I was also wondering if it would be useful for us to download the “Simple Contact Form” plug-in? It would at least provide a starting point for communication with our audience, especially if this is a project any of us plan on perusing further.

The Smithsonian has a Computer Collection (http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/comphist/) but I am fairly certain they never turn on the machines. Though I doubt it, I wonder if they would ever consider allowing other professionals to use outdated hardware or software if they have more than one example.

(This isn’t the most scholarly of questions, I know, but I kept coming back to it while doing the readings)

This site is a collection of items, mostly images, relating to the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club in New Orleans, Louisiana. Zulu is one of the krewes which have a parade at Mardi Gras. Zulu is the only primarily African American krewe and has an interesting and complex history which is reflected in their current practices.

For my tech question, how specific should we be when filling out the “subject” section of Dublin Core? For example, I have labeled my images with both Carnival and Mardi Gras, but for the purpose of my archive they are the same thing. I am following what other institutions have done, but their collections are vastly more broad than what I am doing.

Also, I tried to change my Omeka theme,  but failed to do so. I downloaded the theme I want (winter), unzipped the file, and then pushed it to my website, but it didn’t change anything. So I tried moving the file from my website’s folder to my Project folder, but that didn’t do anything either. Is there a step I am missing or have I placed it in the wrong folder? Should I delete the theme and try again? Unfortunately, I didn’t write down how it was done in class last week.

How “flashy” (not Flashy) should history websites be? Do historical websites which look very commercial and have a lot of features lose some of their sense of authority becoming more fun than informative? How much does the appearance of a website give it credence?

I also found myself drawn to the section of the “Interchange” article on museum exhibitions. I agreed with  Frisch and Gallagher, in that no matter how great a website is, it will never replace going to the museum itself. There is a metaphysical experience involved with going to a museum. Regardless if it is for personal interest, or a mandatory school trip, being in the space changes your senses and how you experience the information. The environment plays a large role in the perception of the exhibition. In the very least, being in a museum changes your frame of mind. The level of noise, the movements of other people, the way the objects are presented, all require the patron to shift his/her focus. It some ways, it forces them to stop, or at least cutback, on multitasking and deal with the physicality and presence of the objects one-on-one. And museums which incorporate oral histories or interactive displays only serve to heighten the experience, because they can literally give a voice to the past.

And on a more practical note, this weeks reading have made me think about websites and how they incorporate many forms of media (text, audio, and video). I often find myself frustrated with the way they present the items. I find most websites either embed the other forms of media into the primary one which interrupts the flow or the other media is presented at the end and loses some contextualization. Is there a better way to smoothly bring together different types of media? Are scholars or designers working on this? Or is it just something I will have to get over? And what about when websites have hyperlinks to other sites that no longer exist or have changed significantly? Is there a way to avoid this?

I wonder if copyrighting is another example of society outstripping the laws it had set into place? If a new system was implemented, would it not also have similar situations to this version of copyrighting, in that problems would have to be worked out on a case-by-case basis, because the subject matters for copyrighting  are so individual and unique?

My del.icio.us username is TracieLogan

Is this distance always to our advantage as public historians and archivists? For while digital tools, like digital archives, are necessary and helpful in our society, is there also not a downside if interaction with the information offered online comes to replace the interaction with the object or artifact itself? For example, how would a museum curator walk the line between granting the public access to his or her archives to pique their curiosity, and losing the public’s interest in seeing the physical object because they have access to the archive online?

I look forward to meeting you all on Wednesday!