posted by Sarah Bertozzi

on July 10, 2006

Over the past few weeks, as I have explored many a digital history website, I have come to some conclusions - best practices if you will - that I think should inform the eventual design of the Philadelphia Negro site. These "best practices" concern two important balancing points that almost all of the sites I viewed struggle to work out (some with more success than others). First, digital history sites must be INTERACTIVE and encourage SELF-DISCOVERY, but they must also PROVIDE GUIDANCE. Particularly, with map-based projects, the best sites allow the user to play - to manipulate the maps as he pleases, to zoom (with a reference map), to pan, to turn data layers on and off, to change view points and angles, and to manuever through the maps from a pedestrian or bird's eye perspective. Likewise, the best map-tools allow users to select their own data queries and/or selectively click on data points to learn more about the specific elements that interest them. Outside of maps, individual exploration can be facilitated through intricate search functions and organized topical layouts which cater to each user's specific inquiries and efficiently direct him to information of interest. The best sites, however, know not to leave the user completely to his own devices. Rather, they offer an overview for the project - an introduction explaining its purpose, the questions it seeks to answer, and a summary of its content - to any user who wants such guidance. The content summary is particularly important as it familiarizes the user with the subject matter and important themes, and explains the historical narrative that the site works to convey. Such a background piece must serve as a launch pad, not a replacement, for users' individualized investigations and as a supplement to, not instead of, primary sources of information. Its aim is to orient the user and help him digest the primary data so that he comes away with a coherent story of historical change. This leads into the second balancing point - the importance of having, on one hand, COMPLEX and VARIED primary data but, on the other, of telling a UNIFIED narrative. The best sites offer an incredible breadth of primary information in multiple mediums, but they maintain their coherence by organizing their content around a managable number of focal themes. Similarly, they help users connect disparate information through physical web linkages, content comparisons, and through the use of a consistent underlying framework for organizing the data. These frameworks work best when they are directly related to the site's desired narrative - i.e. if the project is telling a story of spatial change then using a geographic interface as the site's organizing feature makes sense or using a timeling if the project is telling a story of change over time. Thus, the most important thing for the eventual Philadelphia Negro site, I would say, is to tell an unambiguous narrative but to do so in an exciting, interactive way that combats passivity.