In his New Yorker article “Future Reading: Digitization and Its Discontents,” Anthony Grafton warns that the future library will not be a "a seamless mass of books, easily linked and studied together." Instead, the future library will consist of a "patchwork of interfaces and databases" and researchers will have to learn "how to chart the tectonic plates of information that are crashing into one another and then to learn to navigate the new landscapes they are creating."

The Yale University Library and the Yale History Department have created this two-part program to ensure that Yale history majors have the research skills to navigate an increasingly complex world of library resources. Participation in the program is mandatory for undergraduate history majors, and the requirement is fulfilled by completing the following two components:

Library Orientation for History Majors
Using archival materials from Yale repositories such as the Beinecke Rare Book Library and the Manuscripts and Archives Department of Sterling Memorial Library, this hands-on class focuses on skills essential for history students, from performing literature reviews to finding and analyzing primary sources. This 90-minute session is not a general introduction to the library. In fact, we suggest that students take a library tour before attending this class so that they understand the organization of the Yale library system and are able to order books through Borrow Direct and Interlibrary Loan. The history department requires students to complete this requirement by the third week of their junior year and/or before they can pre-register for a junior seminar. To see the schedule of classes for the 2009-2010 academic year and for registration information, click here.

Senior Essay Library Colloquium
Every fall the library matches seniors essay writers in the Yale Department of History with a member of the library staff. These staff members - drawn from among the library's subject specialist librarians, curators, and archivists - read students' statements of intent and then meet with students individually to discuss research strategies specific to each project. Although students are required to meet with a member of the library only once, these initial meetings are often followed up with e-mails, telephone calls, and personal appointments throughout the senior essay writing process. Current essayists should visit this page for more information about the senior essay colloquium.

For more information about the Library Program for History Majors contact Gregory Eow, Kaplanoff Librarian for American History, Yale University Library.