Hunter Library’s digital collection, “Horace Kephart: Revealing an Enigma,” will be used as a key resource for an upcoming seminar. NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) is joining forces with the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) to offer a week-long seminar: "The Back of Beyond: Portals to our Mountain Past." The goal of this workshop is to foster collaboration between North Carolina public school teachers and cultural heritage professionals.
Attendees will be transported "Back of Beyond" into the Great Smokies at the turn of the nineteenth century -- surrounded by campfires, trains, wild rivers, and wildlife. The life and times of renowned naturalist, woodsman, and author Horace Kephart (1862-1931) will be a jumping-off point for workshop participants to come together to discuss mutual goals and issues. Head of Special Collections, George Frizzell, will be guiding the tour through Western Carolina’s digital collection, as well as presenting the original manuscripts and photos that comprise the online resource. Using these materials as a real-life framework for exploration, librarians, museum curators, public historians, and teachers will have an opportunity to learn from and share with each other. During the seminar, attendees will examine ways that resources from museums and libraries can be brought into the classroom, and they will discuss the unique needs of teachers and ways in which cultural institutions can meet these needs in the online environment.
The seminar will be held May 1-7,2006 at NCCAT's facility in Cullowhee, North Carolina. More information is available on the NC ECHO website www.ncecho.org, or contact Kathy Wisser (katherine.wisser@duke.edu, 919-660-5913) or Hilary Perez (hperez@library.dcr.state.nc.us, 919-807-7418).
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