Unstable Sources:

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• Unstable Sources
• New Approaches to
• Historical Methodology
• Just Say "No" to Google Finding Archives and
  Manuscript Collections on the WebSusan
  Hamburger, Ph.D.
• Connecting Historians with Online Resources
• Daniel C. Mack, MLS, MA
• Penn State University Libraries
• January 5, 2007

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Importance of knowing online resources

• Access always something new
• Digitization of primary sources increasing
  exponentially
• Increasingly multi-platform
• Ubiquity widely available from any location
• Familiarity to students
• Increasingly familiar with online sources
• Technology used in their daily life

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Online collections by subject, area, or period

• Primary sources and archival materials
• Secondary sources
• Links to other collections and associations
• There is no one-stop shopping for online
  historical sources
• Google doesnt have access to and cant search
  many of these resources

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National Databases - U.S.

• WorldCat (OCLC--Online Computer Library Center)
• This site-licensed database offers advanced
  searching that can limit to Type (archival
  materials) to retrieve catalog records for
  manuscript and archival collections. Single item
  manuscripts are generally coded in the Books
  format.

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National Databases - U.S.

• NUCMC/RLIN AMC File Search Form offers free
  access to the RLG Union Catalog Archival and
  Mixed Collections files
• lthttp//lcweb.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/gt

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National Databases - U.S.

• ArchivesUSA
• This site-licensed database provides keyword and
  subject searching, limitable by time period and
  specific resource, of 160,792 collection records,
  over 6,000 links to online finding aids, and more
  than 106,748 NUCMC records
• National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections
  (NUCMC, 1959-present)
• 1988 Directory of Archives and Manuscript
  Repositories in the United States (DAMRUS) of
  5,596 U.S. manuscript repositories
• National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the
  United States (NIDS, an index to more than 62,009
  manuscript finding aids available in microfiche)
• Federal records, Part 1
• Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress, Part 2
  
• State libraries, state archives, and state
  historical societies , Part 3
• Academic and research libraries and other
  repositories, Part 4

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National Directory U.K.

• ARCHON Directory includes contact details for
  record repositories in the United Kingdom and
  also for institutions elsewhere in the world
  which have substantial collections of manuscripts
  noted under the indexes to the National Register
  of Archives.

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National Databases - U.S.

• National Archives and Records Administration
• lthttp//arcweb.archives.gov/arc/basic_
  search.jspgt
• The online catalog of NARA's holdings in the
  Washington, D.C. area, regional archives, and
  presidential libraries offers searching by
  keyword, limit by digital copy availability,
  dates, locations of materials, and type.

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National Databases - Canada

• CAIN Canadian Archival Information
  Networklthttp//www.cain-rcia.ca/gt
• Allows viewers to search archival holdings in
  more than eight hundred publicly-accessible
  Canadian repositories. The site offers links to
  provincial archival networks (organizations) and
  online archival exhibits.

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National Databases U.K.

• National Register of Archives (U.K.)
• lthttp//www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/gt
• The NRA contains information on the nature and
  location of manuscripts and historical records
  that relate to British history. The National
  Archives, which covers England, Wales and the
  United Kingdom, was formed in April 2003 by
  bringing together the Public Record Office and
  the Historical Manuscripts Commission.
• Access to Archives (A2A) database contains
  catalogues describing archives held locally in
  England and Wales and dating from the eighth
  century to the present day.

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National Databases U.K.

• Archives HUB
• lthttp//www.archiveshub.ac.uk/index.htmlgt
• National gateway to descriptions of archives
  in UK universities and colleges, provided by the
  University Manchester.

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National Databases - Australia

• Register of Australian Archives and Manuscripts
  (RAAM)
• lthttp//www.nla.gov.au/raam/gt
• This database contains records describing
  non-government archives held in Australian
  archival repositories and libraries.

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National Databases - New Zealand

• New Zealand National Register of Archives and
  Manuscripts /Te Raarangi Puuranga, Tuhinga Ake o
  te Motu (NRAM) lthttp//www.nram.org.nz/gt
• A cooperative effort of several New Zealand
  library and archival groups, NRAM includes
  archival collections held in museums, local
  government bodies, libraries, historical
  societies, community repositories, and in-house
  business, educational, religious and sporting
  archives throughout New Zealand.

