National Council on Public History Conference- Part 5

Today is the final installment of the NCPH Conference Digital Projects Showcase.

The eighth project was on the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania battlefields and creating an interactive history about them. The interactivity comes in with the creation of a digital map giving people a choice on how to tour the sites from a remote location (who will hopefully want to visit the sites in person) or from the physical sites themselves. Still in an unfinished state (with some improperly coded links) the maps were created using Google and provide information about hotspots including pictures. What I see is encouraging so far and when the project is complete it will include 3D models, flyovers and panoramic photos in a multi-layered map meant to interpret and provoke these sites. In mapping these elements digitally, it preserves the integrity and history of the physical site and provides users with an active role in their interaction with the maps. The link to the homepage for these sites can be found here (http://www.nps.gov/frsp/) off of the National Park Service website. Just click on Virtual Tours under Quicklinks when you get there to see what has been completed thus far. The links to the google maps themselves do not work (possibly due to the maps being unfinished) but the one for Fredericksburg can be found here.*

The next project was called Mapping the American Civil War: Cultural Heritage on the Web and when completed will consist of all sites related to a Civil War event. Okay, so not all, there are some criteria for inclusion. First, it must fit the general theme and time period. Second, the site must be extant and interpreted. It also must be publicly accessible and the owners of these sites must agree to have their property included in the listing. The GIS coordinates also need to be verified. The presentation discussed the numerous hurdles faced during this project the biggest I feel is the scope of the project. Every site involved in the Civil War spanning multiple states. Clearly this is a project that could only be done online because of this scope...so much data! In addition to Civil War sites, the project will also list sites pertaining to the Civil War's legacy, Civil Rights. Another issue the project team talked about running into was that of outdated websites listing information on these sites. Related to that is the accuracy of these sites and multiple sites copying off of one another. Another website issue is trying to rid descriptions of sites from bias when the information garnered about these sites is clearly biased. Biases can come simply from owners wanting to "pump up" their properties to draw more visitors. The goals of the project (in addition to the overall mapping) are to reduce the overwhelming amount of data, provide interested parties with places to go when travelling and to put these interested parties in touch with locals who know more about the sites than what is provided on the central mapping site. Currently the website is not live, the expected launch date is January 2010 and will not be a static site as the creators expect to keep it constantly updated. I wish them the best of luck, it will be an amazing website I'm sure.

The final project also involved mapping, this time of Fox Point a now bisected (due to the highway) neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island. One of the things I liked about this project is that it was created by graduate students from Brown, I would have liked to seen more projects from students, but perhaps in a different session. I found the concept interesting and it tied in nicely to my thesis in terms of project output. The problem addressed here was that of what to do with oral histories to make them more accessible for the public. The solution? Memory mapping. Using Google Maps the Brown students transcribed oral histories and then linked them online. When the histories mentioned locations a virtual pin is placed on the map and the part of the oral history that mentions it is posted along with it. In an effort to include photos, a flickr site was created which allows people to comment on photos, add memories (and their own photos) and reconnect with other residents. Scribd is another site used for the project which allows site visitors to scroll through the oral history transcripts. Sadly this website seems like it was a just a semester project, and indeed it was called a prototype that won't be developed further (but will it be added to using the same format for the rest of the oral histories?) I wish it would be developed more as I did enjoy it and the local connection that it had.

I truly have enjoyed writing about them and giving my opinion on them. It was so worth the price of the conference and many of the projects have given me ideas of things I can do now or in the future with my own projects. Out of all of the projects presented, the Fox Point project was the first one that I explored online and I have since employed some of the methods used there in my thesis related website. I have begun mapping John Ronayne's life via Google Maps, more on that sometime later, maybe.

Sadly I was not able to attend the follow up on Saturday morning because RIPTA buses don't run the necessary route that early. Did anyone reading this get to go? It was Session 28 at 8:00am.

* Due to the possibility that the broken link is intentional due to the unfinished nature of the project, feel free to ask me to remove the link if you are associated with the project. Likewise, feel free to contact me if the broken link is not intentional and you would like to know how to make it work so that others may view the maps.

National Council on Public History Conference- Part 4

Part 4 starts off with the project Beyond Steel created by Lehigh University. It is a live project and can be found here at http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/beyondsteel/. As I am writing this, I am having quite a bit of fun exploring the different features of this site and I highly recommend that you go do the same. A grant funded project started in 2004, Beyond Steel is meant to capture the middle of the 19th century through the 20th century. In addition to Sanborn Maps of the area, extensive work has been done to find out the history of the places on the maps- heads of households, their wives and family make up, their occupations, and if there are boarders living in houses. This information is arranged alphabetically by surname and by location, so if you want to know for example who lived at 445 Vine, you can do a search and find that Clinton H Bitting lived at the address in 1900 according to the Sholes directory. Just for your information, he was a tinsmith and his wife's name was Minnie. In addition to that, you can even get an image of the source and see exactly where the information came from (in this case page 173 of the directory). During the presentation, we were told that there were 600 items on the site, which might not seem like a lot, but considering one item (the directory) has multiple pages (522), there is plenty of information to go around. There are also a multitude of essays and numerous photos. There is a comment feature on the photos, which will be extremely useful in identifying the people in them. The goal was to portray the industry and society of the area, and I feel that this project did exactly that. Again, go visit the website and explore it on your own; it really is quite something.

