The September 11 Digital Archive is a website that was created after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centres in New York, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. Its purpose is to remember and commemorate the events of September 11, 2001, by collecting a wide range of sources from the event so that it can be preserved in one place for people to view. There were many men and women collaborating on the project from a wide range of fields such as investigators, historians, information technology specialists, web developers, and designers. In the present day, the main people in charge of maintaining the website are Sheila Brennan, Sharon Leon, Jim Safley, and Jeri Wieringa. The partners that helped with the website’s creation are The Library of Congress, Smithsonian’s National Muesuem of American History, Sonic Memorial Project, American Red Cross, Mixnet, uReach, Seagate, and StreamingCulture.
The September 11 Digital Archive is available for the public to view with a variety of material to look at. It is easy to find where the material is kept under the collections tab, which then takes you to a page that has the content organized into different categories. The content is categorized based on what it is such as pictures, videos, art, personal accounts of the events, and so on. There are also a few special sections one can explore such as the anniversary collection, or the collection of materials that the Smithsonian and Library of Congress have. With so much content to look through, someone browsing the website can get a well-rounded view about 911 and the impact it had on the people who experienced the event and the country as a whole.
The site also has a helpful page that is dedicated to trying to answer questions that have come up about events of September 11 and the aftermath of it. It is well planned and easy to follow. It is organized into sections based on chronological order of the event and popular questions about it. Under each question is a list of links one can go to to find answers to the question. The links that are provided are from credible news sources such as The New York Times, Washington Post, BBC News, or from museum websites. It is an extremely useful page for anyone who wants to know about the details of the event, especially as we get further away from the event.
I think this website is a valuable source to have because it such a large collection of material that can be accessed by anyone. The layout of the website is pretty plain with everything clearly labeled and easy to find. The collections page is simple and neat with that the materials are organized into similar mediums which makes it easier to look through the material. The different tabs also allow visitors on the site to see how much of a variety of sources people have contributed to the site and the different ways individuals experienced the tragedy. The wide range of materials this website has is crucial for keeping this event in the memory of the American people and the rest of the world. This project has allowed ordinary citizens a place to share their stories, pictures, and feelings on the event which will hopefully be preserved long into the future. By being in a digital age we can more easily preserve sources in a way that more people can access and allow more people to add their voice to the historical record.
It is clear that this website is intended to be used by a wide range of people. The site itself is easy to navigate through and use which is nice for the average person to scroll through with ease. It can be used as a teaching tool for elementary and high school students learning about the subject. The website’s design and layout is not fancy, but the different kinds of content they have on it would keep children and teens interested. It is also a good site for academic work because of how many primary sources it has. An individual has so many sources they can go through and study. There are a lot of possible research projects that students and historians can pursue with a wide range of content from accounts from eyewitnesses, reports from first responders, photographs taken at the sites during and after the attacks, and even art created by people as a response. This website can be used so many different ways for a variety of people makes it an important website that deserves to be preserved so that future generations can learn about it.
September 11 Digital Archive may be a wonderful website but it still has some downfalls. I find the design of the website a little too plain and simple which could cause people to lose interest and leave the site. It is very easy to use due to being very simple which is also a bad thing because it is not very engaging and someone who is scrolling through it can lose interest fairly quickly. I had some problems trying to view some of the videos and pictures and after a while, it became a bit frustrating trying to find something I could actually see. Some of the content could not be viewed without downloading it which is another downfall because then the viewer has to take time to go find the file and delete it. There are also so many steps to viewing an image in a larger format which becomes a hassle after browsing through the website for some time. Overall though, the website is a wonderful place to learn about the September 11, 2001 attacks and get a feel on how it affected so many American people.
Feel free to check out and explore the website through the link below: http://911digitalarchive.org
Good work Maegan. What do you think is the single most important contribution of this project?