'Access to Harvard' CD-ROM Is Now Available to Alumni

By Debra Bradley Ruder

Gazette Staff

Alumni may now take walking tours of Harvard from their own homes, thanks to a multimedia portrait of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) now available on CD-ROM.

"Access to Harvard," a state-of-the-art interactive show developed over the past couple of years, is now available to interested alumni and friends of the College (see below).

"So many people liked 'Access' so much that we decided to make it available on CD-ROM," said FAS Director of Planning Philip Parsons. "It's been redesigned so it can be read on both Windows or Macintosh for anyone with a two-speed CD-ROM drive and eight megabytes of RAM."

"Access" contains 66 "still movies" (a "movie" using still photographs and words) about Harvard people and themes, yards of supporting text, dozens of maps and graphs, and a rich assortment of photographs. It combines the animation of a video with the flexibility of a slide show that can be modified in any number of ways.

A viewer starts out by selecting from 15 general sections, such as the Social Sciences, the Arts, Teachers at Harvard, Admissions and Financial Aid, and House Life. By clicking further, one can hear faculty members describe their novel research or teaching methods; examine plans for a new racquet facility and other improvements to the athletic complex; or hear Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney and others reflect on the meaning of Harvard Yard.

"I've seen people sit down in front of it for hours," said Parsons, who conceived the project as a fundraising tool. "This is a way of helping people understand our Campaign in human terms. I hope it makes the University more real to people."

Since making its debut in the fall of 1994, "Access" has traveled around the country for presentations to individuals and groups. Along the way, it has been updated with new movies, graphs, and text, and with improved ways of navigating the program.

"Access" was created by a team of staff members, students, and recent graduates who spent countless hours interviewing, editing, compiling information, designing graphics, and meshing the sound and images.

The original version was created for a hard disk, so Harvard turned to computer whizzes David Berger '91 and Tom Plucinski '91 to translate it onto CD-ROM.

"Most people don't realize that CD-ROMS are slower than hard drives," said Berger, president of Scientia, a multimedia software company in Somerville. "This is one of the most complicated image-based CDs ever done because of the quality of the images, the size of the images, and the synchronization of the sound. It's among the best around."

A limited number of complimentary copies are available to alumni and friends of the College. Those interested may call 1-800-VERITAS, or send an e-mail message to access@harvard.edu.