BROWARD COUNTY, FL - Virtual AARLCC is now open for visitors, with free, live, online tours scheduled for May 14th and May 28th.
Virtual AARLCC is Broward County Library’s virtual exhibition of 20 important acquisitions from the Special Collections of the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC), located at 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311.
The specially curated exhibit, which “lives” online at the Virtual AARLCC website, features 3D models of African masks, carvings, figurines and other unique and significant artifacts.
Anyone with computer access can view and virtually interact with the exhibited items. Visitors have the opportunity and ability to do things they could not do with live exhibits of archival artifacts, such as download them, freely manipulate objects to explore them more closely and even 3D print them as personal replicas to keep or share. Viewing in Google Chrome browser is recommended.
Guests can also hear and watch curated information related to the objects, including their country or region of origin, the ethnic group they belong to and a detailed physical description of the work.
Virtual AARLCC will grow as the library staff continues to 3D scan the hundreds of artifacts in AARLCC's Special Collections.
Broward County Library is the first library in Florida to offer virtual exhibition visits via three-dimensional (3D) modeling and augmented reality technology. This grant-funded initiative, which included collaborative efforts of the Center for Digital Humanities team at the University of Arizona and the digitization team at Broward County Library is designed to expand access to the Special Collections using technology (3D modeling) that is the next best thing to live exhibits.
The Broward County Library Special Collections Librarian and Archivist will offer live, 90-minute tours of Virtual AARLCC at 1PM on Thursday, May 14th and and 3PM on Thursday, May 28. The tours are available to all ages but preregistration is required:
-Registration for Virtual AARLCC Tour at 1PM, Thursday, May 14, 2020
-Registration for Virtual AARLCC Tour at 3PM, Thursday, May 28, 2020
This project was funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Florida’s LSTA program is administered by the Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services.
About Broward County Libraries Division
Broward County Libraries Division, named 2015 Library of the Year by the Florida Library Association, was founded in 1974 and is the largest library system in Florida by square footage and one of the busiest, with more than 7.5 million walk-in customers visiting its 38 locations annually. Broward County Libraries Division provides convenient access to a full range of innovative and cost-effective services that satisfy the changing needs of the people of Broward County for information, education and recreation. Visit our website, Broward.org/Library, or follow Libraries on Facebook and Twitter.
DATE: May 1, 2020
MEDIA CONTACT: Catherine McElrath
Libraries Division
PHONE: 954-357-7402
EMAIL: cmcelrath@Broward.org