A recent collaboration between the British Library and Zooniverse created a process for adding new 'subjects' - media files such as images - to Zooniverse projects.
This documentation provides an overview of the process for finding a IIIF manifest that describes an item in a cultural heritage collection, finding the IIIF import screen on Zooniverse, and completing the import process.
It assumes that you have a Zooniverse account, an active Zooniverse project and are familiar with the Project Builder interface.
IIIF viewers such as Mirador and the Universal Viewer tend to provide an option for viewing a manifest URL.
A note for using British Library manifest links in the Universal Viewer: The 'IIIF' logo on the 'share' dialogue has the manifest link.
I copied the manifest address I wanted, in this case from: ‘A collection of playbills from Lyceum Theatre 1809-1821.
Copying that manifest link gives you a long version e.g. https://api.bl.uk/metadata/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589296.0x000002/manifest.json?manifest=https://api.bl.uk/metadata/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589296.0x000002/manifest.json
But I only need the second half of the URL so I chopped off the part up to the ‘=’ sign to get:
https://api.bl.uk/metadata/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589296.0x000002/manifest.json
It's a good idea to test the manifest address first to be sure that it works and links to the correct collection item.
Log into Zooniverse (this assumes you have appropriate permissions on the project)
Go to the special link to import IIIF manifests as Zooniverse subject sets: https://www.zooniverse.org/lab/xxx/subject-sets/iiif - your project will have a unique number that you will need to copy into the 'xxx' part of this link.
Paste your IIIF manifest link into the box, as below:
The Zooniverse backend reads the manifest to pull in images and metadata.
You can review the fields at this point. You can choose to hide some so they’re not available to the public during tasks. (See screenshot below). Hiding fields during tasks but making them available afterwards can be used to e.g. prevent bias in how people work with items from e.g. wildlife camera traps or scientific instruments. This option is outlined in blue on the screenshot below.
The page then says it’s uploading,
When the number of items it’s uploading matches the number to be uploaded e.g. 648 of 648 items, you can click the link that appears to go to the subject set. This link will be specific to your project and subject sets. The link location is outlined in red on the screenshot below.
I can look over the subject set then go into my Workflow and add it there. I can view individual items, rename the set, and delete them individually if necessary.
Go to the workflow page in the Lab and scroll down to tick or untick subject sets to include. You can do this while a workflow is active.