Research Guides: Making a Digital Exhibit Website: Using Scalar

Getting Started with Scalar

Scalar is pretty easy to use but there are resources out there to help you get going.

There are mutlitple versions of Scalar and right now they are on Scalar 2.0, when looking for help with figuring out the tools, make sure that it is giving you instuctions for the right version.

Scalar 2 User Guide

Making an Account

To start a Scalar project you must first register for a free Scalar account:

Start at the Scalar website.
Click on the blue Sign In button in the banner at the top of the page.
In the subsequent screen, click on Register an account and enter the details. To get the registration key, fill out a short form by clicking on the form link.
After your register, you will be taken to the Index page. This page contains a list of all of the published books in Scalar. When you have created a book, it will show up on the left hand side of the screen.

That's it! You're ready to create a book (project).

Example Exhibits

Welcome to Our Dark Materials: Rediscovering an Egyptian Collection
Our Dark Materials: Rediscovering an Egyptian Collection examines Stanford University's forgotten collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts, which provides insight into the experiences of ordinary Egyptians in daily life and death.
The Tale of Genji from Princesses to Pop
The Tale of Genji from Princesses to Pop unveils the newly restored six-fold screen by Kano Seisen'in Osanobu (1796-1846). Painted in delicate detail with striking gold-leaf and brilliant pigments, Bryn Mawr's Osanobu screen provides a captivating introduction to this literary classic of Japan. Also on view is a range of objects from the College's collection, including items of the contemporary era meant to demonstrate the cultural legacy of “Genji.”
A Case of Hysteria
A Case of Hysteria? was on view from November 2019–March 2020 at USC's Doheny Memorial Library. The exhibit, curated primarily by Anne-Marie Maxwell of the USC Libraries, featured books, newspapers, photographs, personal letters, and 3-D archival objects documenting the practices, consequences, and harm of the misapplication of science and pseudoscience in women’s mental healthcare. The items on display came from the USC Libraries collections as well as a group of partner institutions, including the Patton State Mental Hospital in San Bernardino and the now-closed Rockhaven Sanitarium in Glendale. As part of the USC Libraries Discover at a Distance initiative, we present here a virtual Case of Hysteria.
Unpinning History: Japanese Posters in the Age of Commercialism, Imperialism, and Modernism
Unpinning History: Japanese Posters in the Age of Commercialism, Imperialism, and Modernism highlights USC Libraries' unique collection of Japanese posters that were produced in the 1910s and 1920s. Ephemeral by nature, posters were usually discarded after completing their missions to advertise, announce, or even agitate through an assortment of forms, colors, and letters. Moreover, posters in Japan were often destroyed during the Asia–Pacific War, sometimes purposefully so in the case of war propaganda posters, which makes the collection even more exceptional. Curated by the “Later Japanese Art” class of Spring 2020, the exhibition focuses on approximately half of the collection to illuminate themes emblematic of Japan in the tumultuous Taishō (1912–1926) and early Shōwa (1926–1989) periods.