Abstract
News Articles
Reports
Presentations

Find out more!

To learn more about the Digital Cultural Heritage Community Project, view the Abstract of our original proposal to IMLS.

See News Articles for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign press releases about the DCHC, as well as a news article from Central Illinois local newspapers.

We submit reports to IMLS every six months. Our first report was issued at the end of October, 1999. The latest report was issued at the end of April, 2000. Choose Reports to download those reports(PDF format). As more project reports are written, they will be included here.

Finally, if you would still like to learn more about the DCHC, go to Presentations. Here, you will see a list of short presentations which we have given at different conferences and workshops.

Building A Digital Cultural Heritage Community:
The East Central Illinois Framework

Abstract
Digital technology brings the potential for museums, libraries, and archives to play an integral role in the enhancement of learning by providing access to digitized primary and secondary cultural resources as well as more traditional bibliographic materials. In Illinois, as in many other states, the state board of education has mandated learning standards for elementary and secondary students. Museums, libraries, and archives are rich in cultural heritage resources that can provide innovative ways to meet curriculum goals and make learning exciting for students. However, approaches must be developed that will enable museums, libraries and archives to create and provide access to digital information across diverse data structures through strategies such as identifying materials in their collections that address the learning objectives in the Illinois Learning Standards, and through identifying general categories of indexing or cataloging information that is used to describe their materials.

Primary Goal
Through the use of digital technologies and the Internet, we propose to build a model and a test electronic database of historical information from museums, libraries, and archives, to establish a framework for its creation, and to test its viability to meet the curriculum needs of teachers in upper elementary school classrooms in East Central Illinois.

This project builds on the concept of a digital community - institutions that contribute content to a database or group of databases that contain images, text, descriptive information and other multimedia objects that address common themes. The project aims to make it easy for teachers to utilize these resources so that they can incorporate them in their classroom activities in a meaningful way for their students. The framework will provide museums, libraries, and archives with a basis for identifying common ground among their collections, for experimenting with formats, developing standards, and for determining new ways in which they will provide digital access to these materials.

Through the involvement of diverse institutions, this project seeks to develop, document and disseminate both the processes and products of a model program of cooperation between museums, libraries, and archives, demonstrating innovative technological access to enhance educational programs.

This project proposes to explore the basic issues involved in making digital materials available on the Internet and in the classroom by using a clear progression of tasks that build on one another:

Teachers and cultural heritage institutions will review the teaching goals for Social Science in the Illinois Learning Standards, focusing on the late elementary (third, fourth, and fifth) grades. Teachers will identify examples of the types of primary source materials to which they would like to have access. The Global Cultural Memory, a project that digitized local history material, will be utilized as a model.
Museum curators, librarians, and archivists shall identify materials (text, images, video) within their collections that have already been digitized or will need to be digitized for inclusion in a digital repository.
Museums, libraries and archives will examine and utilize the various digital file formats for access and archival purposes, metadata (indexing and description) formats, and thesauri that are used across the professions.
The participants shall examine metadata issues with teachers to determine their information needs.
Museums, libraries, and archives will determine steps to make the data elements available to teachers. They will create a digital repository that is accessible through the Internet.
Assistance will be provided to enable teachers to integrate digital cultural heritage materials into curricula.
Museums and libraries will develop a set of terms and conditions for digital access to their collections.
The project will be evaluated by several ongoing methods: user searching analysis; participant feedback; and an advisory council.

News Articles:
Technology Grant to Fund Electronic DB of Historical Material 12/22/98
Computers 2/99
Museum in the Classroom 1/6/99
Friendscript Fall/Winter 2000
Digital Library Federation Newsletter October 2000

Press Release

TECHNOLOGY GRANT TO FUND ELECTRONIC DATABASE OF HISTORICAL MATERIAL

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Most schoolchildren have at least an annual relationship with museums: their end-of-the-year class field trip. For some Illinois schoolchildren, that relationship is about to intensify, and kids around the country won't be far behind. Soon, thanks to technology and a new federal grant to the University of Illinois, museums will be coming to children's classrooms.

A "Model Program of Cooperation" grant of $158,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the U. of I. Library will support the creation of an electronic database of historical material. Once scanned in, the material -- images and texts contributed by local museums, libraries and archives -- will be accessible by means of the World Wide Web to children and their teachers in three local elementary schools.

The participating kids will still get to visit dinosaur bones and trade beads at the state's museums, but their appreciation for what they see in person should be heightened by what they see -- and study -- in their classrooms.

