December 21, 2010−The National Museum of American History engaged Quotient Inc. to provide web design and development services for their online exhibit of the diary of William Steinway, son of Steinway & Sons founder Henry E. Steinway. The Steinway Diary Project (http://americanhistory.si.edu/steinwaydiary/) is a long-term effort to create the first publicly accessible, annotated online edition of William Steinway's remarkable diary, which chronicles 1861-1896 with almost daily entries and first-hand accounts of the of the events of the including the Civil War and the upheaval of the late 19th century. This first installment of the Web site, in which Quotient provided information architecture, web site design, web application development, search engine enhancements, and content migration services, includes a complete transcription of all 2,500 pages of the Diary alongside high-resolution scans of each handwritten page.
The Steinway Diary Project is one of the Smithsonian's largest and longest-running volunteer research efforts with over 100 volunteers conducting over 25,000 hours of research. More information on the project can be found on the web site or in the news article published in the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/16/AR2010121606224.html
The future plans for the Diary Project include adding more than 30,000 interlinked annotations. To learn more about how to become involved in the project as a supporter, volunteer researcher, or web site contributor, please go to: http://americanhistory.si.edu/steinwaydiary/annotations/?annotation=445