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In a November 2007 article in New Yorker magazine, Future Reading: Digitization and Its Discontents, Princeton historian Anthony Grafton discussed the new world of digital research and the challenge it posed to historians. According to Grafton:
The supposed universal library . . . will be not a seamless mass of books, easily linked and studied together, but a patchwork of interfaces and databases, some open to anyone with a computer and WiFi, others closed to those without access or money. The real challenge now is 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 a two-part program to ensure that Yale history majors have the skills to navigate the increasingly complex world of print and digital 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, and 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.
The schedule for September 2008 has been announced. Go here to register.
Senior Essay Library Colloquium
Every fall the Yale University Library offers a series of classes for students writing senior essays for the Yale Department of History. Instructors for these classes are drawn from throughout the Yale University Library system and include area studies curators, archivists, and subject specialist librarians. In order to accommodate a great variety of topics, the library offers classes in a number of topical subfields of history. Please note, the History Department requires students to register for and complete one of these sessions in order to receive a "satisfactory" grade on the fall component of the senior essay. For more information about the senior essay colloquium, go here.
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