A couple of years ago I was contacted by a magazine to write an article on how internet resources were affecting the way research was being done and also how its methodology was being taught. So I surveyed six members of the academy, all of them Phds and all of them folks you know or have heard of. The cumulative result was gobbldygook to the extent that it was apparent that the “academy”, for lack of a better term, had not looked at the topic in any organized way. With one or two exceptions, it seemed that these folks were a) unaware of many of the resources available and or b) more concerned with the disadvantages than the advantages they presented. There was such a lack of consistency in the responses that I had nothing to work with, dropped back fifteen and punted – that is, I wrote an article on CW blogs instead. It’s good to know that the SCWH is tackling this (BTW, you got some nice press in the newsletter I received today).

The digitization of resources represents a quantum leap in historical research, similar to that of the early 1800′s when archives became available to the public. The internet has helped lower the barriers of time and money. Twenty years ago you needed good friends in dozens of repositories. Now you need one good friend, and his name is Google!

Thanks for pointing this out. It’s close to home so I might just be able to make it, maybe. I’m excited if it works out…