Project Staff
This project involved the
skills of a number of people. Dr.Yi Sheng, from Lehman College
Library, handled all technical details of the project including selecting
hardware, peripheral equipment and software. He scanned the images and
documents, set up the project software CONTENTdm, mapped the metadata
fields, input the digital specifications captured, and migrated metadata
originally input in Excel into the program. He additionally created the
attractive web pages. Professor Galina Letnikova helped upload the web
site designed by Dr. Sheng to the Library’s server and home page. Mr.
Raymond Diaz and Mr. Wayne Halliday, also on the Library staff,
helped with software installation and resolving attendant computer and
printing glitches. Ms. Nicolette Montano, a student assistant in the
Library’s Special Collections division, supported the project by verifying
facts and street locations for the descriptive metadata. Since most
Bronxites strongly identify locales with street and avenue names, a real
attempt was made to be as clear and accurate as possible in descriptions of
the images. Mr. Florian Penev, from Lehman’s Office of Media
Relations, helped us by clearing extensive publication cropping lines from
the web page photograph showing the Grand Concourse & E. 188th
St. One of the busiest shopping locations in the Bronx, the site shows
Wertheimer’s (later Alexander’s department store) that now houses CUNY on
the Concourse, administered by Lehman College, Bronx Comunity College, and
Hostos Community College.
Two project consultants also
worked with us on this project. Dr. Helene Silverman from Lehman’s
Dept. of Early Childhood & Childhood Education used Bronx Business for
Everybody as source material to create short, engaging projects for
children and young adults. Through its Division of Education, Lehman
prepares students for teaching careers, and trains working teachers through
its graduate programs. Generating ideas for interesting educational
activities for young children and students is important. This web site
supports document based initiatives, helps students discover their
community, and encourages them to take what they have learned and expand
their knowledge. Bronx Borough Historian Lloyd Ultan, who is
an Adjunct Professor in Lehman’s Dept. of History, also worked with us on
this project. His review of this site with the Project Director, especially
for the photographs, enriched the descriptions; corrected misinformation;
and oftentimes clarified locations and gave reasonable estimates of dates
where this information was previously unknown.
