Lewis+Carroll+Scrapbook

Lewis Carroll Scrapbook

Jessica Schad

**How is the archive portal designed? text-based? image-based?

This archive begins with one intriguing picture of Charles Dodgson with some exciting pictures from the text of Alice in Wonderland and other works of Lewis Carroll. The remainder of the page is predominately text based with links to essays, portraits, and timelines.

What kind of use and users does it seem to invite? those who already know what they're looking for? those who are just exploring?

This archive invites only those who are interested in the life and portraits of Charles Dodgson and the work of Lewis Carroll. One may just explore these areas and gain great insight but must know what they are looking for if they are investigating a particular area or work of Dodgson's life.

How easy is it to search the archive? how flexible are the search tools?

The search engine for this archive is very user friendly. Each user can enter in any number of words that pertain to Carroll and get various hits for each topic. The user may search specific works, portraits, or just keywords.

How structured or open is the archive interface? does it guide the user through the collection? does it offer few guided paths for the user?

The structure of this blog is very organized but perhaps a little boring. I feel a writer of such a grand imagination should have an archive that reflects that at least to a degree.

How are the primary (archival) materials presented? with lots of context? without any context? are the primary materials manipulable? i.e. zoom in and out? with and without frames?**

The Lewis Carroll archive was able to take the 1866 illustrations by Robbert Tenniel and include them on the archive. There is also a portrait gallery that includes many old photos taken by Dodgson. If you click on the photo, the user is taken to a slightly larger and secluded version of the photo but the user cannot zoom in or out.