PART-TIME PROJECT COORDINATOR WANTED

FOR COMPUTER MAPPING OF UPPER WEST SIDE HISTORICAL CENSUS DATA

 

The Tompkins County History Center (TCHC) of Ithaca, NY, under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, is seeking a project coordinator for the New York City component of a national-level project known as HistoryForge (https://tompkins.historyforge.net/) In this project, historical census data are correlated with historic real-estate maps to produce a searchable graphic database of an area’s population. By comparing data from successive censuses, it is possible to trace changes in neighborhoods, families and individual lives over decades.

 

Within a community selected for study, volunteers help build the HistoryForge platform by transcribing historic census records and constructing corresponding map layers detailed to the level of individual buildings.  HistoryForge studies are already ongoing in communities of varying population densities in upstate New York and Ohio.

 

Locally, TCHC is collaborating with the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group (BNHG), a historical organization focusing the Bloomingdale area of Manhattan’s Upper West Side (www.upperwestsidehistory.org ).  The selected study area will be from 97^th to 100^th Streets between Central Park West and Amsterdam Avenue.  These six city blocks were the location of a historically Black community that existed from about 1900 into the 1950s, when they were demolished for an urban renewal project.  The initial History Forge effort will use data from the U.S. Censuses of 1910 and 1940.

 

The local coordinator will recruit, train, supervise and support volunteers in transcribing and inputting data to the HistoryForge platform, and in constructing the map layers.  The coordinator will also act as liaison to HistoryForge management at TCHC; will help publicize the project through appropriate media; and will provide input into development, documentation and process.

 

Qualifications:

Experience with digital projects and/or project management, excellent organizational and interpersonal skills, and an orientation to detail.

 

Compensation and Scheduling:

The local coordinator will be paid $20 per hour for an average of 8 hours per week over a period of one year, commencing in April 2023.

 

Applications:

If you would like to apply, or have any inquiries about this position, email Gil Tauber (gt.avb@verizon.net). You can also contact HistoryForge here.