We are delighted to announce that the first public installation of eComma, the Collaborative Rubáiyát, has launched.
This installation is itself a collaboration with the Harry Ransom Center and is a part of the Ransom Center’s new exhibition, The Persian Sensation: The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám in the West, co-curated by Molly Schwartzburg and Michelle Kaiserlian. The Collaborative Rubáiyát offers online visitors and gallery visitors the opportunity to engage in collaborative annotation of the entire fifth edition of the Rubáiyát, and to read all five editions of Edward FitzGerald’s translation in digital form. It is accessible via a dedicated computer station in the Ransom Center gallery and will remain online as a digital exhibition feature after the gallery exhibition has ended.
This installation demonstrates how institutions can employ eComma as a digital tool to inspire collaboration. The user interface for this installation matches the design template of the Ransom Center website, and it will be easy for the Ransom Center to maintain.
We have very much enjoyed working with the Ransom Center staff to put together the Collaborative Rubáiyát, and the process has been helpful for us, as well. This installation of eComma represents a big step toward a functional, downloadable 1.0 version, which we intend to roll out within the next month or two. Check back soon for more updates, and please feel free to join the conversation about the Rubáiyát!