Through a program developed by the College of Design, City of Perry residents will soon be able to access the history of their community on the Internet.

The first phase of the project, Visual Mapping of Perry, is a program in which maps, historical data and visual materials from the archives of the Perry museum are displayed on a Web site, said Roger Baer, associate professor of design administration, who has worked extensively on the project.

The second phase, Hometown Pathways, is an internal working database for the researchers that manages the data for several different databases and provides a way for researchers to understand artifacts, Baer said.

He said the project is currently underway. The maps, photos and video data clips presented on the Web site are geared to help Perry residents and those who want to educate people about Perry to understand its roots, Baer said.

“It will be a model for small communities to use,” he said. “It will be a resource for educators to use.”

Michael Miller, information technology officer for the College of Design, said town officials from Perry came to Iowa State for help in designing an overall picture of Perry to offer its residents.

“They asked us to come up with a plan to come up with data resources,” Miller said.

Baer said he is confident about the prospects for the future of the Web-based design program, which will cost the city of Perry about $45,000.

“It will be a very good test of design, and we will see if we can present complex data to Perry,” Baer said.

Myung Hae Park, graduate student in art and design, helped develop the project this summer. She said she has benefited from assisting with the upcoming Web site, and she is optimistic about the potential of the design.

“We can go to other towns as a result of this project,” Park said.

“This is a starting point.”