1. Discover Colorado
Beth Oehlerts, Colorado State University Libraries,
Yongli Zhou, Colorado State University Libraries,
Greg Vogl, Middleware Developer, Academic Computing and Networking Services,
January 10, 2017

2. About the Encyclopedia
Began with a National Endowment for the Humanities grant
Built in collaboration with several institutions and organizations
Website is hosted by Colorado State University Libraries
coloradoencyclopedia.org

3. Focus is on Education
The Colorado Encyclopedia provides article specially written for 4th-, 8th-, and 10- grade reading levels.
To browse a list of all articles written for a particular grade level, type “4th grade,” “8th grade,” or “10th grade” in the search box.
Or click the grade level in the upper right corner of the article.

4. Articles’ Features Rotating images
Images are from museums, internet, archives, and Encyclopedia staff
Click to view more information of an image including location.
Table of content for easy navigation
Play button: Web accessibility feature
Citation: for student and researchers
Reference and additional information
Keywords for more related articles
Map

5. Articles Live Demo Content about all aspects of Colorado
Search for “Longs Peak”
Popularity among climbers and hikers
Protected Wilderness Site.
Park’s limited intervention initiated by Roger Toll
Related articles
Carrie Welton. The first recorded death, September 22, 1884, on Longs Peak.
Story, safety, and climate change
Prompted a national conversation about wilderness safety

6. Discover what you don’t know
Events=>Disaster: Wichita State University Plane Crash
October 2,1970. A Martin 404 twin-engine aircraft took off from Wichita, Kansas, carrying the Wichita State University (WSU) football team, coaches, and VIP supporters.
Pilot Danny Crocker and copilot Ronald Skipper did not file a flight plan.
The plane dip and strike the side of Mt. Bethel, exploding twice on the slope.
Total death 31, 14 of whom were Wichita State football players.
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration ) inspection revealed sixteen distinct mechanical failures.
Prompted a thorough government investigation of FAA regulations for charter flights.

7. Interactive Features and Implementation
Benefits of Interactivity
Implementation
Maps
Timelines
Other Interactive Features
Future Possibilities

8. Benefits of Interactivity
Navigation: View related content in different ways (by content type, topic, location, date, author)
Interest: Motivate new visitors to explore vs. just looking up quick facts
Engagement: Increase average visit time, pages/visit, return visitors
Promotion: Increase awareness and sharing via social media
Personalization: Provide content that is more meaningful and relevant for each individual
Assessment: Obtain more data about how people use the site

9. Implementation
Hardware: Currently hosted on a shared CSU LAMP server
Software: Drupal 7 content management system with about 150 enabled modules

10. Other Interactive Features
Content types: articles, images, authors, article and media submissions
Web forms: contact s
Taxonomy: menus
Views: featured articles, article images, related content, lists of content
JavaScript: background images, table of contents, citations, WorldCat links
Widgets: play and social media buttons
Video Embed Field: YouTube and Vimeo videos
Google: search, language translation, usage statistics

11. Future Possibilities
Maps: counties map, maps for specific topics, ArcGIS story maps, Google street views, 360° images, virtual tours
Assessments: quizzes, scavenger hunts, polls, surveys
External data feeds: today in Colorado history, Colorado upcoming events calendar, Marmot Library Network, DPLA
Personalization: favorites, ratings, discussion groups, content and navigation for educators and students
Links: to Colorado-related educational, interactive applications, multimedia, and sites

12. We Need Your Help
Questions
Comments
Suggestions
Ideas
Contributions

13. Thank you!