Julia,
Clicking on one of Ben Shneiderman's treemapping projects reminded me 
that I've always thought treemaps [1] would serve well as a browsing 
interface for library and archive collections because they work well 
with hierarchical data.  For example, larger blocks could represent some 
quantitative descriptive information (breadth, scope, size, 
usage/popularity), giving users an immediate overview of the 
collections.  Unfortunately, it's one of those "wouldn't it be cool" 
ideas that I haven't found time to play with yet.

Also, at Access2011 last week, Jer Thorpe demonstrated Open Paths [2], 
which you might be interested in based on the article you sent about 
travel accounts with the SIMILE widget.  While you wouldn't be able to 
track Lewis and Clark's adventures with this, anyone with an iPhone can 
use the location data that is stores to "re-live" their own journeys. 
It resonates more than you would think!  It's also an interesting 
paradigm of users owning their own data, contributing it to research, 
and getting something in return:

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treemapping
[2] https://openpaths.cc/

Regards,
Shaun Ellis

On 10/27/11 5:09 PM, JONATHAN LEBRETON wrote:
> Ben Shneiderman at the Univ. of Maryland Comp Sci  dept  has done a considerable amount of work in this area...
>
> I would encourage browsing some of his current and past projects, linked from his site:
> http://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/
> depending on what specifically you are interested in, a number of the products coming out of his lab are in production out in the wild...
>
>
> Jonathan LeBreton
> Sr. Associate University Librarian
> Temple University Libraries
> Paley M138,  1210 Polett Walk, Philadelphia PA 19122
> voice: 215-204-8231
> fax: 215-204-5201
> mobile: 215-284-5070
> email:  [log in to unmask]
> email:  [log in to unmask]
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
>> Tod Olson
>> Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 4:35 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Examples of visual searching or browsing
>>
>> There's the Hermitage Museum, which uses IBM's Query By Image Content:
>>
>> http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/fcgi-
>> bin/db2www/qbicSearch.mac/qbic?selLang=English
>>
>> QBIC seems a bit long in the tooth now, but it's still kind of interesting.
>>
>> -Tod
>>
>>
>> On Oct 27, 2011, at 3:27 PM, Julia Bauder wrote:
>>
>>> Dear fans of cool Web-ness,
>>>
>>> I'm looking for examples of projects that use visual(=largely non-text and
>>> non-numeric) interfaces to let patrons browse/search collections. Things
>>> like the GeoSearch on North Carolina Maps[1], or projects that use Simile's
>>> Timeline or Exhibit widgets[2] to provide access to collections (e.g.,
>>> what's described here:
>>> https://letterpress.uchicago.edu/index.php/jdhcs/article/download/59/70), or
>>> in-the-wild uses of Recollection[3]. I'm less interested in knowing about
>>> tools (although I'm never *uninterested* in finding out about cool tools)
>>> than about production or close-to-production sites that are making good use
>>> of these or similar tools to provide visual, non-linear access to
>>> collections. Who's doing slick stuff in this area that deserves a look?
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> Julia
>>>
>>> [1] http://dc.lib.unc.edu/ncmaps/search.php
>>> [2] http://www.simile-widgets.org/
>>> [3] http://recollection.zepheira.com/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *********************************************
>>>
>>> Julia Bauder
>>>
>>> Data Services Librarian
>>>
>>> Interim Director of the Data Analysis and Social Inquiry Lab (DASIL)
>>>
>>> Grinnell College Libraries
>>>
>>> 1111 Sixth Ave.
>>>
>>> Grinnell, IA 50112
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 641-269-4431

-- 
Shaun D. Ellis
Digital Library Interface Developer
Firestone Library, Princeton University
voice: 609.258.1698 | [log in to unmask]