North Carolina Architects & Builders: A Biographical Dictionary Catherine Bishir Markus Wust Joseph Ryan Preservation North Carolina Annual Conference October 9, 2008

Outline Overview and Project History Technology Demonstrations Timeline

Project History Architects and Builders in North Carolina: A History of the Practice of Building (1990) by Catherine Bishir, Charlotte Brown, Carl Lounsbury, and Ernest Wood. Follow up volume on people: write another book or make a web site?

Technology At completion, the system will display information about approximately 500 individuals and firms, and more than 5,000 buildings. 1 XML file for each individual and each building.

Editor Screenshot

Using NC Architects Individuals and buildings can be found via: Search (keyword, birthplace, trade, and more) Browse (work locations, name, time period, and more) Facets help visitors to the site find what they are looking for quickly.

Facets? Example from homedepot.com Search term: ‘dishwashers’ Facets help you narrow your search by choosing subsets of your search that have common characteristics. They do not show up if they do not apply to the current search. Facets are based on characteristics users typically search for.

Facets for NC Architects Current facet set was selected based on several criteria: –Availability of data –Reliability of data –Usefulness to narrowing a search Current order of facets on screen may change as interface is refined and tested.

Homepage

Detail - bio

Detail - bldg list

Search Screen

Pictures Buildings People Can you help?

Timeline Fall 2008 Technical implementation Spring 2009 Initial public launch

Questions? Catherine Bishir Markus Wust Joseph Ryan