Our Marathon: The Boston Bombing Digital Archive Roundtable

March 22, 2014

facebook.com/OurMarathon www.northeastern.edu/marathon@OurMarathon

TELL A WIDE RANGE OF STORIES

BUILD A LASTING COMMUNITY MEMORIAL

PRESERVE THE HISTORICAL RECORD

BUILDING OUR MARATHON

3,700+ items

282 messages of support

289 stories from the Globe Lab

307 “memes”

50 oral histories

90 hours of raw news footage

1800 letters

OUR PARTNERS

COLLABORATION

• Start early, meet often

• Understand interests, skills, and resources

• Determine an end goal and timeline

CHALLENGES

May 24, 2013

October 21, 2013

BUILDING NEW TOOLS

ARCHIVE OR MEMORIAL?

PROXIMITY

CROWDSOURCING

“NO STORY IS TOO SMALL”

SHARE YOUR STORY EVENTS

Date Location

March 26 Cambridge Public Library

March 28 & 29 Brookline Public Library

April 9 Lowell Public Library

April 16-19 Boston Public Library

April 17 Newton Free Library

April 26 Stoneham Public Library

April 30 MIT

SHARE YOUR STORY

SHORT ORAL HISTORIES

PHOTO CONTEST

PHOTO CONTEST

PHOTO CONTEST

“BORN DIGITAL” CONTENT

INTERNET MEMES (GIFS, IMAGE MACROS)

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY AND CONTINUING GOALS

PART II

INTERNING AT OUR MARATHON

STREAMLINING NAVIGATION

DIGITIZING BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CARDS AND LETTERS

SIX MONTH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBIT

PART III

INTRODUCTION: HOW (& WHY) WE GOT INVOLVED

• Get involved with archival projects

• Get involved with our community

• Apply classroom concepts to a “real world” project

CONTRIBUTIONS

•Long-Term Preservation Plan

• Internship/volunteer recommendations

DIGITAL PRESERVATION PLAN

•Goal: Start a conversation

•Analyzed practices already in place

•Described concerns and provided recommendations

WORKFLOWS: GETTING STARTED

•Assessment phase (in conjunction with Our Marathon project leaders)

•Mapping needs, mapping opportunities

•Create the workflow

TAKEAWAYS

•Volunteers develop skills in meaningful ways

•Collaboration is Digital Humanities’ middle name

•Need cross-discipline about balancing workflow needs with reliance on volunteers