The PCM Collection Blog is an informal online community that serves as your place to track the progress of the collection as it is assimilated into the University of Florida’s Smathers Libraries.  Here, you can have discussions, share stories and fond memories, and help us add important information to collection objects that are lacking in context.

Less than a year after our first post, the Panama Canal Museum Collection blog has grown to become a daily touchstone for connecting with the PCM Collection at the University of Florida for many people.  We are so pleased that the blog has gained such a wonderful following of Zonians and folks who share an interest in the history of the Panama Canal!

In this time, we have received some fantastic feedback from our readers about what could make your interactions with the blog more meaningful and engaging.  Based on your suggestions, we are pleased to present the three-part series, “Your Knowledge, Your Stories, Your Impact”, to better showcase the variety of ways you can engage with us online.  Over three days, we will feature posts that discuss the ways in which you can share valuable metadata and contribute your personal stories, and how your past contributions have already made an impact!

FRIDAY, MARCH 7

• Your Knowledge contributes valuable metadata to the records that lack sufficient information.  By sharing this information on the blog, students, faculty, and researchers will be able to better use these museum objects in their academic endeavors.

MONDAY, MARCH 10

• Your Stories will preserve the “essence” of life in the Panama Canal Zone and help connect you with other Zonians online.  Stories shared here will be available worldwide and can serve to place the objects in our collection in a more complete cultural context.

TUESDAY, MARCH 11

• Your Impact, throughout the short time the PCMC Blog has been live, has significantly contributed to the success of the collection. By sharing links, posting comments, subscribing to our feed, and liking posts, you have helped present these objects and their history to a diverse, worldwide audience.

The PCM Collection Blog is the place to share your knowledge and stories in a fun and social way that can positively impact the future of this collection.  So we hope that you enjoy this series, as we highlight all the ways for you to contribute and stay connected to the Panama Canal Museum Collection online.