From Streets to Screens: Collaborative Storytelling with East Side Freedom Library

This week’s Faculty in Focus is Dan Trudeau, Periclean Faculty Leader and Professor of Geography from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota
In Fall 2024, Professor Trudeau’s Qualitative Research Methods in Geography class partnered with East Side Freedom Library (ESFL) to create a StoryMap - a digital walking tour accessible to the public. This project reimagined and updated a neighborhood walking tour the ESFL sought to revitalize. The completed StoryMap was shared at a public event and promoted through bookmark-style brochures distributed at local businesses.
The collaboration began with students establishing a strong working relationship with ESFL, a nonprofit organization with a mission to “mobilize community knowledge for solidarity, justice, and equity for all.” Their projects include East Side Community Investment Cooperative, which promotes local ownership by acquiring and maintaining affordable residential and commercial properties, and through community art-making workshops. The library’s collections highlight themes of migration, labor struggles, and community resilience. Early in the semester, students visited the library to participate in an existing version of the walking tour they would later digitize. They also met with ESFL’s executive director to discuss the project’s goals, necessary steps, and intended audience.

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To gain deeper insights, students explored the Payne-Phalen neighborhood, where the library is located. These visits included conversations with local business owners, attendance at a neighborhood street festival, and participation in a Payne Avenue Business Association meeting to explore project possibilities. Students worked closely with ESFL staff to ensure the final StoryMap was aligned with the library’s goals.
Reflecting on the project, Professor Trudeau highlighted the unexpected but valuable role of students in building relationships with ESFL. By having the students directly involved in this working relationship, they were more engaged and involved in producing a final project that brought ESFL’s vision to life for this project. One student echoed this sentiment and highlighted their personal investment in the project, sharing “I think knowing that we were producing the StoryMaps for someone, especially someone we knew and interacted with kept us on our toes.”
Trudeau emphasized the transformative impact of the experience, noting, “Indeed, some students view this as transformative for how they think about group work, shifting from seeing it as largely transactional to an endeavor that, when built on careful listening and principles of reciprocity, can achieve something that is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s a profoundly important lesson to take from any class.”

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