"Historians had been better in studying past politics than past social and economic life. historical studies had tended to concentrate on events, and on the motives of individuals and institutions, and they had been less well equipped for analyzing the more anonymous processes and structures that were located in the longue duree. Structures and processes seemed to have been neglected. All this was to be changed by broadening the scope of historical studies: by adding more economic and social history, in its own right, and as a key to understanding history in general."
"The social sciences had tools to offer in the study of dimensions of the past that were "beneath" or "behind" historical institutions, events, and ideas (dimensions such as economic change, population growth, social inequality and mobility, mass attitudes and behavior, social protest, and voting patterns), tools that the historians did not possess: quantitative methods; analytic concepts like class, role expectations, or status discrepancy; models of social change. Some historians sought now to use such 'mass data' as marriage registers, elections results, and tax documents, and for this the turn to the social sciences proved indispensable."
"Of course, the field of American history up into the 1960s was a simpler, more restrictive place resembling an old boys' club, with leading scholars training their successors in elite departments reserved mostly for Protestant white men."
"But historians not only spend inordinate amounts of time with the dead, they work in a field where all the stories have been told, all the questions answered. Joan of Arc is martyred, Hitler invades Czechoslovakia: predictable and depressing." ~ Elliott Gorn
"The historian was "essentially a bringer of order to the past, a perceiver of patterns." John Cannon
"Look at King Arthur -- he first appears in the 9th Century as a Welsh freedom fighter, fighting against the Anglo-Saxons; and then by the 12th Century he's the Napoleon of the Middle Ages and marches on Rome and all this kind of stuff. Another 100 years go by and he's this chivalrous figure of romance with knights and round tables and spiritual guests. To the Tudors, he's a political figure, and to the Victorians he becomes something else. The same character has the name Arthur, but the story has changed out of all recognition." ~ Michael Wood
"It is the task of my generation of historians to find ways of turning, responsibly and wisely, from the Eurocentric history into which we were born to the more global history our children will inherit." ~ Caroline Walker Bynum
"Communities use history to define themselves -- their core ideals, achievements, and grudges. Small wonder, then, that history is frequently re-evaluated as political pendulums shift, or as long-oppressed minority groups finally get their say." ~ Scott Baldauf
By definition and tradition, history requires written records that can be reviewed and evaluated. Before that is "pre-history" which has been the domain of anthropologists and archaeologists. Often, oral history of now lost peoples has been placed with myth and legend or folklore.
History has frequently been seen as the common memory of a people and a memory that gives people an identity and a place in the world. History gives people immortality. It also captures shared ideas, values, and experiences and may shape future ideas, values, and experiences -- even national identity. The Serbs are a good example of that as they continue to focus on their past while ignoring the future. However, collective or common memory may have little to do with the truth and more to do with myth that makes people feel good.
Stories are often created to advance particular political, social or economic views. Historians tend to come from and represent the "winners" in a society. For example, until very recently those who lost a war rarely had an opportunity to record history from their perspective and have it shared with a meaningful audience. It will not amaze that much traditional history is about males and the rich or powerful. Once certain assumptions are made, historians may ignore sources contrary to those assumptions. European history relies on European observers, even when that history focuses on developing countries or colonial experiences.
The historical record is an interpretation. In a very real sense, historians create history--it does not exist by itself. Historians decide what to study. They select some facts and ignore others. Many events are ambiguous and need to be interpreted. Interpretations are likely to reflect typical, strongly held views. As each generation looks at the historical record (evidence) it may arrive at a different interpretation of what happened or what the happening means (the "so what").
History is the study of the past. History is what happened in the past. Historians may study anything that is in the past and affected human beings. One definition says that history is "all that has been felt, thought, imagined, said and done by human beings." However, human beings have generally been limited to the rich and powerful, especially military and political leaders. Thus, history may be seen as great deeds.
If history is limited to recorded (non-oral) evidence, history is what has been recorded about the past.
Using written records, historian attempt to reconstruct the past. They focus on the identification, evaluation, and linking relevant records to learn more about when and where an event happened. "The profession's mission is to increase and enrich the fund of historical knowledge, to expand and deepen the general understanding of history, and to promote its public usefulness."
As mentioned above, why an event happened or what difference it made is almost always the result on an interpretation. Different historians, examining the same evidence, may arrive at quite different conclusions. Because of this variability, some argue that history is more of an art than a science. Facts are organized, analyzed, and interpreted to tell a particular story. Thus, the historian creates history by selecting events, facts, and then telling the story.
All subjects may be studied historically. Thus, history is the most heterogeneous discipline. "Sooner or later, everything falls into the historian's net." History is either the "Mother subject" or merely the "past" of all the topics studied by the other disciplines and professions. For example, does music history belong to history or to music?