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Manuscript Repositories

• Repositories of Primary Resources (University of
  Idaho)
• lthttp//www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.
  Repositories.htmlgt
• This site provides links to over 5,000 Web sites
  describing holdings of manuscripts, archives,
  rare books, historical photographs, and other
  primary resources for the research scholar it is
  the most comprehensive in existence. The site is
  arranged by geographical area, and includes links
  to archives and libraries throughout the United
  States and the world. In addition, there are
  links to other indices of special collections and
  archival sites.

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Manuscript Repositories

• Ready, 'Net, Go! Resources for Archives (Tulane
  University)
• lthttp//www.tulane.edu/lmiller/ArchivesResources.
  htmlgt
• This service is an archival "meta index," or
  index of archival indexes. That is, from here
  they refer you to the major indexes, lists, and
  databases of archival resources. From them you
  can link to every archives and archival resource
  in the metaverse.

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Finding Aids Online

• RLG's ArchiveGrid (formerly Archival Resources)
• This site-licensed database offers centralized
  access for searching and retrieving archival
  finding aids plus access to Research Libraries
  Group's Archival and Mixed Collections file of
  catalog records.

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Finding Aids Online

• SOME STATE CONSORTIA
• Online Archive of California
• lthttp//www.oac.cdlib.orggt
• Contains historical materials from a variety of
  California institutions, including museums,
  historical societies, and archives. Over 120,000
  images 50,000 pages of documents, letters, and
  oral histories and 8,000 guides to collections
  are available.
• Virginia Heritage--Guides to Manuscript and
  Archival Collections in Virginialthttp//ead.lib.v
  irginia.edu/vivaead/cgi-bin/eadform.plgt
• A union database of a small percentage of
  finding aids from twenty-one repositories.

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Digital Projects

• Valley of the Shadow Two Communities in the
  American Civil War
• lthttp//valley.vcdh.virginia.edugt
• A Web project documenting the communities of
  Augusta County, Va. and Franklin County, Pa. on
  the eve of the Civil War through Reconstruction,
  Fall 1859 through Fall 1870.

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Digital Projects

• Library of Congress
• American Memory Project
• lthttp//lcweb2.loc.govgt
• This site contains historical collections for
  the National Digital Library.

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Panoramic photograph of a flood in Pittsburgh
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General Historical Online Resources

• American National Biography online
• Site-licensed database includes the contents of
  the Oxford Companion to United States History
  Encyclopedia
• Search by keyword, name, sex, occupations and
  realms of renown, birth and death dates,
  birthplace, contributor, and date of publication
• Entries include locations of personal papers

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General Historical Online Resources

• Historic Documents Series online
• Site-licensed. Published annually since 1972,
  the series now contains 33 volumes of primary
  sources.
• Search by keyword, browse by title, browse by
  topic, and cumulative index to link from the page
  number listed to the exact section of the
  document.

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Google Scholarscholar.google.com

• Googles efforts to index scholarly literature
• Search techniques and limitations unique to
  Google Scholar
• Single search engine
• Indexes peer-reviewed journal articles, books,
  and other scholarly resources
• Complements, but does not replace, traditional
  research databases

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Special Historical Online Resources

• Network Subject Gateways History
• lthttp//www.historyguide.de/gt
• Subject gateway to scholarly relevant Web sites
  in history

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Etana Electronic Tools and Ancient Near Eastern
Archives http//wwww.etana.org/

• Cooperative venture of a consortium of scholarly
  societies and universities to develop and
  maintain a comprehensive Internet site for the
  study of the ancient Near East (ANE).
• Academic, library and technical staff of the
  partner organizations will collaborate to share
  intellectual and technical resources in the
  development of the project.
• Partners
• The American Oriental Society AOS
• The American Schools of Oriental Research ASOR
• Case Western Reserve University Library CWRU
• The Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi
  State University
• The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
  OI
• The Society of Biblical Literature SBL
• The Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of
  Archaeology of Tel Aviv University
• Vanderbilt Divinity School and the Graduate
  Department of Religion
• Vanderbilt Divinity Library

