Launched in 2005, the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the stories and digital record of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. George Mason University’s Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media and the University of New Orleans, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of American History and other partners, organized this project.

Generously funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (2005-2008), the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank contributes to the ongoing effort by historians and archivists to preserve the record of these storms by collecting first-hand accounts, on-scene images, blog postings, and podcasts. We hope to foster some positive legacies by allowing the people affected by these storms to tell their stories in their own words, which as part of the historical record will remain accessible to a wide audience for generations to come.

This project builds on prior work by George Mason University’s Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, and other partners such as the Library of Congress and the Red Cross, to collect and preserve history online, especially through the ECHO project and the September 11 Digital Archive. It is part of a growing practice of using the Internet to preserve the past through “digital memory banks.”

For those interested in reading more about designing this project, or those considering launching a digital collecting projects, see: "Why Collecting History Online in Web 1.5," by Sheila Brennan and T. Mills Kelly.

Other Questions? Feel free to contact us at chnm at gmu.edu

Staff

The individuals listed below contributed to the conceptualizing, designing, building, and maintaining of the HurricaneArchive.org throughout the grant and in the continuous maintenance of the Archive.

Roy Rosenzweig, CHNM (Executive Producer, 2005-2007)

T. Mills Kelly, CHNM (Executive Producer, 2007-)

Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media:

Sheila Brennan, Project Manager (2005-2018)

Nate Agrin (2005-06)

Jeremy Boggs (2005-07)

Dan Cohen (2005-06)

Josh Greenberg (2005-06)

Kris Kelly (2006-08)

Allison Meyer (2005)

Andrea Odiorne (2011)

Jim Safley (2011-12)

Roberto Sanchez (2011-2012)

Olivia Ryan (2005-06)

Tom Scheinfeldt (2005-08)

University of New Orleans:

Michael Mizell-Nelson (2005 -2014)

Ryan Mattingly (2006-08)

Anita Yesho (2006-07)