###History libraries & research open day, Senate House Library, 18 March 2014
Live notes, so an incomplete, partial record of what actually happened.
Hashtag for the day #histday14
####Wilcox, Landes, Blaney, Simon Baker - Electronic Resources
Intro to Electronic Resources (Wilcox, Landes)
First thing to do is ask a librarian if you need help!
Reference databases (eg British History Online), bibliographic databases, journal databases
- availability differs from library to library.
Primary source archives such as the British Cartoon Archive or the Old Bailey Online.
But then, of course, many electronic resources cross the boundaries of these categories.
No central lists for these things. Share our knowledge to stitch things together.
How to search well.
- THINK
- limit, narrow
- [doesn't just work like Google... See 'Get More Out of Google' infographic http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEyLzA0LzI0LzAyXzIwXzEzXzI5M19maWxlCnAJdGh1bWIJMTIwMHg5NjAwPg/0ac922b6]
- Boolean
IHR Digital (Blaney)
- Victoria County History - ideal for local history
- Survey of London
- strong with Parliamentary records
- admin and legal strong with early modern period
- 1840-1890 map strength
- 70% free, 30% premium content
Connected History
- power of federated search.
- but also lays bare OCR. Introduces users to problems associated with electronic resources.
History Online & Bibliography of British and Irish History (Baker)
Resources for secondary resources around areas of study.
Link through to other resources, where the stuff listed can be found.
Email alerts and exporting data
####Reference Management Software (Paul Horsler)
Historians need to cite. It is what we do.
How to organise them (and your research notes)? - a question worth considering.
Zotero, Mendeley, Endnote [I'd recommend the former]
Whatever reference management tool you choose, make it part of your workflow from early on. It'll save you time
####Digital Imaging (Dave Jackson)
Increase use of cameras by students in libraries. So we should think about what we need. Is a phone good enough? Depends what you need to do!
Ultimately, you get what you pay for.
Flash for the most part is your enemy (and that of your fellow readers!)
Make a test iamge, check your images (sample them) before leaving the archive.
Start with the title page so you know where the images come from!
####Digital Research (James Baker)
My notes here https://gist.github.com/drjwbaker/9596448
####Training (Simon Trafford)
Skills needs evolving, basics plus specialisation.
Current trend away from 'picking it up as you go along' model, towards structured training - including the IHR Research Training Courses.
Archival training week the IHR offers three times a year.
Growth in Digital Historical Skills: Databases, using souces on the internet, Mapping and GIS (taught by http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/history/staff/colson/)
Plus spring/summer schools, 10-week course with Anna Davin on oral history, 10-week course with Tosh on theory.
####Elizabeth Williams, Presentation Skills
Important in your life and work!
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