For this skills building assignment, our task is to find a website that is worthy of archiving, preserving it for the future. Choosing a site that has the potential to cease existence without a preservation effort is an important consideration. I decided to choose a rather unconventional example for this project. However, I did choose a website that is important to me and to the history of New Jersey, my home state.
The website, Revolutionary War New Jersey, serves as “a photographic field guide to New Jersey’s role in the Revolutionary War.” It features photos and information about nearly every major and minor site related to the American War for Independence in the Garden State.
The site fills a dramatic void by providing an easily navigable, concise, yet thorough website dedicated to promoting New Jersey’s importance as the “Crossroads of the American Revolution.” In addition, the site promotes cultural tourism in NJ, supplementing the official tourism website of the state. New Jersey’s new promotional website choosenj.com fails to even mention New Jersey’s role in the American Revolution. This is a true failure because George Washington spent more days in NJ than any other state during the Revolutionary War. The state also featured the highest number of battles and skirmishes during the war.
A large part of New Jersey has been designated the “Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area.” However, the National Heritage Area’s website neglects many small, but important sites throughout NJ. This is why revolutionarywarnewjersey.com is so important. By providing addresses, photos, and information about nearly every Rev War site in the state the website is a tool for researchers, history buffs, and visitors to the state. It is a tool to promote cultural tourism. It can also bring awareness to sites that are in need conservation or preservation.
Lastly, the site could be in danger of shutting down. This is due to the fact that the site is administrated and funded independently by a NJ resident named Al Frazza. If funding runs out for this small website, it will no longer be available as a tool.
While my choice may be unconventional due to the local nature of this website, it is still worthy of preservation. While it cannot compare to heavily trafficked sites such as Youtube or the website of the New York Times, revolutionarywarnewjersey.com would be a fine site to archive.
Let’s archive this one too!