Am I done? Review this checklist!

Grading rubric for SH stories:

1. Number of stories. The student meets or exceeds the minimum number of stories listed in the syllabus. Each undergraduate team will create ten tour stops, each graduate eight stops.

2. Text:

§ Text is 250 to 500 words in length.

§  Text is well-written, without awkward phrases or errors in spelling and grammar.

§  Text is not superficial but reflects deep research on the topic, using all available sources.

§  A brief bibliography is provided in the “Related Sources” box, and follows the correct guidelines.

Formatting is correct, with double breaks for paragraphs and no copying from Word

3. Images:

§  Each stop includes a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 7 relevant images

§  Images are imaginatively drawn from a variety of available sources

§  Each image includes a very brief title and a longer narrative text

§  Narrative text includes a caption with the date of the photo and some explanation, followed by a credit for the image

4. Giving Credit

§  All items in your stop have a descriptive title

§  All images include a credit line, example: “Image from the personal collection of Larry Cebula,” or “Image courtesy the Northwest Room of the Spokane Public Library.”

§  All stops include “Related Sources” (see the text box at the bottom of the screen below where you insert your text) with a bibliography for that stop.

5. Technical

§  all text, audio, and video will conform to the guidelines on the Github Curatescape wiki.under formatting requirements.

§  Things to watch out for:

§  copying text from Word--Don’t!

§  images too large or small or in wrong format--follow the guidelines!

§  images must be captioned, labeled, and credited in Omeka

Billy Possum | 99% Invisible

Billy Possum | 99% Invisible

Writing Captions

This guide may be helpful.

And this one.

For Thursday, 3/12:

1. Have your two best stories in Spokane Historical.
2. Include your bib in "Related Resources."
3. Bring a laptop.
4. We should be able to nearly finish!

Opportunity at the State Archives

This, esteemed students, is a GREAT opportunity:

Please pass this around. I’m going to hire another student to work on the GSU images. Any interested students can contact me. I need this person to be available to work nearly full time during the summer. Thanks!

Very large, ongoing digital imaging management and date creation project is in need of detail-oriented, digitally-savvy, well focused student worker.  This project involves managing hundreds of thousands of digital images, manipulation of those images for presentation purposes, tracking changes to the images, creation of file-level and server-level inventories of the images, identification of image type and origin, and the creation and application of standardized naming conventions.

 Please contact:

Debbie Bahn

Electronic Records Archivist, Digital Archives

and Collections Manager, Eastern Region Branch

     Washington State Archives

     960 Washington St.

     Cheney, WA 99004

     (509) 235-7500 ext. 207

     www.digitalarchives.wa.gov

Facebook Statuses About the Boston Snowstorm With Sad Civil War Fiddle M...

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Research Sources for Spokane History

Note the new link on the side: Research Sources for Spokane History. This is the document that Anna was working from in class today.

Some Resume Examples from a Friend

Our generous guest today has provided two examples of resumes for federal NPS employment. Here is his description:

I've attached to this e-mail two Federal-style résumés and a sample cover letter. One of the résumés is mine (which has some idiosyncratic formatting) and demonstrates an approach that focuses on lists of specific duties and accomplishments. The other is by Clay Hanna (though it has been partially anonymized) and focuses on work narratives. I have been told been told by other employees that either approach is valid as long as the product is clear, well-organized, and detailed.

Finally, a hopeful note. Despite the reduction in size of the federal workforce, the Baby Boomer turnover among term and permanent appointments is underway. In many agencies, this is not a big deal but the age structure of the National Park Service is heavily, heavily weighted toward employees who began their careers in the mid-1980s and early 1990s and the mean workforce age is very high (well above 50 years old). So, the agency has begun a series of employee buyouts that should continue through 2016. While many of these now-vacant positions will not be filled, most will - though at a lower pay grade or with reduced hours.

Resume 1.
Resume 2.

Cover Letter.

More Summer Opportunities

Thanks to some former students of mine who have pointed out another couple of sets of summer opportunities for the budding public historian.

First, the National Park Service just advertised a passel of summer jobs in the Pacific Northwest. Imagine spending the entire summer in a National Park. Housing and a uniform allowance is provided in most cases. View the jobs here. Deadlines are approaching, so if you are interested get right on it.

