Lessons in Design, Control, and Teenagers: Revamping the NASA History Website
Channel: SJSU School of Information
Date: 2021-04-13

Podcast Link: https://bit.ly/3ta74MS

Abstract:
As the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 loomed, interest in NASA history became a national pastime. Stories of where one (or one’s parents) was, how it felt, and memorabilia collected at the time were pretty much guaranteed to keep a party conversation going. All would be well until someone would turn to the NASA website to try to find a small fact that couldn’t quite be recalled. That’s when the embarrassing pause in conversation would start because the NASA History website did not function in a way that supported modern users. As our metrics showed the climb of users with a decreasing bounce time, it was obvious that the long-debated overhaul could not wait. With the blessing of my wonderful boss, the support and talent of my visual designer, and the patience of teenagers, the overhaul rolled out publicly just in time for Anniversary. Much was learned along the way and makes for an excellent case study in finding resources, capitalizing on hidden talents, and why Pop-Tarts are still important in web development.

Biography:
Robyn K. Rodgers serves as the inaugural Senior Archivist, leading archival activities within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) History Office. In this role, Ms. Rodgers is responsible for developing archival standards, practices, and operations for the VA History Program and the National VA History Center, to be established on the VA Medical Center Campus in Dayton, Ohio. Ms. Rodgers comes to VA from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), having served as Chief Archivist. Previous posts include National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), holding a variety of positions in Research Services in Anchorage, AK, San Bruno, CA and College Park, MD offices, as well as in Agency Services, focusing on Department of Defense appraisal including Capstone and other electronic records. She has extensive experience in senior leadership, policy development, programmatic creation and strategic rehabilitation, as well as the intersection of records management and archives. She graduated with honors from Virginia State University holding bachelor’s degree in American history, as well as a master’s degree in Information and Library Sciences with a concentration in Archival Management from San Jose State University.