Innovation and Program Enrichment Grant Awarded for 2012

University Archivist Erin Lawrimore and Digital Technology Consultant Richard Cox have been awarded the University Libraries’ Innovation and Program Enrichment grant for 2012.  Their project is to build upon the existing interactive UNCG campus map by adding walking paths, and to repurpose existing information/digital objects to create individual web pages that focus on the history of each building on campus and enhance the map.

Short term, the project will enhance the historic campus tours already conducted by staff of the Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) staff. Currently, SCUA staff lead hour-long historic walking tours of campus for undergraduate and graduate classes, alumni, donors, potential students, and other groups visiting campus. Interest in these tours grows each year. The project will more readily allow SCUA staff to incorporate multimedia (such as digitized photographs) into their own walking tours. Additionally, the development of a historic walking tour app will allow people to conduct tours on their own schedule and at their own pace.

The incorporation of walking paths into the existing campus map will also allow individuals and departments across campus to provide accurate walking directions from one campus location to another. By drawing these paths into the Google map, walking directions will no longer be dependent upon existing roads. Instead, campus sidewalks and trails will be mapped for a more direct walking path.

The project will also lay groundwork for the development of future campus walking tours, such as specialized tours to highlight additional University Archives resources based on certain topics. For instance, materials in Civil Rights Greensboro could be used to create a tour of civil rights activities on campus, or a tour describing the history of physical education and sport on campus might be created. Other interested units or programs on campus could also develop walking tours to suit their particular needs. SOAR, for example, could personalize a walking tour for new student orientation. By setting the groundwork, the possibilities for future use and reuse of these tools are great. 

Created by Dean Rosann Bazirjian in 2009 and first awarded in 2010, the objective of the Innovation and Program Enrichment Grant is to provide one-time funding of up to $2,500 for projects that will innovatively enhance and expand library services and programs.