Second, it is the advertising season for other public history organizations offering summer jobs and internships, and the place to find them is on the NCPH Jobs Board. Again, deadlines are fast approaching.

Finally, the NPS also is responsible for the federal role in historic preservation, and they just posted a bunch of summer jobs and internships here.

A Great Opportunity

A friend who works for the National Park Service at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area tipped me off to a promising opportunity--they are hiring a Social Media Intern. Details here: https://www.thesca.org/serve/position/social-media-intern/po-00650923

Mapping the Dead: Google and the 1905 Spokane Deaths Register

Today we will be flash mobbing a digital history and visualization project. We will dig through the death register of 1905 in Spokane and create a Google Fusion Table. This is a fun and highly educational project! Here are some useful resources:

• Our Google Fusion Table
• This blog post on analyzing 19th-century causes of death
• A sheet on recognizing 19th-century handwriting that I will hand out in class. Also, this page and this one might be of help
• This post-mortem analysis (see what I did there?) of the last time I did this project with a class
• This how-to Google doc will have everything you need to get started!

Historic Mapping with Google Earth

Today we are going to learn how to digitize historic trails and road maps using Google Earth.

You can find an example of the project and instructions to the assignment here. 

Job at the MAC

As I mentioned in class today, the MAC is looking for an archives technician to help scan the Libby Collection and other historic photographs. Experience with Photoshop and related image processing software would be nifty, but not necessarily required. Attention to detail, reliability, and trustworthiness are absolutely required. To apply contact Northwest Museum archivist Jeff Creighton at jj1876@gmail.com.

Scribe

I think this will be a great assignment, and give you a sense of what goes on behind the scenes of many digital history projects. Here is what you need to do:

1. Create an account at Scribe: https://scribe.digitalarchives.wa.gov/
2. Start transcribing documents. Try to do 5 or 10 by Thursday, just so we can discuss the process in class. 

Spokane Valley Historic Sites

Esteemed Students, I have taken that document of historic sites in the Spokane Valley that I handed out in the museum and put it online--with added potential sites. Check it out and begin thinking about the stories you want to tell to the public: Spokane Valley Historic Sites.

Readings Scheduled (Partly) Updated

Esteemed Students:

As promised I have begun updating the readings list. Follow the link each week to see what the readings. I have also added the link the the sidebar of this blog, along with the syllabus. Check back each week, as the list will be tweaked throughout the semester.

A clarification: When you come to class on Tuesday you need to have done the reading for that week. So when I see you this Tuesday be prepared for a quiz on the readings under Week 2: Museums and the Origins of Public History. Please skim the Week One readings as well, there is not much there.

Also, I have succeeded in changing our classroom so we will meet right at the State Archives building at 960 Washington Street in Cheney starting next week. Do not park in the State Archives Parking lot! It is kind of a funny story, but just don't! Ask me about it in class.

I thought we had a good visit to the Spokane Valley Museum and look forward to the project we will do with them. See you all Tuesday. Enjoy the Wallace--it is a fun book!

Email me About our Meeting Tomorrow

[This is an email I just sent to the class, posting it here as well to cover all the digital bases!]

Esteemed Students:

This is to confirm that we will meet at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, at the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum.The museum is at E. 12114 Sprague Ave.
Spokane Valley, WA. Here is a Google Maps link. Here is a picture of the museum so you know what you are looking for:

Please note that we are meeting at the museum and not the tavern.

You can either show up at the museum at 2:00, or carpool from campus at 1:30. The carpool group will meet at the Washington State Archives Building at 960 Washington Street in Cheney. 

 I need to know who is meeting us at the museum, who is driving from EWU, and who needs a ride.  So please do a "Reply All" to this email and let me know.

See you tomorrow!

Dr. Cebula

Jebediah Fever!

Waiting for Guffman is a wonderful 1996 mockumentary from Christopher Guest, who also made Spinal Tap, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind. In this clip we meet the town historian of Blaine, Missouri. Remind you of anyone?

New Quarter, New Posts

Esteemed Winter of 2015 Students:

Welcome to the course blog! We will use this space to share digital resources, announcements, and YouTube videos of funny cats. OK maybe not the cats. Ignore all the posts below this one, those are left-overs from last time I taught the course. I will be updating the links and such as we go.