Revolutionary Delaware: Independence in the First State – New Book by Encyclopedia Contributor

The American Revolution in Delaware is the subject of a new book by Kim Rogers Burdick, who also is the author of the essay about the gunpowder industry in The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.  According to the History Press, the publisher of Revolutionary Delaware: Independence in the First State:

Cover of the book Revolutionary DelawareIn 1776, Delaware declared independence from both England and Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Three Lower Counties of Pennsylvania, the First State was instrumental in the fight to form a new republic. The Marquis de Lafayette, Nathanael Greene and George Washington all made trips to the state. Caesar Rodney’s ride and the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge are legendary, but the state has many unsung heroes. Citizens from every village, town, crossroads and marsh risked their lives to support their beliefs. Author Kim Burdick offers the carefully documented story of ordinary people coping with extraordinary circumstances.

Kim Burdick will speak and sign copies of her book on Saturday, December 17, at 10:30 a.m. at the Kirkwood Library, 6000 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, Delaware.

Spotlight on Children’s Television

This week our Children’s Television essay is featured by Rutgers Media Relations in a news release by Ed Moorehouse.  The article calls attention to the Rutgers-Camden connections of the two authors, Vibiana Bowman Cvetkovic of the Robeson Library and the Ph.D. program in Childhood Studies, and Brandi Scardilli, who earned her M.A. from the Rutgers-Camden Department of History.  In the interview, the essay authors also comment on children’s television programming today.  Update:  Listen to Vibiana Bowman Cvetkovic discuss her research on WHYY-FM, broadcast May 9, 2012.

Support from Rutgers-Camden Digital Studies Center

We’re pleased to share the news of new support for The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia project from the Digital Studies Center at Rutgers-Camden. This grant will allow us to improve and expand our bibliographic survey by migrating it to Zotero, a platform that will make the citations more user-friendly and accessible to the public. Watch our Sources page for this transformation by the end of the summer.

Support from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council

A newly-awarded grant from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council will allow us to launch the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable, a series of public forums for dialogue that will help shape the contents of the Encyclopedia.  The first sessions of the roundtable, beginning in March, will respond to suggestions received on this web site and at our Civic Partnership and Planning Workshop last year.  See our Events calendar for details of the first three roundtables, and watch for an additional session that is being planned on African American history.  Each session will feature new research, lively discussion, and the opportunity to contribute ideas for Encyclopedia topics.

Thank you for supporting our “Backgrounder” proposal in the Knight News Challenge

When we asked our friends and partners to support us in the Knight News Challenge, you responded – thank you!  Our online “likes” doubled in just two days, and we concluded the competition period with 194 “likes” and 92 comments on our proposal.  While the competition urged us to focus on the quantity of participation, we are especially pleased by the quality of the online discussion, which demonstrated support while also posing good questions and offering additional ideas.  The winners of this funding from the Knight Foundation will be announced in June.

Thank You for Supporting the Encyclopedia Builders!

On March 21 during Rutgers Giving Day, scholars, students, community members, and staff came together to support The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, produced by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) at Rutgers-Camden.

The dedication of all who donated and promoted our cause through social media is truly inspiring. Your generous contributions will be used to employ the students who help to make digital publication of The Encyclopedia possible. Keep an eye on our website or like us on Facebook to watch our essay collection grow!

We are so grateful for the opportunity to continue producing original scholarship and making it accessible to readers like you. Thank you!

P.S. Missed your chance to donate on Giving Day? Make a gift to support The Encyclopedia today!

Thank You for Supporting us in the News Challenge

We were so grateful and impressed by your expressions of support for our application in the Knight News Challenge.  We have learned that our proposal will not be advancing to the next round of the competition — in all, more than 1,100 applications were submitted and all but 51 were eliminated in the first round of screening.  Although we are disappointed, we are glad for the positive developments that emerged from our collective effort.  We have attracted new, enthusiastic potential partners for the future, and we have more than 200 followers for the @Backgrounders Twitter feed that we started for connecting history with the news.  We will continue to use this to serve the public and add value to the Encyclopedia project.  To follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/Backgrounders.  To see the projects advancing to further consideration in the Knight News Challenge, and comments about the selection process, follow this link: http://newschallenge.tumblr.com/post/20962258701/knight-news-challenge-on-networks-moving-to-the-next.

Connecting the Past with the Present, Building Community, Creating a Legacy