The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina

The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway
in North Carolina
Browning 1934 Routing Map from the State Archives
Browning 1934 Routing Map from the State Archives
Browning 1934 Routing Map from the State Archives
Browning 1934 Routing Map from the State Archives
Browning 1934 Routing Map from the State Archives
By the Numbers:
26 Oral Histories
Audio digitization
Transcripts Digitized and OCR
34 Blueprints
Identified and Digitized from the BRP Headquarters
436 NC PLUM Maps
Geo-referenced by section (there are 24 sections in NC)
377 Scenic Photographs
Identified, Digitized, and Annotated
5171 Photo Cards
Digitized and OCR
1203 Content Items
Annotated by Students
BRP Visitor Map geo-referenced
Detailed PLUM Map geo-referenced
HIST 671
Intro to Public History
•  Worked with Prof Anne Whisnant to prepare class syllabus
•  Presented students with background on Digital Humanities and how to
be a good digital scholar
•  Worked with students to prepare guidelines for use and description
BRP Photo Card : 5171 Total
Description: Photo of Black Camp in the 30s, before the Parkway section 2Y was built. Exact location is Heintooga Spur,
where there is also a picnic area.
Commentary: This gives us an idea of life before the Parkway. Black Camp was a popular place for people to spend leisure
time. Several panoramic views included in this photo selection are taken from Black Camp, indicating that it was a favorite
vantage point from which to see the surrounding landscape around. The tents are all alike and neatly organized, almost in
military fashion.
The "CC" stands for the Civilian Conservation Corps, nicknamed the "tree army" because they were concerned with
environmental issues before the green movement. In the 30s, as part of the New Deal, the CC recruited young men and they
planted trees to combat soil erosion, were concerned with pollution in rivers and its effect on the local fauna, built bridges and
installed phone lines, etc. The first CC camp was opened in Virginia in the 30s. The camps were under the management of
the army. They recruited amongst unemployed young men who were trying to earn a little bit of money to support their
families.
During the war, when most of the Parkway staff went to war and the CC program ended (in 1942), under Weems' leadership,
the Parkway received the Conscientious Objector camps who continued the work of the CCC men. (source: Harley, Jolley,
Blue Ridge Parkway, 1985).
Subject Set:
(Geographic) Black Camp Gap
(Geographic) Heintooga Spur
(Topical) Campground
Image Subject Set:
(TGM) Photographs
BRP Items Identified : 1203 Total
HIST 671
Conclusions
•  Gathered materials for teaching class in the future
•  Worked on rubric to evaluate digital projects and metadata creation
•  Created a guide for teachers, librarians, and students interested in
similar digital humanities projects
•  4-8 of the 18 student commentaries are “publication-ready”
•  1208 Content Items described by students
Technological Decisions
•  Used existing library metadata schemes to model database
•  Created modular database, so generic parts can be reused
•  Using Django for web framework (Going to the Show & NCMaps)
•  Using Open Layers & Djatoka for jp2 image viewer (NCMaps)
•  Using Open Layers for map viewer
BRP Django Admin Site
BRP Student Input Page
Challenges
STAFFING, STAFFING, STAFFING!!
Key Dates
•  September 2009 - Database in usable form for Students.
•  November 2009 - Class ends.
•  December 2009 - Splash page live
•  March 2010 - Some level of content browsing live.
•  June 2010 - Basic map navigation & functions live.
Some student commentaries & Anne's commentaries live
Outreach
•  September 2009 - Meet with Blue Ridge Parkway Headquarters
•  December 2009 - CNI Conference: Presentation of BRP in conjunction
with other library GIS projects
Natasha Smith
•  April 2010 - Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Symposium
•  May 2010 - Scholar’s Lab/ NEH Geospatial Institute
•  July 2010 - Not Just a Scenic Road: The Blue Ridge Parkway and Its
History": A K-12 Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop
Funded by Mellon
Anne Whisnant: 2 keynotes
•  July 2010 - ASU Library Blue Ridge Parkway History
Anne Whisnant: Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Lecture
The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway
in North Carolina