Grand Avenue and the Encyclopedia of Milwaukee

The Encyclopedia of Milwaukee is a specific type of urban history. The Encyclopedia does not present history in one continuous narrative. Rather, it divides the history of the city into the most crucial, definitive parts. These parts, estimated to total 740, demonstrate how specific elements contributed to the development of Milwaukee as an urban space. The import of this project is it provides the public and emerging scholars a scholarly guide to Milwaukee history. A curious citizen, a high school student, or a college undergraduate can access the Encyclopedia online to learn about the city. The information found on the website is scholarly, with the sources cited so people may expand research on their own. SURF grant recipients assist in two roles in creating entries for this project. First, recipients work as Fact-checkers. The job of the fact-checker is to ensure all the information is scholarly and correct. Once an entry is edited, the fact-checker must confirm individual pieces of information as correct. The verification can involve finding both primary secondary sources, depending on what the author cited. Frequently, fact-checkers must go to the archives to physically access a primary source. Beyond fact-checking, SURF recipients also write an entry for the Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. In this role, recipients must complete as extensive of research as possible and write a 500 word entry on the history of the subject at hand. The entries then go through the normal editing and fact-checking process, in the end to be published in the Encyclopedia. Entries can include “understories,” or small entries illuminating the process of scholarly, historical research