Credits

About this project

This web application was created by Laura Wrubel, as the product of a three-month research leave from the George Washington University Libraries in the spring of 2015. The primary goal of my research leave was to develop new coding skills and gain experience with a number of web technologies, including APIs from several large digital collections. The Maryland Institute for Technology for the Humanities (MITH) at the University of Maryland hosted me during my sabbatical and provided mentorship.

In Disaster View, I'm experimenting with ways to explore image collections from the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. Both sites provide access to a wide range of images across time and geography. I chose to focus on images of catastrophe, specifically natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and forest fires.

Code for the site is posted on Github. The application uses:

• Python scripts for connecting to the APIs and loading content into a database
• MongoDB database
• Flask with PyMongo
• LeafletJS and Leaflet.markercluster for maps
• Bootstrap
• jQuery, Masonry, Infinite-Scroll, and ImagesLoaded
• Google Fonts

Acknowledgements

This project and my related time learning code would not have been possible without:

George Washington University Libraries and its support for librarian research leave, and my colleagues who covered my responsibilities during my time away.

The Maryland Institute for Technology for the Humanities (MITH) at the University of Maryland, who kindly hosted me during my three-month research leave. The MITH staff, particularly Trevor Muñoz, Ed Summers, and Raffaele Viglianti, were generous with their time, advice, and encouragement. I have a great admiration for the thoughtful and inspired work they are accomplishing.

I am also grateful to:

• Josh Westgard, Ben Wallberg, and the rest of the Code Workshop at University of Maryland Libraries, for allowing me to participate in their weekly code meetings where they share code problems and work on solutions together
• The PyLadies DC group, who offered a free workshop on Flask and other opportunities to learn Python
• Mark Matienzo at the DPLA for answering my questions about the DPLA API
• The Digital Library Federation (DLF), for the DPLA + DLF Cross-Pollinator travel grant that is allowing me to attend DPLAfest in April 2015
• Dave Woodward at the Library of Congress for answering my questions about their new API
• Dan Chudnov at GW Libraries for encouragement and advice about learning to code
• My #libtechwomen Code Club for helping me get more comfortable talking about code
• Francis Kayiwa for deployment advice

Resources for learning code

I found the following resources helpful in learning the technologies used in this project:

• Learn Python the Hard Way
• Learning Python
• Eloquent Javascript
• Up and Running with Bootstrap 3

Photo credits

Home page background photo: Leslie Jones. "River overflows during New England flood," Leslie Jones Collection, Boston Public Library. Copyright (c) Leslie Jones. https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:5h73qm96h

Thumbnail images are from the content contributors to DPLA and from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. See each site for information about rights of use for the full images.