Digital Archive

September 21, 2017

In October 2017, ASHP’s CUNY Digital History Archive (CDHA) received the Award for Archival Achievement from the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, Inc. Founded in 1979, A.R.T. is a not-for-profit organization representing a diverse group of more than 400 archivists, librarians, records managers and those who support archival efforts in the New York metropolitan area. It is one of the largest local organizations of its kind in the United States with members representing approximately 375 repositories.

A.R.T.’s award citation stated: “Designed both as a collections portal and a grassroots collecting endeavor,” the award citation read, “CDHA offers a compelling and ambitious model for institutional digital archiving projects, particularly those projects that involve multiple institutions and stakeholders. CDHA seeks to fill collecting gaps in existing CUNY history collections and has established a collections and digital infrastructure that will allow it to grow over time.” The award ceremony was held at the New York Junior League on October 19, 2017, during New York Archives Week.

[Photo: ASHP and CDHA staff at award ceremony: (l to r) Marco Battistella, Pennee Bender, Peter D’Antonio, Andrea Vásquez, Stephen Brier, Ellen Noonan, and Gerald Markowitz (CDHA contributor).]

In the introductory essay for the recently completed CUNY Digital History Archive (CDHA) collection “Save Hostos!,” professor emeritus Gerald Meyer states:

From the fall of 1973 until the spring of 1979, Hostos Community College became the site of one of the most prolonged and successful mass movements in New York City during the 1970s. Throughout that five-year period, students, staff, faculty, and members of the community mobilized three massive year-long campaigns.

Working from a larger collection in the Hostos Community College Archive, Meyer and College archivist William Casari collaborated with CDHA collections coordinator Chloe Smolarski on “Save Hostos!,”selecting documents that were representative of the struggles to save the college at the time of the city’s fiscal crisis. Meyer meticulously saved hundreds of documents from the “Save Hostos” movement, and Casari carefully retained and catalogued the fliers, photographs, articles, correspondence, student newspapers, PSC papers, and and other materials Meyers had gathered. Now, a collection containing 67 of these items can be easily accessed online along with an introductory essay and contextual information for each item. As Casari suggested in his fall 2016 article in Academic Affairs on the CDHA collections, “These primary source items from across CUNY libraries and archives can be used for homework, primary source research, or could form the basis of a small in-class workshop on Hostos history. Numerous curricular uses are possible.”

The CUNY Digital History Archive is an open, digital archive and portal that gives the CUNY community and the broader public online access to a range of materials related to the history of the City University of New York. This project also involves coordination and collaboration with college libraries and archives that house significant historical collections. The CDHA accepts historical materials and records contributed by individuals whose lives, in diverse ways, have shaped, and been shaped, by CUNY. Faculty, staff, and students have fought to sustain CUNY’s democratic mission and one of the goals of the CUNY Digital History Archive is to document and preserve those stories.

ASHP is pleased to announce a major overhaul of HERB: Social History for Every Classroom, our free web resource of primary sources, curated collections, and teaching activities on U.S. history. HERB is now entering its fifth year online, and has been used by thousands of educators around the country.

We’ve improved the visual layout of the site, optimized it for use on tablets and other mobile devices, and redesigned the search functionality with more accurate and filterable search results. And teaching activities are now sorted by pedagogical strategy and include a description of how best to implement each in the classroom.

In addition to changes to the site’s design and functionality, we’ve also added new content to HERB, including a collection on Mexican immigration in the early twentieth century and a collection on Cuban immigration and Puerto Rican migration to the United States.

We hope these changes will improve the overall user experience and make this rich resource accessible to even more history teachers in the future.

The CUNY Digital History Archive (CDHA) is an open, participatory digital archive and portal that gives the CUNY community and the broader public online access to a range of materials related to the history of the City University of New York. The CDHA will conduct and collect oral history interviews as well as accept historical materials and records contributed by individuals whose lives, in diverse ways, have shaped, and been shaped, by CUNY. Faculty, staff, and students have fought to sustain CUNY’s democratic mission and one of the goals of the CUNY Digital History Archive is to document and preserve the stories of those efforts. This project also involves coordination and collaboration with CUNY college libraries and archives that house significant historical collections and records related to CUNY’s history.

The CUNY Digital History Archive is conducted under the auspices of the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning at the CUNY Graduate Center with the support of the Arthur P. Sloan Foundation. We currently have openings for part-time positions (5-12 hours/week) for Graduate Center students as well as student internships/residencies/fellowships. Applicants should have experience working collaboratively and be self-motivated, highly organized and detail oriented. We encourage students in history, political science, English, library sciences, urban education or other relevant disciplines to apply. It may be particularly beneficial if your own research relates, in any way, to the history of the university or public education. Must have good research and writing skills and/or strong technical/media skills. CDHA is programmed in Omeka and uses the Solr search engine.

Skills and Responsibilities may include:

history/writing/arcival:
• proof-read oral history transcriptions
• write introductory descriptions for historical documents
• research and enter metadata (sources, tags, subjects, etc.) for archival records
• organize and evaluate newly contributed items to the Archive and build collections

technical/media
• scan images
• enhance CDHA website as needed
• digitize audio and video files from source tapes
• edit video and audio contributions to the CUNY Digital History Archive project

Salary range is $15 – $20/hour.
Contact: Please email a cover letter and resume to Andrea Vásquez. No phone calls please.

