VRA Conference Minneapolis 2024

The pastmapr Project - Spatial History Simplified
Andreas Knab and Kevin Borg

This paper is a presentation of the pastmapr project, an open-source tool for visualizing historic maps, images, and stories on the web. Originally developed in 2017 and updated and extended since then, pastmapr allows students to overlay scans of historic maps and plans onto modern street or satellite maps and mark points of interest with descriptive text and images. Users can then interactively explore the content by toggling map overlays, adjust overlay transparency, and filter markers. pastmapr is used in a teaching environment bringing together students from a variety of disciplines, including history and geography. All the underlying technologies used in the project are open source, and the default map layers included are the publicly available OpenStreetMaps and Esri satellite images. Examples are available online at https://pastmapr.lib.jmu.edu/

Effective Digital Storytelling: Tools, Techniques, and Best Practices
Otto Luna

This paper will present various free digital platforms designed for digital storytelling and sharing oral histories online. We’ll explore platforms like ArcGIS StoryMaps, Adobe Express’s webpage-building tool, and storytelling tools from the Knight Lab at Northwestern University (such as StorylineJS and TimelineJS). I’ll also discuss examples of how I’ve used some of these tools with undergraduate art history students. Additionally, we’ll cover best practices for effective digital storytelling, including selecting the right platform, crafting compelling narratives, thoughtfully incorporating sound, using high-quality visuals, adding interactive elements, and ensuring accessibility.

Measuring Impact for Sustainable Digital Projects
Dominique Luster, Binky Lush, Linda Ballinger

In 2023, the Judy Chicago Research Portal presented a case study in hosting and developing an online portal aggregating the archives of a contemporary feminist artist held in multiple institutions. The project represents a model for collaboration, iterative development, and improving access and discoverability for both feminist art archives and collections at smaller institutions.

This presentation builds on that case study by delving into the measurable impact of the use and impact strategy employed by the Judy Chicago Research Portal. The proposal seeks to offer attendees practical strategies on how their libraries and archives can increase awareness and engagement with users of their digital projects, using the Judy Chicago Research portal as a study.

Like other digital library projects, the team behind the Research Portal is committed to ensuring its sustainability and promoting it intentionally in the academic community. However, the team's unique approach has combined conference presentations and social media engagement to enhance research visibility and reach. We will share insights for the non-social media expert on how we analyze website visits, user downloads, and social media engagement. Additionally, we will discuss how to leverage usage data via Google Scholar and website analytics to further investigate a project's success.

In this presentation, we will share key findings and data on how this strategy has increased research impact, present case studies highlighting specific successes from our collaboration model, and engage in open discussion on how similar digital projects can design a results-driven impact strategy.