The assignment was created by Librarian Paizha Stoothoff in collaboration with a Professor teaching Literary Los Angeles. In lieu of a physical tour, students worked on a 3-week project to create digital maps (see assignment attached for details about what maps included). 

This assignment was created in lieu of a physical tour of Literary Los Angeles (for a Literary L.A. course). Students worked on a 3-week project to create digital maps (see assignment attached for details about what maps included). The library workshop occured in week 1, after students formed groups and shared to a discussion post in Canvas what author/region/text they would focus on. The Liaison Librarian and Archivist led the library session.

Digital timelines enable us to tell stories visually by connecting non-linear moments: events, reactions, and experiences. This assignment includes a lesson plan and worksheet for teaching with timelines. Timelines work best when they are created as a project for a course, since they take time to develop.

For this project you will be creating a digital resource that can be used to help teach about the Southern California Library’s mission and materials, how to work with archival materials, and, in general, how to work with and research primary sources.  

The following are a series of scaffolded assignments that led to the creation of “Labyrinths of Times,” an online digital project: http://labyrinth.english.lmu.build/. Aspects of it, including the scaffolded approach, are helpful for teaching students how to write for the web.

Students will learn how serial publications are presented in databases and how to read them chronologically to determine trends over time using the MLA International Bibliography.