The History Center has a long and colorful history itself. Established as the Ithaca Historical and Scientific Society in 1863 at the prompting of Ezra Cornell, who served as its first president, it has evolved in name and services to its present-day, not-for-profit organization. In 2004, former executive director Matt Braun spearheaded an image campaign for the center that resulted in a new name, a new vision, and a new spirit. Revamping the organization's website directly addressed the center's goal to better connect the people of Tompkins County with local history in open, fun, and exciting ways.
Matt Braun describes The History Center as an organization dedicated to helping people use the tools of history to better understand the past, gain perspective on the present, and take a responsible role in shaping the future. While the center's pre-OBA website was informative, it was non-interactive. In particular, the center wanted to upgrade its website to enable people to purchase historical images online from its photo archive, revenue from which would help sustain the organization. Another objective the center had for the new website was to provide a mechanism that would allow donors to make gifts online. Because it's a fairly small operation, The History Center wanted the web technology to be very easy for patrons and staff to use.
OBA, Matt, and Judy Dietz, the center's community liaison, explored ideas and possibilities that would match The History Center's needs. Then OBA discussed the technology they would need to have in place to achieve these goals and mapped out how the software and the database would be structured to capture the data they needed. Because the center wanted an interactive site, OBA chose to use Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX - see the "Related Links" sidebar) web development technique to enhance the usability, speed, and interactivity of the site.
Features OBA developed for The History Center's new website:
Photo store: Making its collections available to a much broader public has been a steady goal of The History Center; providing opportunities for photographic portfolios to exist online was one way for them to broaden this mission. "Keith helped us establish a way to put portfolios and images on the web in an organized and very aesthetically pleasing way that was consistent with our overall graphic identity," says Matt. "Allowing people to purchase reproductions of photographs for their own use not only helped connect people to local history, but it also helped generate revenue for the center's programs and services. The way images from the photographic portfolios come up and zoom up on the screen is done so beautifully. Keith was really able to help us bring the technology needs together with the aesthetic needs into one very clean successful package."
Secure, online giving: The History Center wanted to offer its patrons the ability to make online donations. OBA developed a secure, easily maintained online donation system that did not require technical knowledge or support from the staff to run. Featuring drop-down menus for a range of gift amounts and gift designations, donors need only type in standard information and click options to complete their transaction. The AJAX technology simplifies and speeds up the process because users don't have to go through a series of clicks and a multitude of pages to complete the form. Contact information is easy to find, if needed. Patrons can even opt to print a one-page form and mail it in."Keith's intention was to create a more interactive, vibrant site," says Judy. When the new portions of the website were tested with staff, board members, and people close to The History Center, the consensus was that the site looks fabulous and the technology is savvy and very user friendly. Staff said that the distribution of information made it very easy for them to process photo orders.
Matt's point of view is more visionary. "One Bad Ant is helping us make The History Center's website an effective cyber ambassador. I think that being able to provide more access to parts of our collections, such as our photo archives, in an easy, accessible way was a major goal for us. Anytime we can get history out into the streets or through the computer into people's homes, then we're doing the job we set out to do."
He also feels that the new website "put The History Center on the map in a broader way. This project set us apart. I think it really raised the bar on what a history center like ours could achieve, and I don't think you're going to find another history organization similar in scale to the one here in Tompkins County providing this kind of access and opportunity to historical images online with this kind of quality. This program was designed in an appropriate scale for a small-size, not-for-profit organization, and I think that in itself is a huge part of why it's successful. It's manageable for a small crew, and I think that's great."
With regard to the process, both Judy and Matt were very positive about working with OBA. "Keith is really good at communicating," says Judy. "He responds very quickly to whatever you need. He was very open to whatever we wanted him to do. He didn't come in with any preconceived notions. He was really listening to what we wanted, and he responded to that." Adds Matt: "I think we collaborated really well together and made sure we were doing this in the spirit of a team-oriented process. Everything was on time and of a quality that we were really pleased with. We just had a great pleasure working with Keith and OBA."
Funding issues have placed some restrictions on what The History Center would like to incorporate into its website. "I'm confident that when we're ready to move forward, that OBA will be able to take us in the direction that we want to go. We will definitely continue to work with Keith."