Welcome Back!

Well, after a hiatus that was much longer than I had intended, I’m back blogging about the intersection of history, research, the Library, and online resources at the University of New Hampshire. And oh, what a busy summer it has been!

You may have noticed a new look to both the Library’s homepage and online catalog. Rob Wolff has designed  a new library homepage which features both a new look and expanded functionality. It combines the familiar library site header with some new content, including search boxes for the new library catalog, course reserves, digital collections, and the library website.

The library catalog has a new, Google-like interface. It searches the same information but presents it differently. The result list is sorted by relevance; you can also sort by date or title. Flanking the results are ways to refine your search and find newest material. If you want to search with the familiar, old interface, there is a link to it on the new catalog page.

Welcome to “Doin’ history”

I am developing this blog as a guide for those, such as myself, who want to learn more about historical research, sources, and documentation in an increasingly complex, yet exciting Web 2.0 world. When I entered graduate school some 30 years ago, there was a recognizable canon of journals, monographs, and reference works. Archival repositories were places you had to visit in order to handle paper-based primary sources.For the student of history today, the environment is both analog and digital. Interdisciplinary is a given, not a choice. And electronic resources, both commercial and non-profit are being developed, utilized, and yes, disappear at a dizzying pace. In my role as an active researcher, teacher, and librarian/archivist, I will do my best to share what I learn in order to facilitate the pursuit of history in this fast-paced environment. However, this is an interactive world and, for the greatest possible benefit, this must be a joint process in which we all share and participate.I’m ready and willing: let’s see how it goes.