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Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of
Economies, Historical Systems, and Civilizations
at Binghamton University fbc.binghamton.edu

• The Fernand Braudel Center was founded in
  September 1976 to engage in the analysis of
  large-scale social change over long periods of
  historical time.
• Active Research Working Groups include
• Cultural Forms in the Modern World-System
• Built Environments of Atlantic Slavery
• Crisis in the World-System Options and
  Possibilities
• Categories of Social Knowledge
• Structural Trends of the Capitalist World-Economy

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Digital Projects

• RLG Cultural Materials
• Site-licensed database of collections of visual
  image material culture from U.S. and
  international libraries, museums, and archives.
• Trove.net (free version)
• lthttp//www.trove.netgt

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Special Historical Online Resources Art-related

• Archives of American Art
• lthttp//artarchives.si.edu/gt
• Collections Online lthttp//www.aaa.si.edu/collecti
  onsonline/gt
• Since 1954, the Archives has collected roughly
  16 million letters, photographs, diaries,
  sketches, scrapbooks, business records, and other
  documentation that supports the study of the
  history of the visual arts in America.

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Special Historical Online Resources Images

• ArtSTOR
• lthttp//www.artstor.org/info/gt
• A repository of hundreds of thousands of digital
  images and related data
• Licensed to non-profit institutions

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Special Historical Online Resources Architecture

• Structurae
• lthttp//en.structurae.de/index.cfmgt
• Information on works of structural engineering,
  architecture or construction through time,
  history and from around the world. The
  documentation begins at the time of the pyramids
  in Egypt and Roman construction, continues to
  Romanesque and Gothic churches and through to the
  Industrial Revolution all the way to today and
  beyond. Structurae deals mostly with bridges,
  tunnels, dams, skyscrapers, stadiums, towers,
  etc.

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Special Historical Online Resources Agriculture

• Forest History Society Research Resources
• lthttp//www.lib.duke.edu/forest/Research/gt
• Oral history program, unique descriptive
  electronic databases, and extensive archival,
  library, and photographic collections that
  document the myriad relationships that have
  existed between people, forests, and natural
  resources throughout history.

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Special Historical Online Resources Govt. Docs

• National Security Archive The Atomic Bomb and
  the End of World War II A Collection of Primary
  Sources
• lthttp//www.gwu.edu/nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/in
  dex2.htmgt
• The most comprehensive on-line collection to
  date of declassified U.S. government documents on
  the atomic bomb and the end of the war in the
  Pacific.

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Special Historical Online Resources Oral History

• Oral History Online
• lthttp//www.alexanderstreet.com/products/
• orhi.htmgt
• Fee-based. Contains in-depth indexing to more
  than 2,700 oral history collections, with keyword
  searching of over 287,000 pages of full-text. It
  also contains pointers to over 4,300 audio and
  video files and almost 19,000 bibliographic
  records.

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Special Historical Online Resources Oral History

• In the First Person lthttp//www.inthefirstperso
  n.com/firp/
• index.aspxgt
• Free version of Oral History Online provides
  access to an in-depth index of more than 3,350
  collections of letters, diaries, oral histories,
  and personal narratives in English from around
  the world.

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Special Historical Online Resources Immigration

• North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and
  Oral Histories
• lthttp//www.alexanderstreet2.htm/
• imldlive/index.htmlgt
• Fee-based. Mostly previously unpublished
  personal views of immigration to the U.S. and
  Canada, 1800-1950, emphasizing the 1840s and
  1890-1914.

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Special Historical Online Resources Women

• North American Women's Letters and Diaries,
  Colonial to 1950
• lthttp//www.alexanderstreet2.com/
• NWLDLive/gt
• Fee-based. The immediate experiences of 1,325
  women and 150,000 pages of published letters and
  diaries from individuals including more than
  6,000 pages of previously unpublished materials.
  Drawn from more than 600 sources, including
  journal articles, pamphlets, newsletters,
  monographs, and conference proceedings. 22
  search option categories.

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Special Historical Online Resources Civil Rights

• Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive
• lthttp//www.lib.usm.edu/spcol/crda/gt
• Text and audiovisual searchable database of 709
  digital images plus 144 oral histories and 16
  manuscript and photograph collections on race
  relations in Mississippi.

