I posted several contributions to Northern Virginia Digital History Archive, and some of them are from locations in Northern Virginia and others from Washington, DC. I found it quite easy, and the contribute feature worked quite well and quickly. However, I found one of my images was rejected, and I believe the contribute feature has a maximum size of 2K. A note indicating limitations on file size could be placed somewhere near the Upload File box to indicate to contributors that there is a file size limitation. I was able to rescale my images, so they were under 2K in size. I love taking pictures of the historical sites, monuments, memorials, and etc, especially since I have had a camera in my phone. Some of them turn out great, but others. . .
George Washington's Mount Vernon has a listing of its and other digital databases at Electronic Resources & Research Databases. Some of the databases are open access but others are by subscription. I did a quick search, and I found references to the electric trolley that I will may add to my history of the trolley. I love find snippets of information that lead me to additional information in my searches. Another source of information I enjoy is the Alexandria Archaeology Bibliography. It does not call itself a database but instead a bibliography; nevertheless, it is a database of the archaeological studies done in Alexandria city. Historic Alexandria's web pages are just full of excellent resources for people who are interested in history, especially Alexandria's local history.
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Thursday, July 6, 2017
What Is Real and Not Real in the Digital and Real Worlds (Unit 10)
The loss of the physical and movement to the digital is not always the best; however, the digital world has made information much more available and readable.
Books are something in my humble opinion do not digitize well, especially textbooks. There is something inherently normal in holding a real book and being able to easily go to the spot where I have stopped earlier. Even with the ability to hold hundreds of books, an e-reader does not give the same feel and experience. As much as "the Big River" has touted its e-reader, many initially took it up and dispensed with their books, and then many of those same people went back to real books. The only exception many of those people made for using the e-reader is for traveling. Real books are for the most part are a real part of many people's lives rather than the digital e-reader.
Nonetheless, the digital has made historical materials readily available to anyone who wants to peruse them as long as they have a library card or a subscription to the many digital databases.
For me, being able to access the Historical Washington Post when I was researching the women's suffrage movement was an incredible experience. Attempting to read the actual newspapers of the time (1900-1920) would be an incredible challenge. Granted, I could pick up on what was going on and experience the world of that time, but to be able to follow an individual or group would have been time consuming to go through each paper. The digital form of the newspaper available in searchable form let me follow an individual (Alice Paul) when her activities appeared in the paper. In addition, I have done the same for other historical events and happenstances.
Each time I have researched a person, event, or place, I was left with a feeling that others of the time period possibly felt. . . Of experiencing the event or situation as it unfolded. . .
Reading the articles let me travel through time without having others else digest and decide what I was to see or experience as in a book or film or other media. Was my experience real or not real when I did this? My point of view was not influenced by third parties, so I could decide what to read, believe, and choose to understand. Yes, to me the digital made it real, and a much more interesting experience.
Reading the articles let me travel through time without having others else digest and decide what I was to see or experience as in a book or film or other media. Was my experience real or not real when I did this? My point of view was not influenced by third parties, so I could decide what to read, believe, and choose to understand. Yes, to me the digital made it real, and a much more interesting experience.
Thursday, June 29, 2017
The Information Age (Unit 9)
My final project is my continued research on the Mount Vernon Electric Railway (or Trolley) that I started in another class last semester. I am thinking about expanding the paper eventually to include how people traveled to Mount Vernon from George Washington's time to the opening of the George Washington Memorial Highway. In my research, I have come across a lot of material that covers the time before the trolley and after.
In addition, to the paper version of my project, I need to build a timeline to help me get my thoughts in order, and building a time-line website would help me with this. I am thinking of using a WordPress site to do this since I have used it before for other projects. I rather use my own domain and website, but this is not in my current budget. I also need to locate additional pictures beyond what I have already. Some of them have come from Merriken's "Old Dominion trolley too: A history of the Mount Vernon Line," but there has to be other pictures available.
