We strongly recommend that an experienced system administrator install and maintain the instance of Getty Scholars' Workspace for use on a server at your institution.

I am interested in publishing something similar to Pietro Mellini's Inventory in Verse, 1681 (2015). Will Getty Scholars' Workspace allow me to produce a similar publication?
Getty Scholars' Workspace is a research environment only. It has no ability to directly publish to the web or any other platform. It does have the ability to export the data and other assets produced during the course of a research project.

Is Getty Scholars' Workspace used to analyze only items in the Getty Research Institute's Special Collections?
No! Getty Scholars' Workspace can be used with digital content from any archive of any person or institution.

Does the Getty Research Institute offer technical support for general users of Getty Scholars' Workspace?
No. Neither the Getty Research Institute nor any part of the Getty Trust offers direct technical support. Installation instructions and a user guide are downloadable below. The open-source community may generate more significant support.

What are the system requirements for Getty Scholars' Workspace?
Getty Scholars' Workspace is built in version 7.21 of Drupal, an open-source content management system. Visit Drupal.org for the most current details on system/server requirements.

What is the difference between Getty Scholars' Workspace v. 1.0 and v. 1.1?
Version 1.1 includes the batch image uploader, an improved comparison tool and light-table interface, and the export interface. If you downloaded Getty Scholars' Workspace prior to October 25, 2016, you are running version 1.0. All downloads after the October 25 release date will run Getty Scholars' Workspace version 1.1. User guides for both versions are provided below. If you are unsure which version you are running or if you are interested in updating your workspace, please contact your system administrator.

Is Getty Scholars' Workspace open source?
Yes, Getty Scholars' Workspace is distributed under the GNU General Public License, version 3.


Downloads


User Guide | version 1.1 (For use with Getty Scholars' Workspace version 1.1, released October 25, 2016; PDF, 19pp., 1.1 MB)
User Guide | version 1.0 (For use with Getty Scholars' Workspace Version 1.0, released February 24, 2016; PDF, 16pp., 2.4 MB)
Installation Instructions (PDF, 5pp., 123 KB)