At the Library of Congress, African American History Month is a chance to highlight selections of the vast collection of Civil Rights materials and papers held by the federal government. The site includes biographies on leading individuals such as Carter G. Woodson, or Congressman Major Owens, as well as online exhibitions of primary documents and cultural artifacts that particularly exemplify African American history.
The LOC holdings that relate to the Civil Rights struggle and African American history in general cannot be fully explored in one section of its website. The Library's holdings, after all, include over 134 million items. The site does offer, however, "a representative sampling of the best of the Library's assets," and simultaneously fulfills three different and important functions that highlight the many uses of the Library of Congress collections.
First, and most importantly to researchers, it's an online archive. Several of the Library's holdings most relevant to African American history are linked on the collections page. Listed by category, many of these materials are part of the larger American Memory digital collection at the LOC. Some of these collections are of cultural artifacts, such as sheet music, sound recordings, and event posters, while others are manuscripts and letters or papers from prominent Americans. For instance, the papers of Frederick Douglass relating to Emancipation, housed in the macuscript room at the LOC, are available through the site, as well as artifacts from the Underground Railroad.
While most of the LOC's holdings are not online, access to the most relevant documents is often possible through one or more of the Library's Online Exhibitions. The African American Mosaic Exhibition serves as an online resource guide to major events, personalities, and themes in African American history and culture. The Mosaic is broken chronologically from the Colonization period up through the Works Progress Administration interviews with former slaves in the 1930's. Though one cannot conduct exhaustive research on such a site, it nonetheless serves as a point of entry to understand the basics and parameters of African American history, and offers plenty of opportunities for further inquiry.
Finally, the site also includes a guide for teachers, that includes both internal and external links for teachers and students to follow up on questions they might have. Many of the links in this list lead to LOC exhibitions, but others lead to other resources, interpretations, and examples of online history that complement the information found at the Library of Congress.
While the African American History Month online Exhibit is a special for the month of February, the collection as it is presented is drawn from many areas of the Library, and reflect only a portion of its permanent holdings and long-term, ongoing efforts. The Veteran's History Project for example, has been online since March of 2004, and it still collecting and transcribing testimony.
The Library of Congress African American History Month site is easy to explore and navigate, with minimal ocular distractions, advertisements, or bright and flashing colors. One must exercise caution, however, to not get lost in the deluge of information readily available. The opportunity to view primary source material and documents, as exciting as it can be, can also, without the proper context, a very time consuming and confusing process.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
History Online: Four ways go Digital
As more traditional academic disciplines, such as history, discover the applicability of and opportunity available in utilizing new technology to present history to new and younger generations, it is inevitable that different sites will approach online history in different ways.
Valley of the Shadow is the online version of the historical archive constructed by Dr. Edward Ayers, and used for his book, In The Presence of Mine Enemies (Norton, 2003). It contains primary sources (newspapers, letters, census, tax, and church records, maps, veterans, and freedmen’s bureaus) of soldiers and citizens from two counties on either side of the Civil War - Augusta County, VA and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The site is structured as though it were a three-floor library, separated chronologically into three periods, “The Eve of War,” “The War Years,” and “The Aftermath.” The records are all transcribed and listed chronologically, often with links to scanned images of the actual document.
As for presentation, of the four historical websites, the Valley of the Shadow is the most utilitarian and straightforward. It is, simply, an online archive. Its purpose is to make primary sources available.
Do History goes a step further than Valley of the Shadow by trying to include the experience of investigating the sources, and following evidence trails that lead to the stories that historians tell. A sort of online history tutorial, the site contains the online version of Martha Ballard’s diary, transcribed over ten years by Robert and Cynthia McCausland. The diary was a primary source for Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s A Midwife’s Tale, and a PBS documentary film of the same name.
By using scans of the original diary, users come to understand the many difficulties of working with very old sources, replete with mistakes, vagaries, deceptions and damage. New researchers are told that “both historians and detectives know that questions are often louder than the answers, and that answers are not always clear and satisfying. We invite you to explore the diary entries and companion documents in Doing History to see if you can hear the questions and find some of the answers.”
Both Valley of the Shadow (virginia.edu) and Do History (dohistory.org) are primarily academic endeavors. They exist to purvey information, or instruct on the use of historical sources. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History website on the other hand, is, naturally, more of an online museum exhibit than tutorial or archive, and is updated the most frequently of the three. Since the actual museum is currently closed for renovation, the website is the only place to view some of the museum’s collection, including those exhibits currently visiting other museums, such as Produce for Victory, a collection of World War II posters. While the site normally exists as a way for the museum to promote itself, it is also currently the only way that the public can view large segments of the museum’s collection.
