Multimedia Presentations Bring Lincoln to Life
Aug 11, 2005 8:00 AM
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum offers an array of multimedia presentation capabilities.
For decades, more than 47,000 original documents and artifacts related to the life and times of Abraham Lincoln were housed underneath the
in downtown Springfield, Ill., where they were inaccessible to all but a few researchers and scholars. With the completion of the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
in 2005, the general public can now view many of these items for the first time. In addition, multimedia presentations, seminars, web casts, and satellite broadcasts can be made from the Lincoln Presidential Library to students and other participants all over the world.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a 200,000-square-foot, two-building complex located in downtown Springfield, Ill. The Library is a public, non-circulating research facility that contains material on all aspects of Illinois’ history. The Museum contains 46,000 square feet of permanent exhibits from Lincoln’s boyhood in a crowded Indiana cabin to his assassination at
. Among its attractions are
Lincoln’s Eyes
, a 250-seat multi-stage and screen presentation; Ghosts of the Library, a holographic theater that brings Lincoln documents and artifacts to life; a Treasures Gallery that houses icons such as the Gettysburg Address; and Mrs. Lincoln’s Attic, a children’s area. There is even a reproduction of the House chamber in the Old State Capitol where Lincoln’s casket lies in state.
State-of-the-art presentation equipment
The library’s classrooms and conference rooms are suited perfectly for conferences, meetings, and seminars. The Multi-Purpose Room, which seats approximately 200 people, features state-of-the-art AV equipment, such as satellite uplink, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and broadcast capabilities.
The multimedia podium in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum provides presenters with state-of-the-art presentation equipment, including an ELMO EV-4000AF visual presenter and Crestron Touchpanel control system.
“The Multi-Purpose Room provides presenters with the latest audio and video technology available. All they have to do is plug in their laptops; a complete array of multimedia presentation equipment, including a visual presenter, DVD player, VCR, and more, is right at their fingertips,” explains Matt Burns, of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which administers the library and other state historic sites and memorials.
Presenters are able to display documents, artifacts, and other items by placing them on the Elmo EV-4400AF visual presenter, which is located next to the multimedia podium.A camera on the visual presenter captures and displays the images on a screen via a projector or on monitors at remote locations. It eliminates the need for making transparencies and can be used to present everything from text to 3D objects. Audiences in the library view the images on a drop-down screen via a ceiling-mounted projector. Presenters can see what is being displayed on the large screen without turning away from the audience by watching a 4in. Elmo color LCD preview monitor. Along with the visual presenter, the multimedia podium features a JVC single-disc DVD player, Sony four-head VCR, and Crestron Isys Touchpanel control system that enables the speaker to control all of the equipment with ease. Three pan/tilt/zoom cameras, an XGA projector, and a large drop-down screen facilitate video presentations. Excellent audio can be heard throughout the room and is broadcasted via Gentner/ClearOne digital audio matrix mixers, Shure microphones, JBL and Klipsch speakers, and Crown audio amplifiers. Processing equipment includes Extron matrix switchers, digital video scaler, and video scan converter. Video Images, an Indianapolis-based company specializing in videoconferencing and audiovisual systems integration, installed the equipment.Webcasting and satellite broadcasts can also be made from the Multi-Purpose Room. “These capabilities allow realtime presentations to be made for international seminars, conferences, and educational events. Students from different locations and countries can interact via web and satellite broadcasts from the Lincoln Library,” Burns says.
