Transcript Unstable Sources: New Approaches to Historical Methodology Just Say "No" to Google: Finding Archives and Manuscript Collections on the Web Susan Hamburger, Ph.D. Connecting Historians with.

Unstable Sources:
New Approaches to
Historical Methodology
Just Say "No" to Google:
Finding Archives and Manuscript Collections on the Web
Susan 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
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Digitization of primary sources increasing
exponentially
Increasingly multi-platform
Ubiquity: widely available from any location
Familiarity to students
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Increasingly familiar with online sources
Technology used in their daily life
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Online collections by subject,
area, or period
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Primary sources and archival materials
Secondary sources
Links to other collections and associations
There is no “one-stop shopping” for online
historical sources
Google doesn’t have access to and can’t
search many of these resources
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National Databases - U.S.
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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.
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NUCMC/RLIN AMC File Search
Form offers free access to the RLG Union
Catalog Archival and Mixed Collections
files
<http://lcweb.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/>
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National Databases - U.S.
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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:
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National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC, 1959present)
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)
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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.
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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.
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National Archives and Records
Administration
<http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/basic_
search.jsp>
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
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CAIN: Canadian Archival Information
Network
<http://www.cain-rcia.ca/>
Allows viewers to search archival holdings
in more than eight hundred publiclyaccessible Canadian repositories. The site
offers links to provincial archival networks
(organizations) and online archival exhibits.
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National Databases – U.K.
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National Register of Archives (U.K.)
<http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/>
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.
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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.
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Archives HUB
<http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/index.html>
National gateway to descriptions of
archives in UK universities and
colleges, provided by the University
Manchester.
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National Databases - Australia
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Register of Australian Archives and
Manuscripts (RAAM)
<http://www.nla.gov.au/raam/>
This database contains records
describing non-government archives
held in Australian archival repositories
and libraries.
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National Databases - New Zealand
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New Zealand National Register of
Archives and Manuscripts /
Te Raarangi Puuranga, Tuhinga Ake
o te Motu (NRAM)
<http://www.nram.org.nz/>
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
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Repositories of Primary Resources
(University of Idaho)
<http://www.uidaho.edu/specialcollections/Other.Repositories.html>
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
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Ready, 'Net, Go! Resources for
Archives (Tulane University)
<http://www.tulane.edu/~lmiller/ArchivesResources.html>
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
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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
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Online Archive of California
<http://www.oac.cdlib.org>
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.
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Virginia Heritage--Guides to Manuscript and
Archival Collections in Virginia
<http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/cgi-bin/eadform.pl>
A union database of a small percentage of finding aids from
twenty-one repositories.
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Digital Projects
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Valley of the Shadow; Two
Communities in the American
Civil War
<http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu>
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
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<http://lcweb2.loc.gov>
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
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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
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Historic Documents Series online
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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 Scholar
scholar.google.com
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Google’s efforts to index scholarly literature
Search techniques and limitations unique to
Google Scholar
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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
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Network Subject Gateways History
<http://www.historyguide.de/>
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/
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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:
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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:
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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
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RLG Cultural Materials
Site-licensed database of collections of
visual image material culture from U.S. and
international libraries, museums, and
archives.
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Trove.net (free version)
<http://www.trove.net>
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Special Historical Online
Resources: Art-related
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Archives of American Art
<http://artarchives.si.edu/>
Collections Online
<http://www.aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/>
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
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ArtSTOR
<http://www.artstor.org/info/>
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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
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Structurae
<http://en.structurae.de/index.cfm>
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
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Forest History Society Research
Resources
<http://www.lib.duke.edu/forest/Research/>
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: Gov’t. Docs
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National Security Archive: The Atomic
Bomb and the End of World War II: A
Collection of Primary Sources
<http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEB
B162/index2.htm>
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
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Oral History Online
<http://www.alexanderstreet.com/products/
orhi.htm>
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
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In the First Person
<http://www.inthefirstperson.com/firp/
index.aspx>
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
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North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries
and Oral Histories
<http://www.alexanderstreet2.htm/
imldlive/index.html>
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
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North American Women's Letters and Diaries,
Colonial to 1950
<http://www.alexanderstreet2.com/
NWLDLive/>
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
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Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital
Archive
<http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/crda/>
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
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Historical Census Browser
<http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/>
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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
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Schomburg Center for Research in Black
Culture
<http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html>
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
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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
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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
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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 history:
currently carries 92 titles
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Professional organizations
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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
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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/lists/
Your institution’s archivist and/or subject
librarian
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Pedagogic uses of
online resources
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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
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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:
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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.
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WWW.History
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/wwwhistory/
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
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Primary sources
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Archives
Repositories
Digital projects
Secondary sources
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Library catalogs
Online books
Journals, proceedings, and other research
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Conclusion: historical
resources on the Web
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Professional and academic resources
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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
[email protected]
Daniel C. Mack, MLS, MA
Head, Arts and Humanities Library
The Pennsylvania State University
[email protected]
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