While all of the sites so far have been primarily educational in nature, the site for The History Channel, in contrast, is commercial. The online mouthpiece for the popular cable channel, The History Channel site is the only one with an attached store and blatant advertisements. Far from existing to impart information, history.com would rather sell you a DVD box set of the History Channel production. One of the most popular sections of the site, however, are the community discussion forums. The most discussed topics? No surprises here: Wars, Religion, and Current Events, followed by Sports, 9/11, and American Presidents.
Though the main page does include a search bar labeled “History 101” that claims that “History is now at your fingertips,” a few quick tries found that, much like the cable channel itself, unless you are looking for information about World War II, the Civil War or the Founding Fathers, you’re SOL.
These four websites each stand as one example of how to explore history digitally. Each has its own purpose, approach, and scope, as does each individual work of history. Whether combing comparative records from the Civil War, examining a frail diary from the revolutionary period, or pondering which set of DVD's to start with, users of these sites are presented with different means to reach different ends.
Valley of the Shadow is the online version of the historical archive constructed by Dr. Edward Ayers, and used for his book, In The Presence of Mine Enemies (Norton, 2003). It contains primary sources (newspapers, letters, census, tax, and church records, maps, veterans, and freedmen’s bureaus) of soldiers and citizens from two counties on either side of the Civil War - Augusta County, VA and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The site is structured as though it were a three-floor library, separated chronologically into three periods, “The Eve of War,” “The War Years,” and “The Aftermath.” The records are all transcribed and listed chronologically, often with links to scanned images of the actual document.
As for presentation, of the four historical websites, the Valley of the Shadow is the most utilitarian and straightforward. It is, simply, an online archive. Its purpose is to make primary sources available.
Do History goes a step further than Valley of the Shadow by trying to include the experience of investigating the sources, and following evidence trails that lead to the stories that historians tell. A sort of online history tutorial, the site contains the online version of Martha Ballard’s diary, transcribed over ten years by Robert and Cynthia McCausland. The diary was a primary source for Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s A Midwife’s Tale, and a PBS documentary film of the same name.
By using scans of the original diary, users come to understand the many difficulties of working with very old sources, replete with mistakes, vagaries, deceptions and damage. New researchers are told that “both historians and detectives know that questions are often louder than the answers, and that answers are not always clear and satisfying. We invite you to explore the diary entries and companion documents in Doing History to see if you can hear the questions and find some of the answers.”
Both Valley of the Shadow (virginia.edu) and Do History (dohistory.org) are primarily academic endeavors. They exist to purvey information, or instruct on the use of historical sources. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History website on the other hand, is, naturally, more of an online museum exhibit than tutorial or archive, and is updated the most frequently of the three. Since the actual museum is currently closed for renovation, the website is the only place to view some of the museum’s collection, including those exhibits currently visiting other museums, such as Produce for Victory, a collection of World War II posters. While the site normally exists as a way for the museum to promote itself, it is also currently the only way that the public can view large segments of the museum’s collection.
While all of the sites so far have been primarily educational in nature, the site for The History Channel, in contrast, is commercial. The online mouthpiece for the popular cable channel, The History Channel site is the only one with an attached store and blatant advertisements. Far from existing to impart information, history.com would rather sell you a DVD box set of the History Channel production. One of the most popular sections of the site, however, are the community discussion forums. The most discussed topics? No surprises here: Wars, Religion, and Current Events, followed by Sports, 9/11, and American Presidents.
Though the main page does include a search bar labeled “History 101” that claims that “History is now at your fingertips,” a few quick tries found that, much like the cable channel itself, unless you are looking for information about World War II, the Civil War or the Founding Fathers, you’re SOL.
These four websites each stand as one example of how to explore history digitally. Each has its own purpose, approach, and scope, as does each individual work of history. Whether combing comparative records from the Civil War, examining a frail diary from the revolutionary period, or pondering which set of DVD's to start with, users of these sites are presented with different means to reach different ends.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Blog Review: The Sietch
A “Sietch,” in Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi series, Dune, is “a place of sanctuary in times of danger.” It serves as a temporary home, carved out of rock, to protect the people from the harsh desert climate. In addition to providing protection from the environment and enemies, the sietch was also the centerpiece of the community; a place to educate children, prepare and serve meals, stockpile reserves, and prepare for battle. In that light, The Sietch applies this idea to the web, to create a community concerned about and engaged in environmentally and socially responsible action, to “make a world that no one would need sanctuary from,” according to its founder and principal blogger, The Naib.