If history is a compelling story, particularly one that shapes a culture or a people's identity, then is surely must be part of the humanities. Indeed, for a considerable time, many historians thought of history as part of literature. Even today, literature and history have strong linkages.
Given the role of history in creating national identity, there has been, and continues to be, strong attempts by some leaders and some historians to create and use historical events for political ends. Unhappily, history as indoctrination continues to be popular with some political leaders. Evidence-based historical study, especially if it goes against popular notions, is not popular in some circles.
Without written evidence, there is no history. Since historians work with the evidence that survived, the record is likely to be incomplete or biased. What about the evidence that did not survive? How complete is the story that we do know? Those who witness and record events are not likely to be wholly disinterested.
Primary source is evidence created by some one who witnessed the event. Please note that different people who "witnessed" the same event may see and recall quite different experiences. Primary sources are the "stuff" of history. Most remain unpublished and some are scattered in collections in distant places. Some primary sources in government agencies may be difficult to locate or placed behind a security firewall of some kind. Primary source material held by individuals and corporations may also be unavailable to the historian. Primary sources are the building blocks of history. Although there is considerable distrust of Internet content by many historians, the increasing availability of primary source content on the web has been a great advantage for those interested in history. For example, via the American Memory collections at the Library of Congress, K12 teachers and students may examine and discuss primary sources rather than being limited to secondary sources.
Secondary source is evidence gathered by one who did not witness the event. Thus, secondary sources are removed from the event and represent some sort of synthesis based on whatever secondary sources were used to create the content. On the web, secondary sources may provide biased and inaccurate accounts of an event.
Until recently, history was placed in the humanities and the American Historical Association has recently asked history departments to be classified as part of the humanities. UNESCO refuses to consider history as part of the social sciences. It is only in the last few years that the notion of "scientific history" has become somewhat popular. The notion is that the actual event may be reconstructed by a systematic, objective inquiry that identifies, retrieves, evaluates, and interprets a wide variety of evidence. Considerable attention is given to the genuineness and credibility of the documents examined. Still, few lists of the social science disciplines include history.
For history to be scientific, there must be comparison of similar events that may lead to generalizations. Given examination of enough revolutions, for example, the political historian could move on to examine and theorize about the model event or the event in the abstract with its attributes and associations. Ideally, history as a social science discipline would eventually allow for prediction of future events based upon variables identified in the past.
Not all agree. Some continue to argue that history is not a science but a myth--a form of literature. Here, the historian is seen as novelist, creating a synthesis from a collection of evidence and transforming that synthesis into a compelling story.
Predictability is central to a scientific discipline. Certainly, some historians believe that broad laws of of historical development based on the pattern of many events can be identified and that these will allow reasonable prediction. For example, based on the study of past revolutions, the political historian will be able to predict future ones. Scientific history places more emphasis on why rather than who, what, where, and how. There is also more emphasis on institutional roles.
Increased government regulation and more accurate record keeping has created a more detailed historical record in many developed countries which allows historians to work with reasonably large data sets. Population history and political history which examines voting or public opinion are good examples. Economic history also is relatively data rich. With large sets of data, historians can create models that are more likely to have predictive power. As this type of research becomes more popular, it encourages historians to focus on recent periods where data is more available.
As history has become more inclusive, borrowing from the other social science disciplines has increased. Economic history borrows heavily from economics. Cultural histories borrow from sociology and anthropology as well as from the humanities. Political history borrows from political science and so on.
This is one of the most notable trends in recent historical research. Researchers in the United States have led in identifying, retrieving, and creating data sets based upon topics, such as political and economic history where data is more easily found.
This famous French school or approach to historical research was established by Lucien Febvre and Marc Bloch in 1929. They moved away from event-oriented history to social history focusing on the structures within which human life occurred. There was increased interest in the lives of ordinary people and including more insights from other disciplines. This may be called "total history" rather than the traditional political or institutional history. The Annales school was similar to the "New History" popular in the U.S. through the 1930s. Annales researchers were interested in measurable material factors: climate, food, and disease for example. Statistical data was used where ever possible.
There is considerable dispute about whether contemporary history can really be history. The notion here is that passions are too much of a problem and that some distance from the event, 25 years is frequently mentioned, is necessary for the passions to die and the evidence to become available as the principals pass away and their papers become available to historians. It is common for historical figures to deny access to their papers until those involved are no longer alive.
Since history requires written evidence, it began with those in the Fertile Crescent and Egypt who recorded religious and political events on papyrus rolls or clay tablets. The Greeks are often thought of as the first historians [484-425 BCE] because their historical writings were more organized and systematic. Herodotus is sometimes called the father of history as we know it. Political and military history dominated. "History is past politics and politics is present history."
