Displaying Item Type Metadata

Customization
1

I am working on a project that includes a number of oral history items. We would like to use the Curatescape theme on our site, but we’d also like to have the item records display item type metadata fields for these items. Is there a way to have Curatescape show these by default?

2

Hi Eugene, the Curatescape theme really only supports the Curatescape Story item type. Displaying other item types will probably require some customization, or some rethinking of metadata practices.

Option 1: Modifying the theme

The /items/show.php template contains a handy switch statement you can use to add new item templates. Here’s an example…

<?php 
// Determine which template to use based on the item type
$type = $item->getItemType();
$type = $type['name'];
switch($type){
	case 'Curatescape Story':
	include('show-template-story.php');
	break;

	case 'Oral History':
	include('show-template-oral-history.php'); // you'll need to create this!
	break;
	
	default:
	include('show-template-default.php');
	break;
	
}

You’d probably also need to update the index.php file to add oral histories to the homepage, and modify the items/browse.php in order to differentiate items that are oral histories.

Option 2: Remapping Metadata

As an alternative to all of that, you could probably just remap your oral history metadata to fit within the existing “story” framework. It shouldn’t be that different really. For example, you could add the speaker/interviewee as dc:creator, add the abstract or transcript as curatescape:story, etc. Custom fields like curatescape:subtitle and curatescape:lede would still be useful, though others involving locations might be less so (although if your interviews have a strong place basis, it might make sense to place them on the map).

So you have some options. Let me know if you have specific questions about implementation.

3

Thank you or the thorough response, Erin! We did a little tinkering with the item template php file to get the fields we wanted to display. I’m going to test out one of the methods you listed as an alternative.