Hey all, 

This morning I spoke with librarian Janna Avon who specializes in Skillman’s digital initiatives. Through our discussion, she gave me an incredibly useful rundown of what Timeline JS entails and how to best use it for my particular interest in the Demands. Though it seemed complex with the spreadsheet design and multiple entry factors, she instructed me that it was not as confusing once you had all your points: she was certainly correct! What was most difficult to me, it seems, was all of the various ideas I had for a timeline running through my mind. Indeed,  none of my ideas seemed to coalesce into a singular timeline, which is my primary task for this summer. Through a librarian and archivist technique called carding (again thanks to Janna), I organized all of my points and data into a physical timeline using post-its. This rearrangeable timeline was what I needed to get some footing on my project and truly start unraveling the Demands through time. Below is the image of the carding technique. Notice that it begins with the 1969 Demands and then moves toward a profile of the year which encapsulates the academic and social environment that inspired those demands. These points may be a little harder to measure or quantify using available data, but I’m hoping that more trips to Special Collections will help me to build this “profile.” I look forward to continuing with this timeline and carding technique!

Warmly,
Saide