“Navigating Communication: Breaking Invisible Barriers,” currently on exhibit in the Dennis G. Pappas Historical Collections Gallery in Lister Hill Library, can now be explored virtually thanks to a partnership between the Historical Collections and Digital Services departments in UAB Libraries.
Viewers can walk virtually through the exhibit step-by-step, which explores vision and hearing loss and the Deaf, Blind and DeafBlind communities. To begin exploring the virtual exhibit, users click the lock symbol on the exhibit doors, then click and drag their mouse to rotate their view of the exhibit. Users can also click through interactive versions of each display case and kiosk, using the scroll function on their mouse to zoom in and out, and assemble a model of a 3D-printed eye piece-by-piece.
“Providing an opportunity for our online students, alumni, and other folks who may not be able to get to Lister Hill Library easily to visit the gallery and the ‘Navigating Communication’ exhibit was really important to us, because it’s our mission to share our wealth of historical record and scholarship,” said Jason Byrd, assistant dean for Historical Collections. “We’re glad to have had the expertise of the Digital Services team here in UAB Libraries to help make that happen.”
The Pappas Gallery is the exhibition home to the Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences, the Reynolds-Finley Historical Library, and the UAB Archives, and “Navigating Communication” features items from each of their collections — from early audiology equipment, to an 1845 book on treating diseases of the ear, to a signed 1960 photo of Helen Keller.
“We enjoy finding unique ways to provide digital access to materials from across UAB and the Birmingham community, and this virtual exhibit is a great example of that,” said Aaron Pahl, digital curation librarian for Digital Services. Another example? In fall 2024, the Digital Services team migrated UAB Libraries’ 30-plus collections of digitized materials — including photographs, illustrations, books, video and audio recordings, many belonging to Historical Collections — into Alma Digital for a more user-friendly digital exploration experience.
“Navigating Communication” will close in August 2025 as the Historical Collections team prepares the gallery for its next exhibit, but the virtual walkthrough will remain online and available for users to explore.