History and literature were inseparable for centuries since history was part of the humanities and history was written in the literary mode.
Each age writes its own history, interpreting the past in the light of the present. Historical events are used to explain or enhance contemporary life. Serious collection and preservation of historic documents began in the 1500s.
After the industrial revolution, interest in economic history grew substantially.
Historians were amateurs until the 1800s in Germany where Leopold von Ranke invented modern academic history. He focused on collecting primary source material and objective facts which could then be examined critically. As history became more academic, it became less popular. The gap between "popular" and academic history began to grow. Amateur historians flourish, but outside the academic discipline. They are active in genealogy, local history, and topical history, i.e. railroad or military history.
In 1859, Historische Zeitschrift was established. It became the first scholarly historical periodical and still survives. In 1884, the American Historical Association was established. By the 1890s, the new, rigorous academic history was well established in Germany and the U.S.
By the 1860s, young American students and scholars had returned from Europe, Germany especially, imbued with the scientific spirit of inquiry. In 1876, the first American History Seminar was held at Johns Hopkins. The establishment of the AHA in 1884 began the professionalization process in the U.S. By now, the divide between amateur and professional was clearly visible. Those who made a living writing history were now amateurs while those who mostly teach students became professionals. State and local historical societies grew rapidly. As history became professionalized, there was less "story" in history. History becomes a product for other historians. In the beginning, political (institutional) history was especially popular among scholars.
History has traditionally been used as a means of social and political education. Assimilation, shared values, and the "melting pot" theory assumed that immigrants would become Americans and identify with American history. This was and continues to be an important role for history in public K12 education.
Following WWII, there was a dramatic increase in higher education, including history at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The scholarly academic historian became the norm. Non-academic historians "were barely recognized." During the past fifty years the number of departments conferring Ph.D's in history doubled and the number of Ph.D's more than doubled. In fact, there were more new doctorates than positions.
There was an explosion of academic history programs in the 1960s and 1970s. This produced an explosion in the secondary literature, especially in the periodical literature. It became increasingly difficult for the historian to keep up with literature. At the same time, the new social history bloomed. The war in Vietnam led historians away from national institutions. Interest in previously disadvantaged groups increased, especially as members of these groups demanded that their own story be told. History shifted from "the public life of the nation to the private lives of its citizens. These historians focused on those previously deemed unworthy of study such as women, children, native Americans, and the poor. Every day life became a popular research topic. At the same, there was increased interest in the history of the non-Western world. Some historians see the result of these changes as the "fragmentation of the past."
In the 1990s, too many Ph.D degrees and too few positions created what continues to be the "job crisis." Word of mouth has gradually reduced the number of applicants for Ph.D. degrees in history and the number of graduates is falling. Between 1995 and 2000, the number of graduate students in history departments declined by 17 percent. While the job market has improved somewhat, it remains a problem.
In the past few years, these topics have become more popular:
There are about 40,000 professional historians in the U.S. and nearly 60 percent are employed in academe. The profession is overwhelmingly male and white [82% and 91%]. The average [mean] historian is 55 years old. The job market is bleak except for replacement positions. Historians are also found in historical associations, archives, museums, government, and in some public schools. About 1000 academic institutions offer BA programs, about 500 the MA, and there are more than 100 PH.D.. programs. Leading Ph.D. institutions include: Harvard, Yale, UCB, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, Wisconsin, Chicago, Michigan, and Cornell.
The American Historical Review was established in 1895 as the membership periodical for the American Historical Association. It is issued five times per year. At least half of each issue consists of reviews. Of the 4,000 or so books received in a typical year, 1000 are reviewed. Reviewers are required to have published at least one monograph. The typical review is about 650 words. The "American" in the title refers to the name of the society and not to the scope. The AHR is inclusive and includes history from all places and times. As the membership and flagship periodical, this is probably the single best collection development source for the research-oriented library. Review comments are evaluative and often critical
The Journal of American History is the membership periodical of the Organization of American Historians. It was established in 1914 and is a quarterly publication. Typically, it includes about 600 reviews per year in American history. A typical review is 500 words. An essential source for nearly every library selecting in this area.
Choice is the periodical most often used by college and some large public libraries for selecting historical materials. All reviewers are college history teachers. Reviews often appear 8 months or so before those in the history periodicals. However, Choice does not review as many titles and some historical works are found under non-history subject headings. Choice reviews are also likely to be less critical than those in the specialist periodicals.
Traditionally, historians have specialized by place, time, and topic. A large number of history courses include geographic descriptors such as the history of Spain. Obviously, the U.S. has received the most attention.