I have used the The Historical Washington Post from 1877 through 2000 through Proquest via the Fairfax County Public Library to gather quite a bit of information on the trolley, but the photos that rarely appear are less than adequate quality. I am planning to go to the Alexandria city's Local History/Special Collections public library on Queen Street to search for additional photos along with visiting the library at Mount Vernon.
Also, I am going to look at my search terms to see if I am finding the information I need. I noticed that the Historic Washington Post gave me different and sometimes better results if I tweeked the words. Mount Vernon returned fewer results than Mt. Vernon. I expect this has to be the way the database was designed. Using abbreviations may be key to finding better information in the older records.
In addition, to the paper version of my project, I need to build a timeline to help me get my thoughts in order, and building a time-line website would help me with this. I am thinking of using a WordPress site to do this since I have used it before for other projects. I rather use my own domain and website, but this is not in my current budget. I also need to locate additional pictures beyond what I have already. Some of them have come from Merriken's "Old Dominion trolley too: A history of the Mount Vernon Line," but there has to be other pictures available.
I have used the The Historical Washington Post from 1877 through 2000 through Proquest via the Fairfax County Public Library to gather quite a bit of information on the trolley, but the photos that rarely appear are less than adequate quality. I am planning to go to the Alexandria city's Local History/Special Collections public library on Queen Street to search for additional photos along with visiting the library at Mount Vernon.
Also, I am going to look at my search terms to see if I am finding the information I need. I noticed that the Historic Washington Post gave me different and sometimes better results if I tweeked the words. Mount Vernon returned fewer results than Mt. Vernon. I expect this has to be the way the database was designed. Using abbreviations may be key to finding better information in the older records.
Monday, June 19, 2017
Digitizing and Sourcing Images and Text (and Video) (Unit 8)
Most of the sources I have used for digital materials for the trolley project I have been working on have come from Library of Virginia, and a website called Card Cow. The Library of Virginia has a digital copy of a map on its site that I have actually seen locally, and the digital copy has their copyright on it! The map is definitely in the public domain, so I am puzzled as to why they copyrighted it. Another digital copy I have used is the background for this blog, which is a middle section of a long map from the 1880s. I located the map at a local florist, and I took pictures of it before I found a digital copy on line. When I look for any digital copy, I "google" the possible key terms to find what I hope is out there. In the short future, I am planning on going to the new library at the Mount Vernon estate and the Queen Street Library in Alexandria city. I also will look on the Library of Congress website for digital copies of photographs for my trolley project.
I have digitized materials for my own use, plus I have plans to digitize a book I own that has a 1925 date. I believe the book, "Trinity ! Break Ye My Commandments?" by Willis Timothy Gridley is now in public domain, but I have seen later dates, 1930, for the book listed on Amazon. Along with my book, a numbered copy of 2500, I have letters that were sent to my grandfather from other members of the group who wanted to fight the Trinity Church of NYC for property rights. My grandfather was a descendent from the second marriage of Anneke Jans Bogardus, and the descendants thought they were "robbed" of their part of NYC. This all took place in the 1920s, and when I read the letters, I had a sense of paranoia. Gridley was eventually disbarred in 1928, and the efforts of the group ground to a halt. This is another project I want to pursue some time in the future.
In addition, I have digitized the church records (baptism, marriage, confirmation, and death) for a local Lutheran Church when we rebound/refurbished the "notebook." The church wanted to have back up copies in case something happened to the original copies. I do not have an example of the records at hand to show. I would need permission to display the records because the church is still active, and many of the records represent still living individuals.
The pages from the church records were oversized, and I used the local Fairfax Library copiers to copy them to .pdf type files. The library leases Ricoh copiers that fulfill many functions (copy, copy to file, and print) for the library patrons. The copiers are large format, and the copy to file can be either .pdf or .tiff files with ability choose the dpi in color or black and white.
