tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post6016001412637014950..comments2024-02-28T18:29:41.120-08:00Comments on Not of General Interest: Random discoveries and questions from the weekundinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-30010068650047490192012-11-23T11:30:50.297-08:002012-11-23T11:30:50.297-08:00Anonymous--that's a great point. Though not i...Anonymous--that's a great point. Though not in the same position, I learn a lot from looking up questions for others, and I can only imagine what it must be like working in a library for real.<br /><br />Chicago--I haven't gotten up my courage to try almond milk yet but am working on it. undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-72375667231118802442012-11-23T11:19:31.294-08:002012-11-23T11:19:31.294-08:00Starbucks Hot Cocoa mix + vanilla almond milk or c...Starbucks Hot Cocoa mix + vanilla almond milk or chocolate almond milk = more awesomeness for the lactose intolerant! :-)chicago foodie girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13332010809660151470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-54807411078750638812012-11-17T15:10:46.589-08:002012-11-17T15:10:46.589-08:00@undine, I learned all of that from interning in t...@undine, I learned all of that from interning in the public services department of a big special-collections library while in library school. My job involved answering queries from patrons about our holdings, and processing reproduction orders -- the behind-the-scenes work taught me a LOT... especially about the value of contacting the archives/special collections' public services/reference staff. They know what they have, or have internal tools that let them dig in deeper on their end. I did a fair amount of archival research for my dissertation, and it was fascinating to be working on the other side.Anonymoushttp://girlhistorian.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-29327037171966912592012-11-17T13:27:12.299-08:002012-11-17T13:27:12.299-08:00sophylou--those who digitize materials deserve a l...sophylou--those who digitize materials deserve a lot more recognition and thanks than they usually get. That's a great point about making connections between digitized/nondigitized materials and the collaboration with the special collections librarian. I undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-92214158754207998782012-11-14T19:44:42.617-08:002012-11-14T19:44:42.617-08:00As a librarian and a historian I find this a reall...As a librarian and a historian I find this a really tricky question. Ideally I think you'd have both, resources available online and in person. Having the materials online benefits scholars unable to afford research travel (like me, though I'm reasonably sure that the stuff I need to travel to see is not going to be digitized anytime soon--copyright issues and probably also sense that the materials aren't that "important" historically/literarily). <br /><br />And as a librarian I pretty much have to endorse that kind of access (even though as someone who worked in a SpColl library in library school, I know how time- and labor-intensive digitization is).<br /><br />But yes, you can lose serendipity, you lose the tactile and hard-to-quantify looking-at-real-thingness, you don't have the relationship with the archivist/librarian (hi!). Plus not everything is going to be digitized, so you may miss making a connection between the digitized materials you're looking at, and another, non-digitized collection at the same site. (Though hopefully communication with the archivist can help with that). sophylouhttp://girlhistorian.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-60278524919405768582012-11-13T20:44:01.030-08:002012-11-13T20:44:01.030-08:00Z--that's the thing I fear: the loss of serend...Z--that's the thing I fear: the loss of serendipity. <br /><br />nicoleandmaggie--some creative bookmarks are interesting, but some are --not nice to see or touch. undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-59535538370322769962012-11-11T07:18:24.577-08:002012-11-11T07:18:24.577-08:00I LOVE the way superceded state laws are now mostl...I LOVE the way superceded state laws are now mostly available on Google Books. Even the Harvard law library doesn't have a complete collection. I can live without the dust, and I can even live without the creative bookmarks from 200 years ago. Also I can't accidentally rip the pages of online archives. And searchability-- amazing.<br /><br />I have a project that would have taken at least two fewer years if online archives had been available when I started.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-77260379720589995032012-11-10T17:17:43.300-08:002012-11-10T17:17:43.300-08:00Archives: having them online is an auxiliary thing...Archives: having them online is an auxiliary thing. It means you can call them up in class or at conferences, and to look at them ahead of going in person and afterward. It is great.<br /><br />Substitute, no. 1. In person you find things you were not looking for more easily. 2. Benjaminian aura: looking at the original in its place is meaningful although I am not sure how to quantify that. 3. Meeting the archivists, seeing the other things there are in the bulding and the neighborhood, going to the related bookstores in person, everything that is good about fieldwork.Zhttp://profacero.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com