I live in Petaluma, Ca, home of the world’s ugliest dog contest, the whiskerino beard and moustache contest, a wrist wrestling statue and lots of other assorted wacky history. I’m currently interning in the Petaluma History Room (PHR), a small underutilized department upstairs in the Petaluma Library, which is a part of the larger Sonoma County Library System. While exploring module 4, and later module 6, I was impressed by GIS map projects, such as those in the NYPL Space and Time Collections. I had been trying to think of a way to increase the use of the PHR by patrons of the library below and maybe even into the long tail of the community. After exploring the digital archives of the Sonoma County Library, I discovered that there were a number of archived photographs of Petaluma that had already been geotagged, and my imagination took off. Using https://www.ourtownstories.co.uk/, an Edinburgh Libraries GIS map project, as my inspiration, I started to create a few different “proof of concept” maps to try to hone in on my idea. By placing historic photos into a current city map, I was able to provide relevance and context that I believe increases user engagement. I still had the problem of how to reach users that were not already aware of the PHR’s webpage. After being inspired by the Westmount Public Library’s postcard project and DOK’s use of touchscreens , I decided that installing the map on touchscreens on the main floor of the library would break down walls to participation by “bringing the project to the user”. To quote DPLA’s founder Dan Cohen, when talking about using touchscreens to present historical information, “making a connection between the digital and physical realm.” This connection is vital to accessibility, fun, and ease of use for a wide range of patrons. This would increase the likelihood that people unfamiliar with the PHR would engage with our project.
People bump into information. Surprise and delight ensue”.
Anythink Libraries
This sense of surprise and delight is the ultimate guiding light of this map project, by providing patrons with something new and unexpected I hope to spark imagination and further engagement.
Click on the image below for a googleslides presentation about my Participatory Plan Project
References
NYPL Space & Time Collections. (n. d.)
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2017/07/07/surveyor-photos-map
2 Comments
Chris Hosler · March 20, 2021 at 5:55 am
Hi Sarah!
Very cool project and it looks great so far! I really like the sliding picture where you can see the “then” and “now” right before your eyes. What has the feedback been from your co workers ? Have an patrons gotten a chance to see it yet? I didn’t realize you can make a GIS map just using google maps. I thought maybe you’d need some kind of special software. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah Rainey · March 20, 2021 at 9:12 pm
Thanks Chris! No one has seen anything yet but I’m hoping to use this project as a pitch to actually make something similar over the summer, fingers crossed! Yes you can also make maps with arcgis and other paid software but this is the cheaper way…
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