Friday, November 20, 2009

New York State Archives and social networking

The New York State Archives has recently established a presence on a variety of Web 2.0/social networking sites. This effort is still in the testing stages, and there are no doubt a few bugs waiting to be discovered and fixed, but by all means check out the following resources. Several of my colleagues have been working on this initiative for months, and I'm really impressed with the end result. I think you'll like it, too.

New York State Archives on YouTube

One of my colleagues recently oversaw the digitization of some of our analog audiovisual holdings, a representative sampling of which are now available on the New York State Archives' YouTube channel. At present, you'll find iconic "I Love New York" tourism ads from the 1980s, World War II-era civil defense and public health films, and 1950s New York State Thruway Authority films about the Tappan Zee Bridge and how the Thruway and other new freeways would benefit Binghamton residents. You'll also find some 21st-century films that explain what archives do and how researchers can access their holdings and discuss classroom uses of historical records.

New York State Archives on Flickr

At present, there are three photosets highlighting some of the late 19th and early 20th century images in our collections: Winter in New York, Summer in New York, and Honoring the Workers of New York. You'll also find pointers to lots and lots of other images and videos available on our own Web site.

New York State Archives on Twitter
Follow us!

New York State Archives on Facebook
Information about who we are and what we do, upcoming events, new publications and other online resources, and lots of other cool stuff.

If you find any problems, have any questions, or simply want to give a well-deserved thumbs-up to the State Archives staff who created and will continue to develop these resources, please use each site's comments option or e-mail my colleague Michelle Arpey at marpey[at]mail.nysed.gov.

1 comment:

Jeremy said...

I can't help but think that clip would have been even better if they'd skipped the narration and just let Billy Joel sing.