Historians also specialize by time or historical period. Typical period categories include:
The range of dates associated with a particular period may vary from scholar to scholar. Typically, about 60 percent of history courses include a chronological descriptor.
Topical or thematic specializations may be confusing because of the large number of topics or themes and the lack of standardization in descriptors. Many topics overlap. Typically, about half of all history courses include a topical frame. These specializations are growing in popularity while contributing to the fragmentation of the discipline.
The most popular historical specialties:
"History is really an umbrella term covering a wide variety of specializations that have little in common with each other but their method."
Political and diplomatic history has been the mainstream of history in the past, especially since archival research began in the 1800s.
Economic history really began to flourish in the 1900s. It often includes business history in its broader context. This is also a specialty within the discipline of economics.
Social and intellectual history is history with the politics and battles removed. It is often popular with the intelligent lay person. Categories might include:
Current literary theory has had considerable impact on social history. Popular culture also plays an important role. There is growing fascination with the evidence of material culture, especially history of popular culture.
Biography is popular with the ordinary reader. Recent trends in biographical research and writing, including the use of psychological insights, have been controversial. Not all biography is objective and evidence based. Campaign biographies are a good example of that.
Local history is often published by local or regional historical societies. Web-based publication is increasingly popular for societies and authors. Authors are usually amateur historians of varying experience and knowledge. Local history may be merely the accumulation of detail and lack analysis and interpretation. Local history and genealogy may overlap.
In the past, important historical figures often recorded their experiences in diaries and letters. With this sort of documentary evidence no longer available, oral history may fill the gap. The interviewer with audio or video recorder asks questions and records responses. Oral history is a good way to capture the experiences of working class people. The Columbia University Oral History Collection was one of the first. Interviews are transcribed and then made available for analysis and interpretation. The Columbia University Oral History Office provides a good list of substantial oral history websites.
In 1776, there was much historical awareness and thinking by lawyers and government ministers who saw the American revolution within a rich historical context [history as the usable past]. Americans were conscious of their role in history, as part of a great cosmic drama unfolding. Until recently, the theme of inevitable triumph over adversity and progress toward a millennium sanctioned by Divine Providence was widely accepted. Manifest Destiny is a good example of this thinking. The notion of human progress, especially based on North Atlantic countries, was the cornerstone of most historical study. This linear notion of history is less popular today, at least among scholars.
In contrast, today few government leaders have a historical perspective or are interested in history.
The great historians of the past such as Bancroft, Turner, the Beards, and Hofstadter, "combined elegant prose and sweeping synthesis in ways rarely seen today." The contemporary failure to write for a lay audience may explain why commercial publishers are much less interested in history today than in the past.
Santayana is famous for his statement that "He who doesn't know the past is condemned to repeat it." The contrary view is that every historical event is unique so that knowing the past does not allow one to safely navigate the future. McLuhan said that "History is the rear view mirror through which people mistakenly look at the present."
Given the wider variety of topics of interest to historians, fragmentation is a visible problem. William McNeill comments on the "disappearance of a coherent, intelligible history...." Crone adds that "We've reached the absurd situation in which everybody is frantically trying to write books and articles that nobody has time to read because everybody is busy writing books and articles." As historians write more specialized works for a small, specialist audience, interest in popular history blooms as seen on the History Channel. However, few historians write that kind of history.
There is some question about the degree to which the historical record reflects what actually happened. Historians can re-create only a small section of the past. Historical events, taken in their context, are notably complex. As mentioned above, history is an interpretation of the past rather than a recreation of it. Historians select relevant sources, relevant data, and relevant facts. The historian, perhaps more than the record, determines what is recreated.
Memory is unreliable and recollections change over the course of our lives. As we remember, we may create a past that justifies and sustains our self-esteem. Data about historical events based on memory, especially some time after that event, may not be reliable.
One definition of history is that it is the custodian of our collective memory. History, then, is the primary vehicle for socialization of the young and bringing together the various elements of a society. This is particularly important when that society is heterogeneous.
History may also be an integral part of an indoctrination program that manipulates individuals in an attempt to move a society in certain "approved" directions. Those who wish to use historical events to indoctrinate are not likely to be comfortable with historians who ask difficult questions or provide evidence that well loved assumptions are in error.
There is growing interest among historians in interdisciplinary approaches. Area studies are a good example. American (really U.S.), Russian, or East Asian (area) studies rely heavily on history but also on other social science and humanities disciplines. Women's studies is similar. Economic, political, and social/cultural history involve substantial interdisciplinary components.
Popular culture has had some impact in recent years and that has expanded the type and format of material of interest to the cultural historian.
