Digital History

After a way too long hiatus(sorry guys) I am going to give this another shot. Here’s the gist of it, I am now officially graduated from college and settled into my lovely retail job with all the time in the world, but no ambition. I am occasionally looking for job listings in my field, ie history and archiving, but am officially in a rut. I work enough hours and am not completely miserable at my current job so I have settled. I just moved and have decided it’s time to start again. In my first step in being proactive I decided to waste an afternoon compiling a list of everything I want to start doing on a regular basis.

I work a first shift schedule so I am done with work in the early afternoon every day and find myself just sitting around all afternoon and evening waiting to go to bed early and start the same routine the next day. I have plenty of time to accomplish things and want to in my head but can’t get myself to get moving. So I’ve decided to try to do one thing each afternoon, preferably something creative or brain stimulating. Since I graduated and have kind of removed myself from the history world, I find myself forgetting facts (some important) at an alarming rate. I need to plunge myself back into that world I enjoy and miss so much.

Another one of my hobbies has always been music. I find myself happiest throughout the day when I did something musical. I’ve been meaning to learn the guitar for about 5 years now and keep starting and stopping, so I’m trying to dink around with that hopefully every day if not for just 10 minutes.

I haven’t completely decided what I want this blog to be yet. My ultimate goal career-wise is to get into the field of digital archiving and exhibit design. I want to get people interested in history and museums again. Last year, I worked at a small historical site as a guide and business was incredibly slow and the land one of the sites is on is currently for sale. It’s hard to get people out there, especially since we didn’t have the money to do much. I’ve been to similar historic sites that had interactive displays and it just makes it more interesting and captivating. I’ve always felt breathtaking awe in the presence of history and museums. It’s no secret I want to settle in DC. I want other people, especially younger people to feel what I feel, or something similar. They don’t have to like history, they can still cringe at the thought of studying it or yawn at the thought of a museum trip. But I want them to change their mind when they get there. I also want to do more with digitization and making things more easily accessible via the internet. There has already been a great movement through the National Archives and other big institutions. (the place I worked didn’t even have a website).

Anyway, I realize this post is already way to long, so here I go.

For information about special events (including a founding fathers recreation that will be streamed live on ustream) at the National Archives Building and access to other teaching and learning resources and events in other cities visit the Archive’s Constitution Day page.

(photos by me from May 2012)

Recently graduated, my time has been spent less on tumblr and the ‘fun’ internet and more on Monster and other endless job opening databases. (did you know there are websites tailored specifically for every situation, even found one just for 50+ year old accountants that need a job) So I thought I would share what I have been finding along my quest.

Run by a passionate librarian, Hiring Librarians is a website that has great advice for the beginning to the end of a job search. Even if you’re not interested in the library field, it still has some universally useful tips. There is advice on cover letters, resume do’s and don’ts, real interview questions, and a variety of other things provided mostly through anonymous interviews with real-life professionals and hiring managers that can help you and your application packet stand out against the crowd.

One tip I found particularly useful was that many employers want non-related work experience included in the resume as well, meaning my brief stint at Subway shows I have customer service experience and am hopefully capable of interacting with people and other employees.

Follow or interact with them on Twitter for more advice

Also check out askamanager.org, run by a hiring manager, gives similar advice but for a broader job search audience.

Groups from around the world will be tweeting their most-prized documents and other online services and web content. They will also be answering question from users. Tweet all information, content, or questions using #archday12

In general: for questions regarding archive jobs and collections follow @askarchivists on twitter or wordpress.

From the art of videogames to Iraqi jazz fusion, the Smithsonian’s “Understanding the American Experience” is now on iTunes U. Both video and audio. Subscribe, download, it’s free!

I am definitely one of the happy that Community is back. Tonight’s episode in particular got me thinking about the future and how our increasingly digital time period will be represented.

The episode that aired this evening was about a school-wide war (a seemingly recurring topic on the show) this time with pillows, but it told its story by brilliantly parodying a war documentary. They told the stories of what happened during the battles through primary sources, but instead of an endless lineup of journal entries, letters, weathered photos, and grainy footage, the main sources were technological: text messages, videos taken with cell phones, and status updates.

The internet is where the information about our generation is stored. We are more connected than ever through endless social media outlets. Looking through someone’s Facebook history can yield valuable primary sources like photos, location, daily life routine, pop culture, music, and commentary on events. It can be hard to think that some of these trivial (and some very trivial) short messages could be relevant someday. While some more so than others, everything we do online is documenting important parts of our culture, much the way people would write in a journal with a pen and paper or send a letter, our blog posts and emails are where much of the information about the past will be found in the future.

One of the dangers of trying to read older texts. The long s was often used or what looks like an ‘f.’

When I’m reading this, I feel like the voice reading in my head has a lisp.

book: Carey, Mathew. A short account of the malignant fever, lately prevalent in Philadelphia. 1793

Something I’ve discovered recently is ARTstor. It’s an online database whose main purpose is to provide images for teaching, but can also be used for other things. Images cover every topic across time from portraits of scholars to science.You can browse endless pictures without even starting an account. The benefits of having an account are great as well. You can download the pictures and keep them in organized folders in your account. For more information and to be updated on interesting collections, they also have a blog.

(info on above pictures)

1. Jessie Tarbox Dense crowd of people on the street watching horse-driven parade float decorated in an “Inferno” theme. A store selling artificial limbs is in the background, right. Date n.d. (circa 1904-1905) ARTstor Collection The Schlesinger History of Women in America.

2. Tarbox. Dense crowd of people outside on the street watching horse-driven parade float with mummers on board. Float is decorated with cast grapes, vines, and an arbor.

3. The Great Calvert [William Witaschek] on high wire Mardi Gras Carnival, Dansville, N.Y. Date 1922. ARTstor Collection George Eastman House.

4. Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de, 1864-1901. Confetti Description This poster was designed for the London paper manufacturers J. & E. Bella. It comes only a couple of years after confetti was outlawed in Pairs after the 1892 Mardi Gras, when a rage of confetti-throwing from balconies had injured passersby. Repository Musée Toulouse Lautrec.