Welcome back!
The caffeine question of the day is this… Which tea have you not tried, but are interested in trying? Comment below!
Today we are continuing the series with a quick talk about digital archives. What are they, where are they, and how to work with them. Let’s get started!
Like physical archives, digital archives are collections or items from an archive that have been uploaded to an archive, museum, or library’s website for the public to view. By creating a digital archive, the institutions are able to both promote their own research and findings while contributing to historical accessibility in the process. Many of the items you can find within these archives range from photographs, newspapers, letters, to snapshots of items such as baseball gloves, shoes, etc. These items can be either scanned or photographed. Along with these items, many institutions include a small tidbit of information relating to the item itself and its contributions to history. These can be found either with the item itself or within the finding aid from its specific collection.
If you are not familiar with navigating through archival and museum websites, trying to find these collections can seem a bit stressful. I remember when I was first introduced to digital archives and was a little overwhelmed looking through collections. There are just so many possibilities! However, many of these sites are still adjusting to a digital setting, so if you do not find items in one collection, you’ll for sure find them in another one. Or better yet, you’ll find something to add to your “rainy field trip” that you didn’t think to include! Whatever the case may be, like the internet itself, digital archives are far and wide. Below is a list of digital archives that are great starting points for those interested in taking a digital trip to history!
- The University of Southern Mississippi Digital Collection
- The Mississippi Department of Archives & History Digital Collection
- Library of Congress Digital Collection
- Smithsonian Libraries Digital Collection
- Newspaper.com: this is a subscription site that allows you to try it for free for 7 days
Included here is also a link to the Digital Resources from the National Archives. This includes a list of other digital collection sites that are not seen here.
After finding a few items or collections that correlate with your lesson plans,you will be ready to create your own in class field trip! A few ideas that can get you started can be seen below:
- Assign items or collections to groups within the class for them to research. Create worksheets for the group to work on relating to their project and its correlation to the week’s lesson. This will allow students to learn more about history via a fun and engaging team exercise.
- Assign items or collections to individuals to research during class. Like the group assignment, this will allow students to learn more about how they understand history and learn how to research on their own for future projects.
- Create a class wide tour through a specific digital archive to walk through together and connect the collection’s importance to the week’s lesson.
Working with digital archives allows students to have a different perspective on history in an engaging and hands-on experience. No matter how you decide to create exercises or tours, students will love having a different format that is more visually enticing, especially during a common semester slump!
Have any comments or ideas relating to this week’s post? Leave a comment below or send a message via the contact page. Stay tuned for next week as we finish up the series by exploring hands-on digital projects!
Until next time!
THE CAFFEINATED HISTORIAN 