The changing nature of the historical record is a topic of continuing concern. Over the years, scholarly expectations have been developed to establish what qualifies as appropriate evidence. "We commonly understand the discipline of history to be empirically grounded, to depend upon the imaginative construction of narratives that are explicitly referential and thus distinguishable from fictional narratives." By definition, history is based upon written evidence and we live at a time when written evidence may have a short life. This is particularly the case with digital messages such as email or participation in discussion lists or news groups. At the same time, fewer individuals keep diaries or a substantial paper correspondence.
At the same time, micro formats and digital records, the American Memory Project is an example, provide access to primary source material previously unavailable or available only to those who could travel to a remove site.
Historical revision is the process of reinterpreting the past on the basis of new evidence or of new interpretations of existing evidence. It is quite common. However, it has become more controversial in the past few years because those who deny the holocaust call themselves "revisionists." However, it is difficult to claim a new interpretation of events in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. As one critic noted, "Holocaust-denial materials are based on deliberate fabrications of the historical record and are offensive not only to Jewish persons, but to anyone who believes that history should be an accurate record of the past (or as accurate as possible)."
The major publishers of Holocaust-denial material in the U.S. are theInstitute for Historical Review and the Noontide Press. The WWW has proved to be an excellent vehicle for making this "revisionist" thinking accessible to many people in a format that seems "scholarly."
Photo duplication has made a dramatic difference in the conduct of historical research. With photo duplication widely available, the historian can copy large amounts of primary source material and then read, ponder, analyze at leisure.
Historians, perhaps more than other social scientists, need an information system. They must develop techniques to identify, scan, index, file and retrieve large amounts of written material relative for their projects. Many still use note cards, sometimes thousands of them. However, sophisticated digital notebooks are becoming more popular.
Language used in LIS cataloging and classification is often imprecise and ambiguous. Authority control for dates, and proper names [people and places] is a continuing problem.
From the beginning, historians and non-historians have attacked the objectivity of historical research. While there have always been historians who were advocates for a particular viewpoint, there may be more today than in the past. Revisionist history is historical research that defies the conventional truths. For example, revisionist history often represents the view of the disadvantaged and the ordinary. It is less Euro centric and more global in its orientation. As you might imagine, this is controversial. At one time, the U.S. Senate on a 99-1 vote declared a revisionist curriculum to be "anti-American." Whose history should be taught? As one proponent of the new history said, many feel that students should not learn that " every society's history is full of paradox, ambiguity, and irresolution."
There is still some controversy about historical research that is focused on data sets. Because data is often limited, this orientation limits historical research to certain topics and periods where data is likely to be available. Too, there is the question about the validity and reliability of the data used and its interpretation. For example, government statistics may be incomplete or even "fudged" to make someone or some organization look good.
Poor teaching of history in K12 education, especially when focused on names and dates, has caused many Americans to believe that history is boring and irrelevant to daily life. One critic notes that high school history texts are "about as exciting as listening to an eight-hour speech by Fidel Castro." Vivid events are "lost in a rush of names and dates." As Elaine May says, "high school history, in my memory, made students docile, unquestioning, and passive." Others comment that history has been replaced by a "touchy-feely" social studies and that historical content has been "dumbed down" in textbooks and in the curriculum
Conservatives hope to return to traditional instruction and are critical of the "new history" with its perceived focus on minorities and government errors. Liberals favor a history that includes all Americans and provides context and understanding. Both factions agree on the need for more and better instruction and that history has not received adequate attention within social studies.
Standarized testing has substantially reduced time and interest in history in favor of math and English.
In contrast, museums that make history immediate and interesting are popular with children and adults. All the adults engaged in Civil War enactments, for example, are certainly serious about history. Family history or genealogy is enormously popular.
While there are exceptions, historians tend to work alone. They tend to browse so serendipity plays some role in the literature search. While books and journals are the most used formats, historians use a wide range of formats, especially with primary source materials. In recent years, especially with difficulty in monograph publishing, periodical articles have become more important. Audiovisual materials have increased in importance during the last few years.
Although many historians remain suspicious of the web because there is so much disinformation on it, a growing number of substantial resources are available that include useful primary source material. The Library of Congress American Memory collection is the best known example. While these sites are more likely to be used by teachers than scholars, they may be useful to some scholars and many graduate students. Here are a few examples:
Historians want primary sources since historical research is to be an "original" contribution. Secondary sources are also useful to provide access to the published literature. State and regional periodicals are especially important for U.S. history. As expected, scholars work backward through the literature [pearl fishing] and are not heavy users of indexing and abstracting services. Graduate students are more likely to use these services.
Increasingly, historians have adopted digital data bases and they now play a substantial role in research.
