Western Reserve Historical Society

Project Director:  Edward Pershey

To Support:  The development and evaluation of a prototype of a virtual museum docent employing Radio Frequency Identification tags and artificial intelligence for use in interactive history museum exhibitions.

Award Dates: 10/1/2009  - 03/31/2011

Outright Funds: $49,380  Matching Funds: $0

Abstract: This project prototypes a virtual history museum docent to interpret historical artifacts to a general audience. Engaging visitors in exploring original artifacts is the key to successfully connecting them to human history. Traditionally artifacts have been presented in two ways. Either artifacts are displayed with graphic or media labels, providing a one-way avenue of information to the visitor, or a live docent interacts one-on-one with the visitor to explain and demonstrate the artifact. Using 21st-century computer technology, including RFID tags and AI software, this project will create an Artificially Intelligent Artifact Interpreter that will respond to visitors' handling of artifacts, prompting the visitor with questions and offering the visitor information about the physicality of the artifact itself and its broader historical interpretation. This prototype is intended to be used in an introductory area at the museum to engage visitors or as the introduction to a larger exhibit.

Project Website: [none]

Project Whitepaper Available for Download?  [no]

Jointly Funded by the NEH and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Kent State University Main Campus

Project Director:  Michael Kreyche

To Support:  Development of a collaborative framework for building a bilingual (Spanish-English) list of subject headings for access to libraries materials.  The project would exploit Web technologies for data gathering and enable broad-based collaboration so that use of the database contributes added value.

Award Dates:  09/01/2007 - 08/31/2008

Outright Funds: $29,994.  Matching Funds: $0

Abstract: This proposal describes a prototype for a new kind of digital subject heading list to overcome some limitations of the traditional reference tools, printed thesauri, and catalog-based authority files. It will encompass multiple sources and focus on collaborative development and management of data using emerging web technologies. Specifically designed to be bilingual (English/Spanish), it may also have applications for monolingual vocabulary lists.

Project Website: [none]

Project Whitepaper Available for Download?  [no]

Jointly Funded by the NEH and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Marist College

Project Director:  Ron Coleman

To Support:  Development of a hand-held GPS personal data assistant for tours of historic sites.

Award Dates:  01/01/2010 - 06/30/2011

Outright Funds: $49,981.  Matching Funds: $0

Abstract: The Digital Pathfinder for Historic Sites Project will develop a new model for tours at historic sites. It uses a hand-held GPS personal data assistant programmed with open source software to provide interactive digital maps, navigation, rich media, and other information about the site and its environment. The platform is cost-effective and flexible, allowing each visitor to select the path, duration, and depth of their tour. The start-up funds will focus on the Staatsburgh Estate, the largest of two Beaux Arts properties among the Great Estates of the Hudson River Valley. The mansion and grounds exemplify the elegant estates built by America's financial and industrial leaders during the Gilded Age, known as the American Renaissance, which lasted from 1876 to 1917. This period was marked by America's rapid economic growth and emergence as a world power. The template being developed will readily adapt to other great estates or any historic site or museum that interprets its grounds.

Project Website: [none]

Project Whitepaper Available for Download?  [no]

Jointly Funded by the NEH and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

City of Philadelphia, Department of Records

Project Director:  Joan Decker

To Support:  Development of an enhanced Web site (www.PhillyHistory.org) featuring historically significant collections at the City of Philadelphia's Department of Records and the Free Library of Philadelphia and the creation of tools to increase the level of access to and usefulness of these collections for researchers, students, and members of the general public.

Award Dates:   10/2008 - 9/2010

Outright Funds: $108,882  Matching Funds: $0

Abstract: The City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, in collaboration with the Free Library of Philadelphia has designed this collaborative project in an effort to link critical historical data collections from across the region, providing access to a broader scope of information to researchers, historians, genealogists, students, and other members of the public. This project is designed to begin the process of collaboration between these two organizations with two of the library's most critical and historically significant digital collections--the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 Collection and the Historical Images of Philadelphia Collection.  Through this project the partners will both integrate metadata and implement new user tools that will enhance end-user access.

Project Website:  http://www.PhillyHistory.org

Project Whitepaper Available for Download?  [no]

Jointly Funded by the NEH and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Yale University

Project Director:  Ann Okerson

To Support:  A pilot project to create an archive of and gateway to important manuscripts, related manuscript catalogs, and historical dictionaries in Arabic and Persian (19,800 pages) held separately in the collections at Yale University and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Award Dates:  09/01/2009 - 08/31/2010

Outright Funds: $103,168.  Matching Funds: $0

Abstract: Yale and SOAS propose to build a virtual manuscript reading room that will 1) create an integrated set of full-text digital resources supporting manuscript research from manuscript catalogs and dictionaries by converting materials in Arabic, Persian, and Western scripts (Latin, German, Spanish, and French) and depositing these into searchable repositories; 2) augment existing digital collections of Arabic and Persian manuscripts by digitizing selected historical manuscripts, which highlight the contribution made to world knowledge by Middle Eastern philosophers, physicians, and scientists; and 3) develop an infrastructure, scalable for other collections rich in manuscripts and reference materials, to integrate manuscripts with related reference resources by building tools to analyze digitized materials and construct internal cross-references for connecting the materials in the archive.  Cross-collection searching will enable patrons to explore the united collections simultaneously.

Project Website: [none]

Project Whitepaper Available for Download?  [no]

Jointly Funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee of the UK.