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About DMMapp

Our Mission

DMMapp (Digitized Medieval Manuscripts Application) helps people discover digitized medieval manuscript collections from libraries around the world. It brings links to those collections together in one searchable directory, making it easier to find resources for study, teaching, or personal interest.

History

This project was created in response to a practical challenge: digitized manuscript collections are spread across many institutional repositories. By bringing information about those collections together in one place, DMMapp helps researchers save time and discover new resources.

New to the subject? Our Codicology section is a growing introduction to the study of manuscripts and the scripts in which they are written.

How the Site Is Built

Dashboard

  • HTML5: Provides meaningful page structure.
  • CSS3: Provides a custom, responsive grid and flexbox layout.
  • Vanilla JavaScript: Adds interactivity without a framework.
  • Bootstrap Icons: Supplies icons for the dashboard interface.

Documentation

  • MkDocs: Builds the static site.
  • Material for MkDocs: Provides the responsive documentation theme.

Data Management

  • JSON: Stores the directory data in a simple, portable file.
  • JSON Schema: Checks the data for consistency and quality.

Hosting and Deployment

  • GitHub Pages: Hosts the static site.
  • GitHub Actions: Automates site builds and deployment.

Design Principles

  1. Simplicity: Keep the architecture simple and maintainable.
  2. Performance: Deliver fast loading times with minimal dependencies.
  3. Accessibility: Make the platform usable by everyone.
  4. Consistency: Maintain a unified visual design across the dashboard and documentation.
  5. Open Source: Support transparent development and community contributions.

Visual Design

The platform uses Material Design with an indigo color palette to provide:

  • A professional appearance.
  • Clear, readable content.
  • A consistent experience across the dashboard and documentation.
  • Accessible design choices.

How We Write

DMMapp writes for students, manuscript enthusiasts, and the general public. We use a welcoming, explanatory style that introduces specialized terms in plain language and favors clear headings, short paragraphs, and direct links to digitized resources.

Our public-facing copy follows The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and uses standard American English. We use serial commas, headline-style capitalization for headings, and spell out whole numbers below one hundred in running text. We preserve verified institution names, manuscript shelfmarks, links, captions, and attribution statements.

Contact

For questions, suggestions, or contributions, please visit our GitHub repository.