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Special Historical Online Resources Census

• Historical Census Browser
• lthttp//fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats
  /histcensus/gt
• Examine state and county topics for individual
  census years, 1790-1960
• examine multiple topics within a census year
• produce tables of data by state or county
• sort data by selected categories
• create ratios between any two data categories
• Examine state and county topics over time
• examine a topic across multiple census years
• produce tables of data by state or county
• For General Population, Education Literacy,
  Economy/Manufacturing/Employment,
  Ethnicity/Race/Place of Birth, Agriculture, Slave
  Population
• Generate maps of selected data

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Special Historical Online Resources Black History

• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
• lthttp//www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.htmlgt
• The manuscripts and archival collections are
  strongest for the 20th century in performing
  arts, women, Harlem, African American writers,
  civil rights organizations and activities,
  manuscripts and research files of historians and
  other scholars, papers and records of individuals
  and organizations documenting radical political
  movements, religion, and eighteenth and
  nineteenth century Haitian history. Geographic
  concentration is primarily in the United States.

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Catalogs of libraries and consortia

• Library of Congress
• Bibliothèque Nationale de France
• British Library
• Committee on Institutional Cooperation

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Library of Congress
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Bibliothèque Nationale de France
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British Library
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Virtual Electronic Library (VEL) of the
Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC)
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Secondary literature online

• Historical Abstracts
• America History and Life
• Année philologique
• Open access journals

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Historical Abstracts
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America History and Life
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Année philologique
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Open access journals

• Crisis in scholarly communication and journal
  costs
• Directory of Open Access Journals
  http//www.doaj.org/
• Funding model that does not charge readers or
  their institutions for access.
• Increase visibility and ease of use of open
  access scholarly journals to promote their
  increased use and impact.
• One- stop shop for open access journals.
• Journals must exercise peer-review or editorial
  quality control to be included.

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Open access journals in historycurrently
carries 92 titles
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Professional organizations

• American Historical Association
  http//www.historians.org/
• The Historical Society http//www.bu.edu/historic
  /
• Organization of American Historians
  http//www.oah.org/
• Southern Historical Association
  http//www.uga.edu/sha
• Southern Association for Women Historians
• http//www.h-net.org/sawh/

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Other academic resources

• American Association of University Professors
  (AAUP) www.aaup.org/aaup
• Chronicle of Higher Education chronicle.com/
  (online edition free to print subscribers)
• H-Net discussion lists http//www.h-net.org/list
  s/
• Your institutions archivist and/or subject
  librarian

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Pedagogic uses of online resources

• Online course management systems
• Web-based instruction
• Audiovisual and other materials for in-class use
• Evaluation of sources
• Citation and plagiarism issues

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Sample Teaching Resources

• Center for History and New Media
  http//chnm.gmu.edu
• Since 1994, CHNM combines cutting edge digital
  media with the latest and best historical
  scholarship. Developed for historians and
  teachers
• Online databases and other resources
• Free digital tools (Web Scrapbook, Survey
  Builder, Scribe, Poll Builder, and Syllabus
  Finder)
• History Matters http//historymatters.gmu.edu/
• Gateway to Web resources and offers other
  useful materials for teaching U.S. history.
  Includes 998 primary documents, images, and audio
  interviews.
• WWW.History http//historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/w
  wwhistory/
• Annotated guide to the most useful
  websites for teaching U.S. history
  and social studies.

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Conclusion historical resources on the Web

• Primary sources
• Archives
• Repositories
• Digital projects
• Secondary sources
• Library catalogs
• Online books
• Journals, proceedings, and other research

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Conclusion historical resources on the Web

• Professional and academic resources
• Pedagogical resources
• Professional organizations
• Communications tools
• Discussion lists
• Online directories
• Always ask a librarian or archivist

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Questions or comments?Contact us

• Susan Hamburger, Ph. D.
• Manuscripts Cataloging Librarian
• The Pennsylvania State University
• sxh36_at_psulias.psu.edu
• Daniel C. Mack, MLS, MA
• Head, Arts and Humanities Library
• The Pennsylvania State University
• dmack_at_psu.edu