Moreover, having "electronic artifacts" in the classroom will help teachers meet statewide goals for education that have been mandated by the Illinois State Board of Education, said Beth Sandore, the principal investigator of the new grant and director of the University Library's Digital Imaging Initiative (this department was renamed "Digital Services and Development Unit" since Jan 2005). Third-, fourth- and fifth-grade social studies curricula will be the primary focus of the project. Participating schools are the Lincoln Trail Elementary School in Mahomet, Linda Meachum, teacher; the Oakland Elementary School in Bloomington, Janenne Scott, teacher; and the Thomas Paine Elementary School, Urbana, Kay V. Grabow, teacher.

According to Sandore, museums, libraries and archives are rich in primary source materials that can provide innovative ways to meet curriculum goals and make learning exciting for students. And, Sandore said, "Digitized representations of these materials can help give teachers and students convenient access to otherwise underutilized or fragile materials."

Thomas Paine teacher Grabow sees the partnership as a boon to teachers and to teaching. Many teachers currently "don't have any idea what museums have that we could use for teaching."

"But with this project, we'd not only know what's available, we'd be able to pull up images to show our students. I could show them what a grain cradle is, for example, or a storekeeper's diary."

After the project team has built and tested its model database of Illinois historical materials, it will be in a position to identify a framework that other groups can use, within and beyond the state of Illinois. The team will be able to "demonstrate the nationwide potential for collaboration among K-12 teachers and museums and libraries," Sandore said.

The partner institutions, in addition to the three elementary schools, are the U. of I. Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Library; the Illinois Heritage Association, Champaign; the Lincoln Trail Libraries System, Champaign; the library and museum of the McLean County Historical Society, Bloomington; and the Early American Museum, Mahomet.

Appropriately, the project members will collaborate largely by e-mail, said Patricia Miller, co-investigator of the new project, and executive director of the Illinois Heritage Association. Those e-mail discussions will begin in early January. The team also will meet in person from time to time.

According to Miller, who identified the participating teachers, the role of IHA is as a "bridge or liaison between the museum partners and the teachers."

"We've been interested in the statewide goals for quite some time," Miller said, "and have tried to encourage museums to become aware of those opportunities to develop educational materials that will be practical and useful to teachers."

IHA is a statewide nonprofit service organization that works with groups who are involved in preserving the cultural heritage of the state -- primarily museums, libraries, preservation organizations, historical and genealogical societies, and individuals. According to Miller, the IHA has an extensive library with specialized materials concerning the operation of museums and preservation of buildings.

The project, one of 41 projects in four categories to receive National Leadership Grant awards from IMLS, will be based at the U. of I. Library's DSD. The new project builds on the work being done by Sandore and her group in another effort, the Global Cultural Memory Project, a prototype repository of historical content from several libraries and museums in Champaign County.

Barbara Jones, the U. of I. Rare Book and Special Collections librarian, explains that the project will allow young patrons a rare opportunity.

"Our Library prides itself in being very open to the public, and yet that carries with it a real threat that rare and unique materials will deteriorate," she said. "By having the materials digitized, students can access it from their classrooms or other remote sites."

Digitized information, Sandore said, is information that has been transformed, either by scanning, digital photography or some other process from an analog to a digital form. "For example, photographs can be scanned using a flatbed scanner to create a digital file that represents the original photograph. Similarly, audio and video can be converted into digital format. Text that is in a word processing file format is also considered digital information."

The IMLS, established by Congress in 1996, is an independent federal grant-making agency that fosters leadership, innovation and a "lifetime of learning" by supporting museums and libraries.

News Bureau
Andrea Lynn, Humanities Editor
Tel. (217) 333-2177
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
807 S. Wright St., Suite 520 East, Champaign, IL 61820-6219
E-mail: uinews@uiuc.edu

Press Release

COMPUTERS

'Electronic artifacts' to be made available for children to examine

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Most schoolchildren have at least an annual relationship with museums: their end-of-the-year class field trip. For some Illinois children, that relationship is about to intensify, and eventually the same will be true for kids around the country.

Soon, thanks to technology and a new federal grant to the University of Illinois, museums will be coming to children's classrooms.

A "Model Program of Cooperation" grant of $158,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the U. of I. Library will support the creation of an electronic database of historical material. Once scanned into the database, the material -- images and texts contributed by local museums, libraries and archives -- will be accessible by means of the World Wide Web to children and their teachers in three local elementary schools.

The participating kids will still have the opportunity to visit dinosaur bones and pioneer tools at the state's museums, but their appreciation for what they see in person should be heightened by what they see -- and study -- in their classrooms.

Moreover, having "electronic artifacts" in the classroom will help teachers meet statewide goals for education that have been mandated by the Illinois State Board of Education, said Beth Sandore, the principal researcher involved with the new grant and director of the University Library's Digital Services and Development Unit. Third-, fourth- and fifth-grade social studies curricula will be the primary focus of the project. The participating schools are Lincoln Trail in Mahomet, Oakland in Bloomington and Thomas Paine in Urbana.