My husband, Ken, and I have since bought a large format Brother printer/copier from Goodwill at a ridiculous price. The copier was donated because it "didn't work." Ken spent ten minutes with it. He discovered if the drawer was left open when it started up, the printer would not go into a fatal loop because of the faulty software. It now works fine, and if it starts not "working," we know how to fix it. Apparently, it is a common defect in that particular Brother product, so many were probably junked.
provide two examples of materials that you have digitized;
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Copyright and the Web (Unit 7)
I have taken other classes where copyright law was discussed, and I have found that copyright law, for the most part, is not as straightforward as patent or trademark law. I was surprised to find how convoluted the copyright laws are especially when it comes to non-print (digital) materials. From the intentions of the writers of the Constitution to the present time, copyright has evolved from something simpler to now, more complicated.
Copyright as far as the web goes still has to abide by the law, but it as I read Rosenzweig and Cohen's Digital History, copyright of web materials is sometimes more work than it is worth. To pursue a copyright issue, the materials have to be registered, and it is more complicated than just putting the "c" along with the year and a name. I can understand why digital historians take the chance of their materials being stolen.
However, the further I read, the more it appears that licensing is one way to "protect" the information on a website beyond copyright, but is it the way to go? In light of the work by Reclaimtherecords.org, perhaps the group may start a trend for public domain data to remain in the public domain. The group is a not-for-profit group of genealogists, historians, researchers, and open government advocates. They are filing Freedom of Information requests to get public data released back into the public domain, and their efforts appear to be working.
As far as musical recordings are concerned, I found this quote interesting,"Music poses significant difficulties both because the rights are more complicated and because the rights holders are often the most vigilant about enforcing copyrights and the greediest in seeking payments" (Rosenzweig and Cohen). It is further complicated by changes occurring on February 15, 1972 where federal copyright laws began protecting sound recordings and the various state laws already in place. Essentially, creating a historical web database of music is out of the question in terms of the laws and monetary requirements. Film appears to follow the same fate. Fair use? So complicated by the law. Then add into the mix the active policing by corporations and their minions.
I think one of the more interesting features and the other side of the spectrum comes from something I noticed when I ran a bookstore, some people were surprised to find books with the same title, and this was easy to explain because book titles cannot be copyrighted; however, the content is copyrightable. Strange, but understandable. Book titles are not considered intellectual property because titles do not possess enough imaginative expression. When things become complicated is when the title is trademarked with the intention of branding, and then this may be where a book title may be singular.
To say the least, copyright and rights to intellectual property seem to be a puzzle the more I delved into them.
Local Museums:
George Washington's Mount Vernon is a phenomenal website that contains volumes of information about George Washington and Mount Vernon. The various web pages do have ©2017 Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association attached. However, the photos page states the photos are available for your editorial, educational, and personal use. Additional statements indicate images are available for download for non-commercial use only, and the images may not be used for any other purpose without the express written permission. I would expect any materials, primary, teacher, student, encyclopedia, and etc. have the same restraints.
George Washington Masonic National Memorial is another terrific website that is orientated towards George Washington's masonic life and Masonry. The pages do have copyright indications on each page, © 2017 GWMNMA. I was not able to find any information as far as images or materials usage. GWMNMA is working on upgrading the server that holds the proceedings of Masonic grand lodges and affiliated bodies and organizations available in a searchable database in the form of the Masonic Digital Archives Project.
Copyright as far as the web goes still has to abide by the law, but it as I read Rosenzweig and Cohen's Digital History, copyright of web materials is sometimes more work than it is worth. To pursue a copyright issue, the materials have to be registered, and it is more complicated than just putting the "c" along with the year and a name. I can understand why digital historians take the chance of their materials being stolen.
However, the further I read, the more it appears that licensing is one way to "protect" the information on a website beyond copyright, but is it the way to go? In light of the work by Reclaimtherecords.org, perhaps the group may start a trend for public domain data to remain in the public domain. The group is a not-for-profit group of genealogists, historians, researchers, and open government advocates. They are filing Freedom of Information requests to get public data released back into the public domain, and their efforts appear to be working.
