This is a case study for a project currently in development and scheduled for launch in January, 2012. While I am not yet at liberty to publicly reveal the identity of this project, conference organizers may reach out to me privately if interested.

This case study session will take you behind-the-scenes of this ambitious Drupal project to preserve the legacy of one of the most significant historical figures of the 20th century and help inspire non-violent social change and equality around the world.

Working in collaboration with other industry leaders in design, digital imaging and archiving, cloud storage, and technical strategy, Palantir built a Drupal-based Web interface designed to make tens of thousands of never-before-seen personal correspondence, documents, and other artifacts available online for the first time. This treasure trove of material is not only a valuable resource for students, educators, and academics, but it’s also a great tool for community activists and others around the world seeking social change. Not only does the website provide access to this digital archive collection, it’s also designed to help reintroduce the world to an organization that’s been working tirelessly for decades to promote freedom, justice and equality.

On the technical side of things, this project involved integrating Drupal with an Alfresco-based document repository utilizing Atmos cloud storage for performance and scalability. The site’s design-forward look and feel highlights material from the collection for first-time visitors and also provides sophisticated tools that enable researchers to dig deep into the collection.

We feel this site is not only a great showcase for Drupal’s capabilities, but also a fantastic example of how Drupal can be used in combination with other technologies to help share information that can help make the world a better place.