Posting will remain open until positions are filled.
Graduate Center students are encouraged to apply.

ASHP/CML/CUNY is an equal opportunity/affirmative action/Americans with Disabilities Act employer.

ASHP has received funding from the Arthur P. Sloan Foundation to further develop the CUNY Digital History Archive, a participatory project to create, collect, and conserve the histories of the City University of New York. This open archive and portal gives the CUNY community and the broader public online access to a range of materials related to the history of the City University of New York. The CDHA will make available materials contributed by individuals whose lives, in diverse ways, have shaped and been shaped by CUNY. Faculty, staff, and students have fought to sustain the university’s democratic mission and one of the goals of the CUNY Digital History Archive is to document and preserve the stories of those efforts. This project also involves collaboration with CUNY college libraries and archives that house significant collections and records related to the history of the university. With the support of this grant, we look forward to increased partnering with these libraries and archives as well as to conducting oral history interviews and incorporating contributions from former and current members of the CUNY community. Please contact us if you would like to contribute materials to this project.

On July 13, 1865, in a spectacular fire witnessed by thousands of New Yorkers, P. T. Barnum’s American Museum in downtown Manhattan mysteriously burned to the ground. The five-story building on Broadway and Ann Street—called “the most visited place in America”—had housed a continuing array of artifacts, oddities, productions, and creatures since its opening in 1841. This July, to mark the 150th anniversary of the destruction of Barnum’s American Museum, the award-winning Lost Museum website (http://lostmuseum.cuny.edu/), first launched by American Social History Project in 2000, will re-launch in a new, enhanced format with larger graphics, clearer navigation, and with full access for the many tablets and devices that now connect to the Internet.

Barnum’s American Museum was one of the most significant cultural institutions in New York City history yet is now largely forgotten. Occurring three months after the close of the Civil War, the museum’s fiery demise, with the terrible spectacle of burning animals and onlookers cavorting among smoldering attractions, provided an unforgettable end to an institution created by the legendary showman that had entertained, educated, and often scandalized a generation of Americans. And even after its disappearance, Barnum’s American Museum would remain the model for mass entertainment extravaganzas.

It was not until 2000 that Barnum’s American Museum once again opened its doors to the public—but this time in virtual form. Years in the making, The Lost Museum, a website produced by the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning at the City University of New York Graduate Center and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, took visitors back to the nineteenth century on a 3-D tour of the American Museum and its myriad attractions. Supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, informed by the latest scholarship, and utilizing cutting-edge technology, The Lost Museum was widely hailed in the press and broadcast media; received numerous new technology and education awards and citations; and garnered tens of thousands of virtual visitors internationally.

Now, thanks to this updated and redesigned version of The Lost Museum, the mysterious FeeJee Mermaid, the beautiful Circassian Woman, Confederate president Jefferson Davis in his wife’s dress—these and many other revelations and deceptions are again on view, supplemented by a rich archive of historical documents and artifacts. And visitors also have the option to seek out clues to discover who, among suspects representing social and political figures of the period, may have set the fatal 1865 fire.

Contact: Andrea Vásquez (avasquez1@gc.cuny.edu)

The CUNY Digital History Archive (CDHA) is an open, participatory, digital repository and portal that gives the CUNY community and the broader public online access to a range of archival materials related to the history of the City University of New York. This effort involves coordination and collaboration with college libraries and archives that house significant historical collections. The CDHA will conduct and collect oral history interviews as well as accept historical materials and records held by individuals who have, in diverse ways, contributed to CUNY. The project involves faculty, staff, students, activists, archivists, librarians, retirees, and alumni. One collection currently being built is on Civil Rights and Open Admissions on CUNY campuses, 1960s – 1970s so let us know if you or your CUNY college have relevant material on the subject. CDHA is conducted under the auspices of the American Social History Project-Center for Media and Learning at the CUNY Graduate Center. Sign up to get involved!

The history of the City University of New York and the championing of public higher education are the focus of a new initiative involving present and past CUNY faculty, staff, and students along with libraries, archives, and collections in and outside of the university. Coordinated by ASHP/CML, the CUNY Digital History Archive will collect the stories in text, sound, and image of the many events, people, and communities that have been critical to the university’s democratic mission. These materials will be made available to the public as an open access repository and also will direct users to valuable records and resources located at CUNY campuses.

A public program on Wednesday, April 9th, at 6:30 pm in the Martin Segal Theatre at the Graduate Center will mark the launch of the CUNY Digital History Archive. Featuring two roundtable discussions−”The Fight for Open Admissions and Its Early Implementation across CUNY, 1968-1976″ and “Student Activism and the Fight against State and City Cutbacks and Attacks, 1985-2014″−the event will involve activists in the struggle for and defense of Open Admissions from the late-1960s to the present, who will describe their experiences and offer insights about the past and its implications for the future. Please mark your calendars and check the ASHP/CML homepage in late February for details about this event.

As part of our CUNY History initiative, the website Student Voices from WWII and the McCarthy Era has been completely redesigned. ASHP/CML worked with historian Adina Back to launch the website in 2006 as a resource to teach college level oral history interpretation and practice and to explore the history of activism on the Brooklyn College campus. The new design focused on making the site’s navigation simpler and more accessible for tablets and mobile devices. Other new features include a persistent menu for easy navigation and new audio formats, including downloadable mp3 files.