News and Events

It's not unusual to see people lined up at Hilltop Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library when it's time to open for the day. The locals are anxious to use the 44 computers, and there simply are not enough to go around.

A research collaboration that partners CSTW with the OSU Libraries and Ohio State's Goldberg Center will bring 12 laptop computers, 12 digital audio recorders, and 10 digital still cameras to Hilltop's library in a project named "What's Your Hilltop?

The project trains library clients to collect and document points of neighborhood pride, such as individual histories, active citizens, creative individuals, and important community events.

"What we're doing is creating a population of media producers - not just consumers," says Dickie Selfe, Director of CSTW. "National organizations and research studies indicate that media production is an important 21st century literacy skill. The explosive growth of archives of online personal histories indicates that, given support and access to digital media equipment, communities are hungry to tell and archive their local histories." This spring and summer, evening classes will target under-resourced and underserved adults and teens, those who are unfamiliar with audio production, photo manipulation, and video editing. Selfe and CSTW graduate associates and undergraduate employees will teach participants how to plan stories, interview subjects, take digital photos, and produce audio and video. These skills will help participants tell the stories of important people, organizations, and events in their community.

The grant was awarded by the State Library of Ohio that administers the LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) program, funded through the independent federal agency IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services).

For more information, Contact Dickie Selfe at CSTW, 614-688-5960, selfe.3@osu.edu.