Humanities Abstracts Full Text [or Index] includes more historical material than the companion Social Science Abstracts Full Text. These popular H.W. Wilson resources are useful for undergraduate students, but are not likely to be used by scholars. Selected full text is included from 1995.
America: History and Life began in 1964. History is broadly defined and here includes some cultural anthropology, women's and gender studies, social history, and history of particular fields. About 2000 periodicals are covered with 75 to 125 word abstracts. "America" includes the U.S. and Canada. Dissertation abstracts and some book and media reviews are also included. About 90 percent of the articles were published in English. There is little retrospective coverage. Monographic publications are not consistently included. Abstracts contain minimal information. Critics say that the descriptors are inadequate. Periodicals are not indexed from cover to cover since articles must be at least 3 pages long. About 16,000 new entries are added each year. Searching is not as intuitive as it might be, but is much better in the CD-ROM version. Historical Abstracts is similar. Note that it ONLY covers historical periods from 1450 forward and in literature issued from 1955. It adds about 21,000 entries each year. Both titles are available as an integrated package online. ABC-CLIO's History Reference Online is a collection of their history encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and guides. This collection goes beyond history to include a variety of contemporary topics and issues. CLIO Notes and CLIO Alert provide context and notice of new content. Some full text content is available for those who subscribe to JSTOR.
Arts and Humanities Citation Index began in 1975- and is part of the ISI citation index family. The print version is difficult to use. Descriptors can be problematic. Covers much of the historical literature. The citation linkages are valuable in showing the linkages between published work. It is little used by historians, but citation searches can be quite productive.
The various editions of Sociological Abstracts can be useful for history because of the overlap between social history and historical sociology.
PAIS can be useful for recent political history, administrative history and perhaps economic history.
The Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in History, 1838 - 1974 is a useful convenience package for those who have access to a library that holds it. The keyword indexing is problematic.
The irony is there is too much material, but never enough of the right material. The number of historical books increased by 53% from 1980 - 1991. However, the number of historical monographs has more recently declined with the reduction in library budgets for book materials. It is increasingly difficult for scholarly book length content to be published. Digital publishing is one answer. For example, the Gutenberg-e Project began in 1999 to publish the best history dissertations [by Columbia University Press] and make the collection available via subscription. The American Council of Learned Societies History [now Humanities] E-Book Project is similar, but includes standard new titles in cooperation with several academic presses.
Because of budgetary problems, local collections are increasingly inadequate and ILL can sometimes be a painful experience. Shrinking travel budgets make it more difficult for many historians to travel to better, distant collections. Increased collection emphasis on serials has reduced the amount of money that can be spent on monographs.
Inadequate subject access remains a problem. Standard date and time span indicators that match those used within the historical disciplines are needed. Standardized geo-political unit names and the names of major historical figures would also be most helpful. Even topic or theme names may vary from source to source.
Much primary source material is relatively invisible. Better intellectual access to collections of papers is sorely needed, but would be expensive for the host library.
For many years, history was the heart of the library's collections and historians have been the library's most enthusiastic users. History consisted mainly of political, constitutional, and some religious documents. Collections emphasized political - administrative sources. Archives were seen as the political memoirs of nations. Most historians are bibliophiles and see the library as their laboratory. Human interest in history created the need for libraries. Earlier, many historians were also librarians. Even today, many librarians have a background in history. There is some tradition of historians meeting their own bibliographic needs.
Historians are frequent library users. Historians have high expectations of the research library. Historians and librarians usually work well together. Still, historians don't consult with librarians much. In fact, historians are trained to do their own literature searching and this is very much at the heart of what a historian does. Browsing is an important part of this process. Reference librarians are often ignored because they are seen as generalists who lack the depth of knowledge needed by the historian. Historians do consult with special collections librarians, subject bibliographers, and archivists because they often have substantial subject knowledge.
Since no library can have a comprehensive historical collection, historians are heavy users of ILL. Prompt, efficient ILL services make a considerable difference to the historian.
Local history has always been the building block of state and national history. Libraries have not always done a good job of collecting broadly in this area. The unique responsibility of each library is to develop a comprehensive local history collection for its community, including government publications, local newspapers and periodicals. This may involve appropriate partnerships between local academic and public libraries. Many local history publications are not indexed so indexing and abstracting would be a helpful library service.
Classification remains a difficult problem. Historical material is hopelessly scattered in L.C. schedules. Religious history is in the B's. Political history is in the J's. There is much more to history than what is found in the C - F schedules. Historians need standardized, authoritative intellectual access for chronological and geographical aspects. There is an obvious need for well-developed, controlled vocabularies. Authority control for names and dates is essential. Obsolete subject headings are a continuing problem. For example, "European War" instead of World War I. Historian's language is a melange of words and phrases from everyday life. It is often notably different from the language used by the Library of Congress. Periodization is often a problem since the periods, e.g. France, 1789-1914, may be arbitrary or based upon a particular interpretation of events.