As far as musical recordings are concerned, I found this quote interesting,"Music poses significant difficulties both because the rights are more complicated and because the rights holders are often the most vigilant about enforcing copyrights and the greediest in seeking payments" (Rosenzweig and Cohen). It is further complicated by changes occurring on February 15, 1972 where federal copyright laws began protecting sound recordings and the various state laws already in place. Essentially, creating a historical web database of music is out of the question in terms of the laws and monetary requirements. Film appears to follow the same fate. Fair use? So complicated by the law. Then add into the mix the active policing by corporations and their minions.
I think one of the more interesting features and the other side of the spectrum comes from something I noticed when I ran a bookstore, some people were surprised to find books with the same title, and this was easy to explain because book titles cannot be copyrighted; however, the content is copyrightable. Strange, but understandable. Book titles are not considered intellectual property because titles do not possess enough imaginative expression. When things become complicated is when the title is trademarked with the intention of branding, and then this may be where a book title may be singular.
To say the least, copyright and rights to intellectual property seem to be a puzzle the more I delved into them.
Local Museums:
George Washington's Mount Vernon is a phenomenal website that contains volumes of information about George Washington and Mount Vernon. The various web pages do have ©2017 Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association attached. However, the photos page states the photos are available for your editorial, educational, and personal use. Additional statements indicate images are available for download for non-commercial use only, and the images may not be used for any other purpose without the express written permission. I would expect any materials, primary, teacher, student, encyclopedia, and etc. have the same restraints.
George Washington Masonic National Memorial is another terrific website that is orientated towards George Washington's masonic life and Masonry. The pages do have copyright indications on each page, © 2017 GWMNMA. I was not able to find any information as far as images or materials usage. GWMNMA is working on upgrading the server that holds the proceedings of Masonic grand lodges and affiliated bodies and organizations available in a searchable database in the form of the Masonic Digital Archives Project.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Sunday, June 4, 2017
The Evolution of the Digital Web (Unit 4)
Web projects in chronological order showing how web design has changed in the last twenty years:
Comments on how the level of sophistication and the forms of digital projects have changed in the last twenty years:
To figure out the chronological order, I used the copyright dates, the doc type, or other signs indicating the age of the website. For example, the use of frames and flash gave me an idea of the age. Frames were discontinued a few years ago, and flash is in the process of being replaced by HTML 5. To figure this out, I have some experience coding websites, so I looked "under the hood" for more information about each website. In addition, the "look" of the website gave me an idea of its age. This was more of a intuitive sense rather than something concrete.
To figure out the chronological order, I used the copyright dates, the doc type, or other signs indicating the age of the website. For example, the use of frames and flash gave me an idea of the age. Frames were discontinued a few years ago, and flash is in the process of being replaced by HTML 5. To figure this out, I have some experience coding websites, so I looked "under the hood" for more information about each website. In addition, the "look" of the website gave me an idea of its age. This was more of a intuitive sense rather than something concrete.
My suggestions for additional historical websites:
A good addition to this list is the Presidential History Blog. The blog is a collection of articles by Feather Schwartz Foster, an independent writer of Presidential and First Ladies history. This blog has many stores related to the lives of the presidents, first ladies, and first children.
The Central Rappahannock Regional Library History Blog is another good addition. The library is located in Fredericksburg, which now a days with a little stretch can be considered "Northern Virginia." This blog has many articles on Fredericksburg history, which connect to many historic events in the rest of Northern Virginia. One that I thought was interesting was about Thomas Armat who was an Inventor of the Motion Picture Projector.
Thursday, June 1, 2017
I thought this quote was deep. . .
"History remembers only the celebrated; genealogy remembers them all."
Laurence Overmire
I found it when I was causally thumbing through a book today. . .