The Sietch Blog is generally updated at least once per day. The posts are a collection of stories, generally found elsewhere on the web, that relate to responsible interaction with our environment, global warming and climate change, bicycling, responsible eating and nutritional information, and, on the rare occasions where it is warranted, commendation of a company or corporation for responsible or beneficial behavior.
For instance, The Naib’s January 18 post, “Google.org’s Five Year Plan” lauds the internet giant’s philanthropic offshoot for its work in Southeast Asia and tropical Africa. Google.org recently announced its formal platform of core ideals and goals, which include: working to predict, prevent, and more quickly respond to natural disasters and epidemics before they become crises; education and empowerment to improve public services; growth of small enterprise; development and commercialization of plug-in vehicles; and the development of renewable energy that is cheaper than oil or coal.
Most often, posts on the Sietch are of a more local and personal nature, that reflect a keen awareness of the consequences of American lifestyle. The Naib lives in Boston, and many of the posts relate to local events or concerns, such as his account of planned increases in Boston’s bike infrastructure in the mayor of Boston’s State of the City Speech, “From Bean Town To Green Town”; or his ongoing commentary on the debate over the installation of wind turbines in Cape Cod. In “Cape Wind Getting Close to Approval,” The Naib overviews the environmental statement on the wind turbine project by the Mineral Management Service, which shows the overwhelming benefits of the Cape Wind project. Since the project is still in the permitting process, however, the Naib concludes that momentum looks good for the project, but “we can only hope that Ted ‘but that’s where I sail my yacht’ Kennedy doesn’t decide that some other random US regulatory agency should spend another seven years looking at this project.”
The other personality with a blog presence at The Sietch, Keith Farnish, is also the author of The Earth Blog (www.theearthblog.org), which is “intended as a source of inspiration for people who want to be challenged, and offering uncompromising solutions to difficult problems.” Indeed, his last two posts at The Sietch address the myriad issues involved with food production in “Where Our Food Comes From”), inspired by the artwork of Carl Warner; and the pitfalls of “Battery Farming: a Pointless Indulgence.”
The Sietch Blog’s audience is anyone who cares about the state of their community, broadly defined. Whether your actions and concerns are local, regional, or global, The Sietch encourages you to dream of a better world, then act to make it a reality.
The Sietch Blog is generally updated at least once per day. The posts are a collection of stories, generally found elsewhere on the web, that relate to responsible interaction with our environment, global warming and climate change, bicycling, responsible eating and nutritional information, and, on the rare occasions where it is warranted, commendation of a company or corporation for responsible or beneficial behavior.
For instance, The Naib’s January 18 post, “Google.org’s Five Year Plan” lauds the internet giant’s philanthropic offshoot for its work in Southeast Asia and tropical Africa. Google.org recently announced its formal platform of core ideals and goals, which include: working to predict, prevent, and more quickly respond to natural disasters and epidemics before they become crises; education and empowerment to improve public services; growth of small enterprise; development and commercialization of plug-in vehicles; and the development of renewable energy that is cheaper than oil or coal.
Most often, posts on the Sietch are of a more local and personal nature, that reflect a keen awareness of the consequences of American lifestyle. The Naib lives in Boston, and many of the posts relate to local events or concerns, such as his account of planned increases in Boston’s bike infrastructure in the mayor of Boston’s State of the City Speech, “From Bean Town To Green Town”; or his ongoing commentary on the debate over the installation of wind turbines in Cape Cod. In “Cape Wind Getting Close to Approval,” The Naib overviews the environmental statement on the wind turbine project by the Mineral Management Service, which shows the overwhelming benefits of the Cape Wind project. Since the project is still in the permitting process, however, the Naib concludes that momentum looks good for the project, but “we can only hope that Ted ‘but that’s where I sail my yacht’ Kennedy doesn’t decide that some other random US regulatory agency should spend another seven years looking at this project.”
The other personality with a blog presence at The Sietch, Keith Farnish, is also the author of The Earth Blog (www.theearthblog.org), which is “intended as a source of inspiration for people who want to be challenged, and offering uncompromising solutions to difficult problems.” Indeed, his last two posts at The Sietch address the myriad issues involved with food production in “Where Our Food Comes From”), inspired by the artwork of Carl Warner; and the pitfalls of “Battery Farming: a Pointless Indulgence.”
The Sietch Blog’s audience is anyone who cares about the state of their community, broadly defined. Whether your actions and concerns are local, regional, or global, The Sietch encourages you to dream of a better world, then act to make it a reality.
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