A series of speakers will share their insights and expertise during Digital History Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, March 17 at the business college. The event is free and open to the public.

The day is dedicated to exploring the possibilities of digitizing historical documents and oral histories as well as working with community partners.

The presenters will discuss the promise and pitfalls of digital history and will demonstrate techniques that could be used by local groups to gain increased public exposure. The event is sponsored by ONU’s Department of History, Politics and Justice.

“Digital History Day has three primary goals,” said Russ Crawford, ONU associate professor of history. “First, we look to expose students in our digital history class to the purposes for digitizing and publicizing history. Secondly, attendees will learn new techniques for accomplishing that. Third, we will seek to build connections with individuals in the area to help further their efforts to create and preserve digital historical information.”

In addition to speakers from ONU and other universities, Ohio Northern students in the University’s digital history course will also participate in the event.

The schedule includes:

·      9:10 a.m. ONU digital history students present their work.

·      10 a.m. Jennifer Guiliano, PhD., Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis. “The promise of digital history.”

·      11 a.m. Andrew McGregor, Purdue University. “Digital sport history: Preservation, blogging and teaching.”

·      1 p.m. Jimmy Wilson, Ph.D., ONU assistant professor of management and geographic information systems. “Historical geography and the collection of local history.”

·      2 p.m. Paul Logsdon, ONU archivist. “Early efforts at ONU and the perils of digitizing on a shoestring budget.”