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Hurricane Digital Memory Bank

Online database uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the stories and digital record of Hurricane Katrina & NOLA history & culture
  • Status: Active
  • Submitted: Wed May 28, 2008   |   Last updated: Wed May 28, 2008
  • Location(s): Orleans all of New Orleans
  • Topics(s): Community development, Education, Other
  • Tag(s): history, culture, art
  • Views: 385   |   Comments: 0

Details

George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media and the University of New Orleans, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and other partners, organized and administer this project. Michael Mizell-Nelson, University of New Orleans history department, serves as the Content and Outreach Lead for the project.

Project Scope: Vision, Aim, & Objectives

Why this project is being done:
The database includes the submissions of individuals and collections from various organizations. Our sister project, the 9/11 Digital Archive, was the first electronic collection to be accepted by the Library of Congress. We hope to do the same.
Project intends to address:
Individual submissions can be found through keyword searches or via our map browser: http://www.hurricanearchive.org/map/Those without access to the Internet can call 504-208-3883 and leave messages as long as ten minutes.
Included or excluded:
We are building collections in cooperation with NOLA visual artists and writers in order to ensure that their perspectives are preserved and made available via the Internet. For example: <http://www.hurricanearchive.org/browse/?collection=154>

Project Timeline

We're nearing 40,000 individual objects, and the collecting will continue for years.

Project Plan & Participants

Other people and/or organizations involved in this project:
Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, Louisiana State Museum, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, LEH, Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Military History Detachment from the Kansas Army National Guard et al
Plan for implementing this project:
We went online in early November 2005, and we've been adding materials ever since.

Help or Additional Resources Needed

Materials needed (wish list):
The Hurricane Digital Memory Bank contributes to the ongoing effort by historians and archivists to preserve the record of these storms by collecting first-hand accounts, on-scene images, blog postings, and podcasts. We also present and preserve materials relating to the history and culture of New Orleans before the flooding related to Katrina.
Help needed from other people:
We welcome contributions from survivors, first responders, relief workers, family, friends, and anyone with reflections on the hurricanes and their aftermath. Founded upon the principles established through Creative Commons, copyrights for materials in the archive are retained by the original creators.

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