Rapid growth in the literature creates many problems. Book reviews are important because of the evaluative information about new books. Perhaps as many as 40 percent of new U.S. history books are not reviewed outside historical periodicals. Works issued by government agencies are rarely reviewed. The smaller, more specialized scholarly history periodicals have the least overlap. However, because of considerable time lag, these reviews are normally useful only for retrospective collection development purposes. Historically, browsing has been important to historians and browsing in the library, especially the new book shelf, is another way to keep current. This is especially true for new areas of interest or inter-disciplinary research and teaching.
Bibliographies are heavily used. There is less use of indexing and abstracting services. These were inconvenient because until recently they were only available at the library. They were usually dated. Subject access is often inadequate, especially by time [or period]. On-line data bases yield too many items with no obvious distinction between the good and the trivial. Indexing and abstracting services do not evaluate the quality, originality, or utility of an item. Abstracts do not provide enough information to make a relevance decision. Use of these sources is not efficient. It is difficult to codify an inquiry by topic, period, country, subject, or method. Lack of a precise vocabulary is a continuing problem.
Political science has been an important contributor to the literature of history, sometimes accounting for as much as 50 percent of the older history literature in the U.S. There is considerable subject dispersion with the traditional history classes--C, D, E, and F--accounting for only 33 percent of the citations. Political science is still the most often cited of the other social sciences, at least 20 percent with some increase recently. Social science in the Hs accounts for about 11 percent and is growing in importance. Law remains important with about 6 percent of the citations.
As expected, historians frequently use older material. In U.S. history, as much as 70 percent of the material cited is older than 25 years.
More so than most social scientists, historians speak of the importance of serendipity or browsing to discover accidental relationships. The ability of the historian to browse collections in person is important. Context is important to historians. Not just the text of those who were present at the event, but everything from the time of the event can be used to place the event in context. Serendipity often reveals relevant contextual items.
Digital resources present opportunities for the historian:
There are also problems:
While time will certainly assist in solving some of these problems, they will likely persist in the short term. Accuracy is crucial in historical research and many historians remain skeptical about the accuracy and completeness of content available via the Internet.
One of the noteworthy digital sources are the discussion lists, with the most well-known being the lists under the H-Net umbrella. One of these lists, H-Net Reviews collects the reviews from each of the H-Net discussion lists.
Primary sources--original documentation by those who were at the even--are absolutely essential. Primary sources might include texts, correspondence, diaries, and governmental proceedings. Newspaper accounts of those on the scene have also been heavily used. There has been relatively little use of nonprint materials, but the Vanderbilt Television News Archive illustrates the utility of video material as primary sources. Retrospective data sets such as census material are important. Often, primary source material is unpublished and is found in special collections or archives. Oral history is increasingly important. In the past few years, much useful source material has been filmed and is now available for purchase in large microformat sets. These are often very expensive, intellectual access may be a problem, and the microformat tends to be unpopular with users.
Social/cultural history places some emphasis on ephemera and popular material that libraries have been reluctant to collect. Primary source materials to support research on the history of popular culture might include menus, catalogs, popular sheet music, comic books, pulp magazines, and a wide range or ephemera or vertical file material.
Special collections and archives are important because they contain unique collections of primary source material. Historical societies are important for U.S. history. Researchers will need to travel to remote collections. Some special collections favor local versus external scholars. It may be difficult to identify which special collection or archive holds what, since many of these collections have limited intellectual access. Much material is not cataloged and finding aids are limited to the most popular collections. Subject access may be non-existent or marginal.
Secondary sources--written by those not there using primary materials--are important too The monograph, a book-length treatment of a single subject, often published by university presses, remains the single most important secondary source and the primary mode of presenting historical research.
The importance of foreign language competency varies notably with the historical topic. Obviously, foreign language material is essential for those interested in the history of foreign places. A wide range of foreign language items will interest the historian. German, French, and Spanish languages are especially important. Use studies indicate, however, that relatively little foreign language material is actually used by the average historian.
Historical material does not normally cumulate or become obsolete so that older sources remain useful and heavily used. Preservation and conservation are a continuing concern. Out of print material is a problem, especially when replacements are needed or to fill gaps in retrospective collection development. Preservation a growing problem. Both primary and secondary source materials are turning into dust. Only a few are likely to be preserved.
