New York Public Library

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Besides being a place of study, New York Public Library, located in Manhattan at 42nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues also represents a touristic objective. This summer, I visited this place with my family as the building represents a great architectural attraction. It was a really impressive visit and I am looking forward to go there again tomorrow for a second visit.

Our tomorrow’s objective is to study the map collection from 10 am to 12:30pm. I am very eager to see some of them, as there is impossible to see the whole collection in such a short time. According to Knutzen, (2013) the collection includes 433,000 sheet maps. A better way to study more maps would be viewing them in a digitalized form.

In “Unbinding the Atlas: Moving the NYPL Map Collection beyond Digitization,” the author informs us that the process of digitalization was started in 2000. The purpose of digitalization was to grant access at the global level to the map. (Knutzen, 2013) On line availability of maps was done through a long and complicated process. It was a combined effort of map librarians, GIS professionals, and other experts.

I am looking forward to enrich my knowledge with the map collection. I also hope that we will get a quick overview on accessing maps in the electronic version. Although there will be an extremely short time for our visit, I expect to learn more about this library, the sources it has and how to access them.

Reference:

  1. Knutzen, M. m. (2013). Unbinding the Atlas: Moving the NYPL Map Collection Beyond Digitization. Journal Of Map & Geography Libraries, 9(1/2), 8-24.

Architecture students experience exchange

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On Monday, October 19th, our class had the opportunity to become part of an exchange of ideas with a group of students who major in architecture. We walked to the building where Architecture classes are held and met the other group of students. The first think to notice in their classroom was a large variety of building models. We, as a class, were divided in three groups and the Architecture students were separated the same way.

We presented our class focus and they explained us the way they learn and work on their projects. We informed them about our site visits, about our reports, our project on Vinegar Hills that includes Farragut Houses, and our ultimate goal of writing about this project buildings in Wikipedia. We mentioned to them how we divided our research work, what research tools we found and used so far, and what we will work from now on.

The Architecture students showed us their projects, how they analyze the area of Farragut Houses, and their plans. They informed us that one of their class assignment consists of making plans for adding around the projects some commercial buildings with the purpose of making this area safer, especially at night. This way, more people will walk around during the day and the night.

Our visit to the architecture building of New York City College of Technology was interesting and informative. We were encouraged to ask questions and the students and their professor were able to answer them. This way we were able to learn new things and share our experience with them. The most interesting thing from this visit in their class were the models. I am looking forward to learning more about Farragut Houses.

 

Wikipedia

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Wikipedia

Surprisingly, Wikipedia is only fourteen years old. Wikipedia encounters a great challenge. While new editors are not welcome, the number of editors is in decline. It is only 18% of the editors who represent the new comers. In order for Wikipedia to survive, more new comers should be accepted. There is a tendency of the older editors to delete articles posted by newer ones. In my opinion, the greatest challenge of Wikipedia is not new technology such as smartphones, but the way new editors are treated. Wikipedia has a greater chance to survive if new editors are encouraged to post instead of having their postings erased.

 

 

References:

Lih, A. (2015, June 20). Can Wikipedia Survive? Retrieved October 3, 2015 from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/can-wikipedia-survive.html?_r=0

Postrel, V. (Nov 17, 2014). Who Killed Wikipedia? Retrieved October 3, 2015 from

http://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/killed-wikipedia-93777

Why Does Wikipedia Work? (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2015 from

http://www.npr.org/2013/10/04/191625835/why-does-wikipedia-work

 

Post visit reflection

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Today we went to visit the area where Farragut Houses are located. The neighborhood looked from poor to low middle class. It appeared less conglomerated than expected. The shape of the project buildings looked like they were meant to occupy less space and have more apartment with windows. Poor neighborhoods are known to lack supermarkets. I was glad to notice one nearby. I was surprised to see a wall that was separating the Navy Garden from the street. This creates an unpleasant image to the people living around there. However, there were plenty of green spaces and playgrounds in the projects for children to enjoy. I am looking forward to seeing this neighborhood again, after I do more research about the area and the buildings.

 

pre visit reflection

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I am a little nervous about the project visit tomorrow as I have a poor space orientation. I expect to see a conglomerated neighborhood with limited green areas and poorly dressed people. I will try to draw some sketches, but I have no artistic talent whatsoever. I will try my best, but I know I cannot create art. Given the fact that we have already watched videos of how private houses were demolished in that neighborhood, I am thinking we might meet some people who were victims of demolition. Although there will be no human interaction, I will observe not only the surroundings, but also the affect of people; their facial expressions. I am looking forward of meeting everyone at the location.

 

Welcome!

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This is the first post on your Learning Blog. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

The ePortfolio is both a Learning Blog and an Academic Career Portfolio. Use the Learning Blog to document your learning experiences and class assignments each semester. As time goes by, add content to the Academics and Career sections to show your department, graduate institutions, or future employers how well prepared you are for your chosen career.

NOTE: Remember to add appropriate Categories and Tags to your posts. This will help your professors and other visitors find the content they are looking for. The Categories “Coursework” and “Field Trips” and the Tags “OpenLab” and “City Tech” have already been applied to this post. Feel free to make changes!