The Multi-Talented Blog (Unit 3)
I viewed a number of blogs or blog-like websites, and I googled "Northern Virginia history blogs. I was surprised to see a few Northern Virginia blogs appear. I also looked at a few blogs posted by my Facebook friends and newsgroups. In addition, I investigated the blogs suggested by Professor Evans.
I found some of the history blogs I explored stopped a few years ago. I was disappointed, but the information is still interesting historically. Other blogs I found are still active, but they are not totally "historic." However, they have elements or sections pertaining to history.
My interests involve the roads, locations, and events of Northern Virginia. Some of the history I have learned has come from Facebook Northern Virginia groups when different members post pictures or questions involving this area.
I wish the materials posted on Facebook were more accessible. It takes some effort to find the information posted; Facebook's archives seem to be non-existant, which is unlike a blog. However, Facebook has better interactivity.
Some of the blogs I reviewed:
Covering the Corridor: Your independent source for news around the Richmond Highway corridor - A blog website furnishing current news to people who live in and around the Richmond Highway. It is written by a gentleman's who lives in the Penn Daw area of South Alexandria, and he has spent ten years in print and digital journalism.
It is not necessarily "historic," but this blog could be a starting point for a history quest. Quite often I see, hear, or read about a building or a piece of land, and I start investigating the history. A couple of months ago, I saw billboards for a hearing on a piece of property that has been vacant for at least 25 years. Before that time, I remembered a trailer park was located there. I did a short search to find a bit of information on it to find out more just for the fun of it. So, I think of sites like this as history quest starters.
World War II History: A blog covering a number of WWII news, photos, audio and )information. Pretty interesting, but two of the images on the first page are missing along with no updates since October 2015. The blog was created by a part time historian and collector of WWII memorabilia, and he wished to preserve history so others could learn from.
One article I found interesting was the "North Bathing Facilities on U-Boats Led to... My uncle was on a ship that captured a U-Boat. The one that eventually ended up at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. He related about the rewiring he and his buddies did on the sub. However, he never said anything about the stench.
WWI: Experiences of an English Soldier: A blog of transcripts of letters written by a soldier during World War I. I liked this blog because the way it was set up in the form of sequential letters to build readers' interest. It was maintained on a regular basis until the death of blog's owner.
Virginia Historical Society's Blog: A blog covering historical aspects of Virginia. Lots of articles and topics for discussion and learning. This blog publishes articles by various writers rather than a single writer. The blog uses WordPress website style rather than a blog style to showcase its articles, and this is very inconvenient for perusing prior articles. The search function works, but there is no blog style content list. Navigation is not easy for this site.
The above example blogs show the different ways that blogs can be used to study history.
I am going to continue following Northern Virginia History and start to follow Boundary Stones. Both post very interesting materials. I also follow other local orientated Facebook groups.
I found some of the history blogs I explored stopped a few years ago. I was disappointed, but the information is still interesting historically. Other blogs I found are still active, but they are not totally "historic." However, they have elements or sections pertaining to history.
My interests involve the roads, locations, and events of Northern Virginia. Some of the history I have learned has come from Facebook Northern Virginia groups when different members post pictures or questions involving this area.
I wish the materials posted on Facebook were more accessible. It takes some effort to find the information posted; Facebook's archives seem to be non-existant, which is unlike a blog. However, Facebook has better interactivity.
Some of the blogs I reviewed:
Covering the Corridor: Your independent source for news around the Richmond Highway corridor - A blog website furnishing current news to people who live in and around the Richmond Highway. It is written by a gentleman's who lives in the Penn Daw area of South Alexandria, and he has spent ten years in print and digital journalism.
It is not necessarily "historic," but this blog could be a starting point for a history quest. Quite often I see, hear, or read about a building or a piece of land, and I start investigating the history. A couple of months ago, I saw billboards for a hearing on a piece of property that has been vacant for at least 25 years. Before that time, I remembered a trailer park was located there. I did a short search to find a bit of information on it to find out more just for the fun of it. So, I think of sites like this as history quest starters.