Microforms have been the favored preservation medium for historical materials. If well done, microformats last for several hundred years. Digital media are still suspect and there is the "refreshing" problem. Librarians like the space-saving feature of microforms, but don't like the fact that many sets are very expensive. Many unique items are available only in this format. Historians don't like microforms for all of the obvious reasons:
Academic publishers of historical monographs often sell no more than 500 - 1,000 copies. Much of the market for serious historical monographs is institutional and library book budgets have declined in recent years. U.S. history sells better than foreign. Some popular history subjects do much better. Civil War history is a good example because it appeals to many enthusiasts. Historical works with broader scope have better sales because they may reach a larger audience.
Thoughtful popularizations are popular with teachers. Print, video, and digital formats are useful in the classroom. Material needs to be colorful, appealing, and age.
Library of Congress created the American Memory or the National Digital Library Program in 1989. A wide variety of major collections of primary source material is now available via the web. There is an amazing depth, range, and diversity of items in multiple media and perspectives. Truly, this is a national treasure. There are a growing number of excellent www sites, such as A & E's Biography site. There are also many terrible ones and it may be difficult for many users to tell the difference between fact and fiction.
Biography, including autobiography, remains enormously popular with many teachers. The Dictionary of American Biography is now available as a digital database. Galešs Biography and Genealogy Master Index is a marvelous source and is available in several editions.
Digital packages or collections have become increasingly popular as a "one stop" service for students with history assignments. Often, such collections meet the needs of students from middle school through undergraduates. Some collections include unique primary sources while others, such as World History Online, are more popular with biographies, dates and events, time-lines, more common primary sources, maps and charts, and a decidedly curriculum focus. Examples include:
Many adults are interested in popular history, often about events that happened earlier in their life. Many are interested in history as it relates to a hobby or leisure interest. For example, the railroad modeler is interested in detailed railroad history and the airplane modeler is interested in detail aviation history about particular airplanes.
History is quite popular. American Heritage has long been well received and well read. The History Channel is popular for those with cable television. Short, clearly written, and well-illustrated works sell and circulate well. Biographical information continues to be popular. Military history is popular with many men.
Amateur historians need how to do it material, especially for family and local history. Family history in particular may require expensive comprehensive collections and amateur historians may require considerable hand holding. Friends groups are often interested in funding genealogical collections. Some libraries discourage genealogists because they can be demanding of time and resources. However, properly handled, they may become enthusiastic and powerful advocates for library collections and services. These historians are often determined and quickly become regular library users. Most novice genealogists lack basic research skills and need help. However, they are usually determined, enthusiastic, and learn quickly.
Many genealogy queries involve use of Census materials. Every library should have a copy of The Librarian's Genealogy Notebook: A Guide to Resources by Dahrl Moore, Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County & Town Sources, and Val Greenwood's Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy. All but the smallest public library should provide basic handbooks, guides and a selected list of comprehensive websites. Larger libraries will need Genealogical & Local History Books in Print, and the Periodical Source Index.
While some students enjoy history, most student use is correlated to particular school assignments. Public libraries need to work closely with local school library media specialists to insure that they are aware of social studies or U.S. history assignments likely to place heavy demands on libraries.
Many historical questions involve facts and dates that can be answered by the encyclopedia collection or a variety of web sources, but many teachers prohibit the use of encyclopedias. Fact books, handbooks, and specialized encyclopedias are popular. Chronologies, such as the Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates or the Chronology of World History by Mellersh and Williams, are often in demand. Often, students need pictures for a report. While many will find these in the CD-ROM reference works bundled with their computer or on the web, some will search in the library. Sources with larger print, clear tables and figures, illustrations, and which are easy to copy will be popular.
Gale's History Resource Center: US, mentioned above, is a good example of a digital collection designed specifically for student use. It provides access to full-text documents, periodical articles, and multi-media in an integrated collection of facts, primary documents, and scholarly analysis. "Overall, the source encompasses some 25,000 narrative biographies; over 15,000 essays and overviews of events, topics, and eras; almost 200,000 full-text articles; over 1300 images; and 34 original maps from Yale." Easily used, with an engaging interface, and an excellent introduction to historical research, this would appeal to high school and many college students. More information is available the History Resource Center: U.S. WWW site. It is likely that such convenience packages will increase in the future and will be especially popular in libraries serving high school students and college undergraduates.
To what degree should the library support the needs of the amateur historian?
How might a public library develop and maintain a reasonably comprehensive local history collection?
Historians typically do not use indexing and abstracting services. Is this a problem? If yes, what should the academic librarian do about it?
Microformats are an excellent preservation medium, but tend to be under used because of user dislike. What might the librarian to do encourage use of these expensive resources?
The historical record seems to be disappearing and it is likely that many digital documents will be deleted and return to the vapor. What, if anything, should information professionals do about this?
Typically, information professionals have limited their instruction to finding. Should we also be involved in helping users understand what they have found?
