Using Riches M.I.

      Riches Mosaic Interface is a wonderful tool. It can be used to find out what sort of archival collections and items exist in the area that you search.

      The first page you see has a map on it. It is there for people to search for items associated with an exact location. For example, I typed “Sanford” in the search text bar, and the result was a big red circle on the map over central Florida. The circle had the number “120” in it, meaning that my search resulted in 120 hits. As I zoomed in, the dots became more dispersed, and I was able to click on them. In addition to Riches showing the hits on the map, there is a side bar on the right side giving me the results from my search. You can also refine your search by limiting the years in which Riches will include. You can do this by adjusting the bar in the upper left that ranges from 1720-2013.

     If you have any questions or issues with using Riches, there is a FAQ/Tutorial link at the top of the screen. Next to this link is the link to Add Your Story, if you would like to submit archival documents or photos to Riches M.I. I will elaborate on the submission process more in a future blog.

     Listed next is The Archive. This will open a new page, where you can search some more for the subjects that you are looking for, or to browse the featured and other items in Riches.  To browse, you can do so by items or by exhibits. You can also select Collection Tree, to search for collections by category. For example, you can click on “Student Museum and UCF Public History Center Collection,” and browse the collections that we hold here at the PHC.

     Once you find the item or collection that you are looking for, or if you’re just interested in a certain item, select it. Each item will be accompanied by background information, size, creator, copyright holder, location, date, subjects, and so on. This information should give you an idea of whether or not it will help in your research, and if it does, you can see the item in person at the listed location. If your item is located at the PHC, you can come visit us!

     To experience Riches M.I. for yourself, go to https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/map/. Until next time, Samantha