World War II History: A blog covering a number of WWII news, photos, audio and )information. Pretty interesting, but two of the images on the first page are missing along with no updates since October 2015. The blog was created by a part time historian and collector of WWII memorabilia, and he wished to preserve history so others could learn from.
One article I found interesting was the "North Bathing Facilities on U-Boats Led to... My uncle was on a ship that captured a U-Boat. The one that eventually ended up at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. He related about the rewiring he and his buddies did on the sub. However, he never said anything about the stench.
WWI: Experiences of an English Soldier: A blog of transcripts of letters written by a soldier during World War I. I liked this blog because the way it was set up in the form of sequential letters to build readers' interest. It was maintained on a regular basis until the death of blog's owner.
Virginia Historical Society's Blog: A blog covering historical aspects of Virginia. Lots of articles and topics for discussion and learning. This blog publishes articles by various writers rather than a single writer. The blog uses WordPress website style rather than a blog style to showcase its articles, and this is very inconvenient for perusing prior articles. The search function works, but there is no blog style content list. Navigation is not easy for this site.
The above example blogs show the different ways that blogs can be used to study history.
I am going to continue following Northern Virginia History and start to follow Boundary Stones. Both post very interesting materials. I also follow other local orientated Facebook groups.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web: Introduction (Unit 2)
What I found most interesting about the introduction was the sense that the Internet has many opportunities to change how history is disseminated, yet those opportunities could fall short of getting the "message" across to the readers of the many websites.
My idea for my research project is to continue the research I started in a technical writing class I took spring semester. I wrote a paper on the early days of the electric railway (trolley) to Mount Vernon from its inception to about 1907. I want to flesh the paper out and extend the time line to around 1931.
In addition, I plan to continue to use the local public library's resources along with other state and local resources to continue my project. I have used Pro Quest both at the public library and NVCC to tap the archives of the Washington Post. I find the public library's access to be easier to use. Also, this area has a wealth of information through the many libraries and historical groups and so forth.
I read the whole introduction, and the part that hit home for me was the quote of Gertrude Himmelfarb where she complained ". . . the Internet does not distinguish between the true and the false, the important and the trivial, the enduring and the ephemeral. . . Every source appearing on the screen has the same weight and credibility as every other; no authority is 'privileged' over any other."
She said this early (1996) days of the "public" Internet. I believe her statement still stands today. As much as people use the Internet, many still cannot tell the true from false.
Many people believed the news items published about the various candidates that have been proven untrue. One example is the young man in another country published articles that were false, and people believed them. His motivation was money, and the search engines paid him well for the many click throughs! For many readers, the fact that it was in print, made it true! This and many other examples they support what Himmelfarb said.
My idea for my research project is to continue the research I started in a technical writing class I took spring semester. I wrote a paper on the early days of the electric railway (trolley) to Mount Vernon from its inception to about 1907. I want to flesh the paper out and extend the time line to around 1931.
In addition, I plan to continue to use the local public library's resources along with other state and local resources to continue my project. I have used Pro Quest both at the public library and NVCC to tap the archives of the Washington Post. I find the public library's access to be easier to use. Also, this area has a wealth of information through the many libraries and historical groups and so forth.
Why Unintentional Tourist?
The idea for this blog came from an experience of being trapped in traffic after a parade. Simply getting out of DC was out of the question because the police were making the decisions of where to go.
While driving down Constitution Avenue, I came to realize I was an unintentional tourist! I had already passed Pennsylvania Avenue where I saw the Capitol and the White House. Turning onto Constitution, I saw the Washington Monument and the building of the National Museum of African the History and Culture. As I drove down Constitution, I saw the Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial. I crossed the bridge to Arlington Cemetery.
Nearly every trip in this area makes any driver and unintentional tourist. This blog will be both a "tourist" blog as well as a blog for fulfilling course requirements for a digital history course.
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