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Sender: American Memory Fellows <AMFELLOWS@RS8.LOC.GOV>
Poster: WILLIAM FERNEKES <Wferneke@HCRHS.K12.NJ.US>
Subject: Seeking Grant Funding for Digital Archive Project
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Hello, my friends. As an American Memory Fellow from summer 1997, I'm =
seeking some advice about a digital archive project we've established in =
NJ. Here's some background information.
The Electronic NJ Project is a digital archive established at Rutgers =
University as a collaborative effort between the Rutgers University =
Special Collections and University Archives, Hunterdon Central Reg. HS, =
Spotswood HS, East Brunswick Public Schools, and Bridgewater-Raritan HS. =
This digital archive was established to provide access to unique primary =
and secondary sources on NJ history (required for study in NJ public =
schools) for K-12 educators (most materials are geared for grades 7-12 on =
the site). There are currently 6 topics on the site in varied stages of =
completion: Social Protest in the 1960s, NJ Homesteads (The New Deal =
Utopian Community of Roosevelt NJ), NJ and the Civil War, Paul Robeson and =
Rutgers 1915-1976, NJ and the American Revolution and World War II and the =
Homefront in NJ. Each topical section of the website has learning =
activities linked directly to the source materials, and there is an email =
discussion archive where students can place responses and dialogue with =
faculty and students at their school(s) and from others.
The URL is http://scc01.rutgers.edu/njh
My purpose in posting this message is to seek your advice in two areas: =
(1) seeking more permanent funding to expand and refine the existing site =
and (2) identifying ways to enhance our partnership. We are currently =
using a grant from the NJ Historical Commission which will expire this =
May, and we need to raise additional funds to hire permanent staff to =
manage and support the project, notably in the technical area. The site =
was designed and built by classroom teachers, with the support and advice =
of technical support personnel at Rutgers in the Library, but those =
personnel are constantly shifting to new positions, and some have been =
graduate students who are moving on. For the second issue, we are very =
much interested in locating partners in the corporate area and are =
interested in hearing about comparable experiences from other Fellows.
You should also know that our own Judy Graves, webdesigner extroardinaire, =
gave a very thorough critique of the site in its first stages in the =
summer of 1997, which helped us improve it noticeably. The project has =
garnered statewide recognition as an exemplary project in NJ history, and =
we've presented on the project twice at NCSS and in other venues here in =
NJ.
So, that's a long message but hopefully you'll be able to send me a =
response, either on the listserve or off the listserve about my two =
questions. I hope you find the site interesting (you can't use the email =
discussion archive because it's password protected, however). We would =
welcome your critiques of the site as well.
Thanks for your time and consideration and I look forward to your =
responses.
Sincerely,
Bill Fernekes
1997 American Memory Fellow
wferneke@star.hcrhs.hunterdon.k12.nj.us
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