The presentation on the Knowledge Cube is the only one that really confused me, maybe it was because the movie about what it is didn't work or because it is still in the concept stage. I think it is most certainly a mix of both, this was one of those times when it is important to make sure that everything works on a powerpoint presentation when it isn't on your own computer, but I have to give the presenter a lot of credit for making due without it. Looking at just the presentation, she also spoke the loudest, having sat in the back for the previous projects. Anyhow from what I gathered, the Knowledge Cube is in development at Clarkson University and the project is being handled by numerous departments there. It is a project of in house collaboration, which a univerity setting is perfect for. On the campus of Clarkson is a building called Old Main; it isn't in use anymore. Knowledge Cube is bringing it back to life in a virtual sense as the setting of the project is located in it. However, the walls of the virtual Old Main are meant to melt away to present new objects, to create a dialogue about them, and history, so as not to make it seem like an alternate reality. The first run of Knowledge Cube will be static, but as time goes on, interactivity will be added. One of the more interesting aspects of the project so far (I'm sure there will be many more as the project is further developed) is that Knowledge Cube has been created completely using "off the shelf technology" such as Qlab (usually used in theatrical production). There has been no special Clarkson only programming, which is a great thing, so when Knowledge Cube is finished, it will show a multitude of universities, organizations, and locations just what can be acheived using available technologies.

I could write about the next project at this point, which is on Fredricksburg, but I feel that due to its subject matter, it belongs in Part 5 with the Civil War Mapping project. If I could have changed one thing about the organization of the session it would have been the organization of the projects, because some are similar to others. I would have had the Beyond Steel project come after the GIS in Annapolis, and the Maine Memory Network and the Fox Point project (will be in part 5) come after the Massachusetts Studies Network but before PhilaPlace. I can see the point of organizing it this way (if there was a method to its organization that is) because it prevents one from confusing similar projects together, but I just like it better when similar things are grouped more or less together.

National Council on Public History Conference- Part 3

For those of you who have read some of my other posts, you know that I have a background in archaeology, so I was excited to see the presentation on GIS in Annapolis, Maryland. GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems and allows one to manage, analyze and display any sort of geographically referenced material.* Using the GIS software, current maps can be matched up with historic maps to compare how an area has changed overtime, or in the case of this project to show where archaeology was carried out in Annapolis today and what it once was in the past. The project began in 2005 partially because it was a way to provide locals with the history that they wanted. Using the GIS interface the projects could target multiple audiences with the same maps tied to other historical documents such as census records and city directories as well as house histories and photographs. Although I have not used GIS, I have done my share of comparing multiple historical maps with today's maps for my thesis and for another class I took called Researching Historic Properties. It is a sometimes long and complicated process and I was amazed by the breadth of the project, the whole area analyzed and cross referenced... highly impressive. I was fully contented to watch what basically became a show and tell of "look what GIS can do" after a brief intro into what the project was about because it is something I am interested in, however I was slightly annoyed to be unable to locate the project online to further explore all that it has to offer.

PhilaPlace was the fourth project showcased. It is meant to be a digital experiment combined with community participation using the internet. PhilaPlace has an interesting origin as it was originally a series of trolley tours to bring residents together and view how their surroundings have changed. The concept was to provide an audience a glimpse at Philadelphia using a lens of place. The digital leap was born as a way to expand upon the trolley rides and allow those no longer in the area to experience the change in the neighborhoods. It will use a collections management system for peoples photos and stories, in addition certain things in these neighborhoods will be mapped so that viewers can find these places physically in whatever way they currently exist. The choice was made to use Google Maps instead of something along the lines of GIS because of its familiarity with a wide audience and its ease of use, a great choice for a project like this that many can utilize. One of the challenges of such a project is that neighborhood names have changed and not everyone agrees on where the boundaries for particular neighborhoods begin and end. This, however, comes with any co-constructed narrative that provides a place for participants to share their stories about places. Unfortunately it will not go live until 9/10/09 when it will be officially launched. Much progress has been made on the project, however, and I think it will be highly successful because it can be used by many different groups of people. Residents past and present, those interested in Philadelphia who have not lived there, tourists to the area, and those generally interested in these sorts of projects I feel will all be able to use PhilaPlace. I look forward to it's launch and will update on this as the date gets closer. For now information about the upcoming launch can be found here at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania website.

The Maine Memory Network, which can be found here at http://www.mainememory.net/ is Maine's digital museum. Begun in 1998 and online starting in 2001, Maine Memory is a collaborative effort between the groups that form the Cultural Affairs Council. It was started in order to fill a need, this need was the result of Maine's geography and climate. There are 250 historical societies in Maine most of which are staffed by volunteers during the summer when the weather is more stable. This clearly created a large gap between the times when societies were open for visitors to research anything. The Maine Memory Network is the solution to this limited access. With 200 contributing partners, over 15,000 items are now digitally stored and free to access. One of the more interesting elements is the ability to create one's own album and online exhibit using items in the collection. In albums you create the captions for your private viewing (unless you let others view it) and with online exhibits the credits for the photos and other elements are automatically placed, creating a smooth interaction between user and program. I always enjoy when something unexpected happens out of a project with an anticipated result. This project had it's expected result but an interesting thing also occurred. In Maine, students are given laptops when they hit the 7th grade and the Maine Memory Network became a useful teaching tool. That's not all, schools and historical societies partnered up and now students are helping the historical societies upload things into the digital collections, making even more things accessible to the public and Maine researchers.

Part 4 will start off with the Beyond Steel project from Lehigh University. Look for that tomorrow or Monday.

*Thank you to the Guide to Geographic Information Systems for this definition. For more in depth information please visit the website here at http://www.gis.com/index.html.