News Release
November 2005
Bethlehem, Pa., November 22, 2005—The National Endowment for
the Humanities (NEH) has selected the Bethlehem Digital History Project (http://bdhp.moravian.edu/home/home.html)
for inclusion on EDSITE (http://edsitement.heh.gov) as one of the best online resources
for education in the humanities.
The Bethlehem Digital History Project, a partnership between Reeves Library at Moravian
College, and the Bethlehem Area Public Library, was nominated for inclusion in response
to an open call for nominations posted on EDSITE and several humanities listservs. The
site was evaluated by a peer panel of educators and administrators in education organizations
and higher education institutions. It was determined that the site met the EDSITE criteria
for intellectual quality, content, design, and most importantly, classroom impact.
The Bethlehem Digital History Project website was initially created
in 1999 to share relevant material owned by several institutions that was previous
inaccessible to the public. The project focuses on the contributions of the Moravians
during the early years of the city's history, including information on the industrial,
social, and economic contributions of the Moravians—as revealed through primary
sources.
Development of the website was funded by a grant through the Commonwealth Libraries
of Pennsylvania from the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) NETShare.
Reeves Library at Moravian College and the Bethlehem Area Public Library jointed to create
the site and provide easy access to a wealth of information about Bethlehem's first one
hundred years and its Moravian heritage.
Vernon H. Nelson, archivist of the Moravian Archives, faculty from the Moravian College
History Department, faculty of the Moravian Theological Seminary, and information and
cataloging librarians from both Reeves Library and Bethlehem Area Public Library worked
together to identify key materials to tell about Bethlehem's early years and develop
the means to provide digital access to the interested public.
EDSITE in partnership with NEH, the National Trust for the Humanities,
and the Marco Polo Education Foundation, serves as the entrance to the highest quality
humanities-related educational resource on the internet, serving a wealth of information
for parents, teachers, and students across the country searching for excellent, content-rich
sites from among thousands of available sites on the internet. EDSITE provides lesson
plans, a monthly calendar, and professional opportunities, “This Month’s Feature”, a
search engine, the “NEH Spotlight”, and a contact session. Part of the mission
of EDSITE is to guide educators in the use of high quality online humanities websites
in the classroom.
Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal arts college located
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's
sixth-oldest college. Visit the web site at www.moravian.edu.
