TECHNOLOGY
History in the Palm of Your Hand Reno and the Newlands Neighborhood are full of surprising and interesting history. But walking by a historic home, or shopping in a store housed behind a historic storefront rarely lets you understand the rich history of the location. That’s why there’s an app (and a website) for that. In 2014, the Special Collections Department of the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries launched a mobile app and website called Reno Historical to help reveal the amazing history of our great city.
“Right now, thanks to all our community partners, we have almost 200 featured buildings, and many more in the works, so there’s always something new to discover.” You can download the Reno Historical app from Apple’s App Store and from Google Play. If smartphones and apps aren’t your thing, you can still check out what Reno Historical has to offer at renohistorical.org.
Reno Historical, available for iPhone and Android devices, as well as online at renohistorical.org, provides a detailed and interactive way to explore Reno’s history. Users can search for interesting people, places, and events and enjoy curated tours of the city. Each point on the interactive GPS-enabled map includes historical information about the site, with historic images from Special Collections, the Nevada Historical Society, and other relevant historical collections. Many locations highlighted in the app also include audio clips and short documentary videos based on the University of Nevada Oral History Program’s collection of interviews. Historian Alicia Barber, who has served as the editor of content for Reno Historical from its outset, recently joined the Board of Directors of the Historic Reno Preservation Society, where she will continue to supervise the project. The project is curated from archives and volunteers who supply essays, historical images, interviews, and local historical expertise. “With a digital project, we can keep adding new stories and photos all the time,” Alicia Barber said. HERITAGE
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