VR Exhibit Usability: Virginia Tech Digital Library Virtual Exhibit

The presentation highlights an innovative project that emerged during the pandemic to establish a combined physical and digital exhibit leveraging the digital collections of our partners. The project, spearheaded by Virginia Tech University Libraries, sought to foster partner collaboration and enhance the visibility of the art, science, and cultural heritage materials of Southwest Virginia.

The exhibit displays six collections, contributed by both campus and regional partners, with a diverse range of over a hundred interactive digital objects, including photographs, journals, artwork, 3D geology minerals, and an array of 3D insect specimens.

Beyond detailing the exhibit's background, central themes, software and tools employed, and design strategies, the presentation delves deeper into the design process. It explores the usability findings, the insights gained from the challenges faced, the solutions discovered, and the problems that remain unsolved, and it outlines future steps to enhance user experience. The presentation will feature a demo video that provides a sneak peek into the exhibit.

The presentation emphasizes the user-centric design principles involved in constructing a virtual exhibit based on pre-existing digital collections and addresses the usability issues that arise during creation of a VR exhibit.