The partner institutions, in addition to the three elementary schools, are the U. of I. Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Library; the Illinois Heritage Association; the Lincoln Trail Libraries System; the library and museum of the McLean County Historical Society; and the Early American Museum in Mahomet.

After the project team has built and tested its model database of Illinois historical materials, it will be in a position to identify a framework that other groups can use, within and beyond the state of Illinois. "In other words," Sandore said, "the team will be able to demonstrate the nationwide potential for collaboration among K-12 teachers and museums and libraries."

The project is one of 41 projects in four categories to receive National Leadership Grant awards from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

News Bureau
Andrea Lynn, Humanities Editor
Tel. (217) 333-2177
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
807 S. Wright St., Suite 520 East, Champaign, IL 61820-6219
E-mail: uinews@uiuc.edu

BEACON-NEWS, Paris, Illinois, Wednesday, January 6, 1999

A museum in the classroom

Paris native's Urbana fourth graders have access to state's heritage, thanks to U of I grant

The students of Kay Van Gilder Grabow, a teacher at Thomas Paine Elementary School in Urbana, will soon have a museum in their classroom. Not just one museum, actually, but access to many.

Thanks to technology and a new federal grant to the University of Illinois, museums will soon come to Grabow's fourth grade classroom as part of a $158,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the U. of I. Library, to be used to support the creation of an electronic database of historical material. Once scanned into the computers, the material -- images and texts contributed by local museums, libraries and archives -- will be accessible by means of the World Wide Web by children and their teachers in three Central Illinois elementary schools.

Grabow is the former Kay VanGilder, daughter of Mrs. Maxine VanGilder of Paris. She explained that she became involved in the project through acquaintance with Patricia Miller, who serves as director of the Illinois Heritage Association. The two friends have served as educational advisors to museums in the area, among other projects they have shared.

"Our targeted grade level is fourth because that is the grade where we focus on Illinois history," Grabow said. "It is a good match for our curriculum. Finally we have a grant project which matches the state goals and objectives for our classroom. It supports what we're already supposed to be doing."

"It will help my kids get in on the ground floor, to use computers to access museum information," said Grabow. "I will have the chance to give input to the museums so they will know which things are helpful."

"The program is expected to be 'kid friendly'," Grabow continued. "If they want to make artifacts, we can help them with that."

In studying Illinois history, Grabow noted aside that her students have developed a Web site about Abraham Lincoln and the eighth judicial circuit through a grant from Museums in the Classroom through the State Board of Education.

"I've always been interested in Lincoln history because of my roots in Paris," Grabow explained. "The kids wrote and did the research for the site, which is linked with the Southern Illinois University Museum. It can be accessed at www.cmi.k12.il/us/Urbana/projects/LinkOn.

Students participating in the current museum project will get to visit dinosaur bones and trade beads at the state's museums, but their appreciation for what they see in person should be heightened by what they see and study in their classrooms. Third, fourth and fifth grade social studies curricula will be the primary focus of the project. Other participating schools are the Lincoln Trail Elementary School in Mahomet, Linda Meachum, teacher; and the Oakland Elementary School in Bloomington, Janenne Scott, teacher.

According to Beth Sandore, the principal investigator of the new grant and director of the University Library's Digital Services and Development Unit (DSD), museums, libraries and archives are rich in primary source materials that can provide innovative ways to meet curriculum goals and make learning exciting for students. Sandore said, "Digitized representations of these materials can help give teachers and students convenient access to otherwise underutilized or fragile materials."

Grabow continued, "But with this project, we'd not only know what's available, but we'd be able to pull up images to show our students. I could show them what a grain cradle is, for example, or a storekeeper's diary."

The partner institutions, in addition to the three elementary schools, are the U. of I. Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Library; the Illinois Heritage Association in Champaign; the Lincoln Trail Libraries System in Champaign; the library and museum of the McLean County Historical Society in Bloomington; and the Early American Museum in Mahomet.

Appropriately, the project members will collaborate largely by E-mail, said Miller, co-investigator of the project. (Miller has served as an advisor for the Edgar County Historical Society upon occasion.) The E-mail discussions will begin in early January. The team also will meet in person from time to time. The IHA will serve as a bridge or liaison between the museum partners and the teachers.

By transforming rare and unique materials into digitized information, students can access it from their classrooms or other remote sites.

Digitized information, Sandore said, is information that has been transformed either by scanning, digital photography or some other process from an analog to a digital form. It can involve photographs, audio and video materials, as well as text that is in a word processing file format.