Bridging the Gap: Facilitating Genealogical Research

ABSTRACT

Libraries can help support genealogy research in our communities by providing resources and expertise. Reaching out to local family historians and presenting useful information can be one of the best ways to meet the needs of this group.     

Pre-Revolutionary Russian Photography at the New York Public Library: An Introduction

ABSTRACT

This article is an introduction to the New York Public Library’s pre-revolutionary Russian and Eastern European photographic albums. It also provides a checklist of these albums. The checklist is an especially rich source for Russian architecture, art, and science and provides documentation for a variety of places in the center and provinces of the Russian Empire. Some of the most significant albums are those once owned by the Romanovs and by George Kennan the elder, America’s first Russian expert.     

Aspects of the 1905 Revolution in Latvia: Looking through the Library and Archival Collections of Stanford University

ABSTRACT

This paper offers a look at some facets of the 1905 Revolution in Latvia, at the time part of the Russian Empire, and their interpretation in historiography from 1905 to 2015. Using resources in the Stanford University Libraries and the Hoover Institution Library and Archives, the paper provides an overview of the causes and the character of the 1905 Revolution in Latvia while also discussing various debates among historians of 1905. The main focus is on collective violence and political activism. The article is written from the point of view of a librarian and historian. It has two parallel goals: to tell the history of the Baltic collections at Stanford and to acquaint the reader with current scholarship on the subject of 1905 in Latvia. Even though some papers have been written that examine Baltic collections in American libraries, few, if any, of these have concentrated on individual historical topics.     

The Russian Orthodox Church and Russian Emigration as Documented in the Archives of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia

ABSTRACT

Among the extensive archives of the Western American Diocese of the ROCOR (over 2,000 document files), of greatest historical value are undoubtedly the archives of St. John (Maximovich) and of Archbishop Tikhon (Troitskii), the archives of the Russian spiritual mission in China, the archives from the Archbishops and Ecumenical Councils of the ROCOR, and the archives of the oldest clerics and parishes of the ROCOR. Also, the correspondence and labors of Bishop Nektarii (Kontsevich) and Archbishop Antonii (Medvedev) are of considerable significance for historians. In archives is hidden the potential for many research projects, for historians and linguists alike. Some documents have been researched, translated and published in the Diocesan Russian–English magazine, Spiritual Spring Journal. However, the majority of these unique materials are waiting for its researchers.     

Periodizations and History of Science

Abstract

The significance of historical periodizations is explored for the purpose of collection development. As historians often rely upon utilizing historical periods for discussion and research in their scholarship, an understanding of the nature of historical periods as a collection perspective and approach can be useful for the subject librarian engaged in or responsible for the history of science collections. An examination of the last 20 years of ISIS bibliographies using historical periods as a chronological tool provides useful framework and knowledge for research, scholarship, and collection management, especially selection for library collections, of the history of science. Data revealed periodizations and their emphases, evolution over time, and possible scholarly directions, pertinent for collection purposes. Informed knowledge of periodizations and how they may affect collections, acquisitions, and instruction enables librarians to effectively interact with the specialists in the history of science.     

An Introduction to “Visualizing Russian History” The Russian Revolution Centennial: Exhibitions,Collections, Audience

ABSTRACT

The Russian Revolution Centennial has called forth many exhibitions of the vast holdings of libraries, archives, museums and other collections. This special issue reviews major exhibitions, the history of the collections and the conceptions and strategies of curators. Revolution’s centennial in 2017 called forth numerous conferences, programs, lectures, publications, and other events. One of the richest avenues of celebration and scholarship was the many brilliant exhibitions organized by archives, museums, and other repositories. The centennial provided an occasion for assessing and for rethinking the modes of presentation and the significance of many types of collections. What to show, how to show it, and for whom became big questions to which curators, archivists, art historians, and many others came up with big answers. These exhibitions and initiatives have pointed the way toward new and welcome collaboration between curators, archivists, historians of art and photography, and political and social historians of the Russian Revolution.     

Slavic and East European Web Catalogs as a Resource for Catalogers

ABSTRACT

Web catalogs of libraries in Slavic and East European countries are a useful resource for catalogers outside the region. The author gives some tips for using such catalogs and lists a few that she has found helpful.     

Calming the Tempest: The Benefits of Using Prospero for Electronic Document Delivery in a Large Academic Library

Abstract

This article provides a distillation or summary of the copyright, fair use and permissions-seeking information needed by busy library staff that work with electronic reserves. The recommended resources section lists useful books and websites.

This article provides a distillation or summary of the copyright, fair use and permissions-seeking information needed by busy library staff that work with electronic reserves. The recommended resources section lists useful books and websites.     

We Won't Be Fooled Again: Teaching Critical Thinking via Evaluation of Hoax and Historical Revisionist Websites in a Library Credit Course

ABSTRACT

At Central Michigan University, librarians teach multiple sections of an eight-week, one-credit research skills class to hundreds of undergraduate students each semester. While the main focus of the course is to teach students how to find, use, and properly cite library resources, librarians also address critical thinking skills by designing lessons to teach World Wide Web organization and how to analyze the information found via search engines. Showing student's obvious hoax sites about “tree octopi” and “male pregnancy” introduces the concepts of critical thinking and Website analysis. Most students quickly refute the information on such sites. However, students have a more difficult time assessing social, historical, or political revisionist Web sites' validity. Contrasting those claims with evidence accepted by international courts, historians, and scientists is useful in pointing out the flaws of seemingly well documented but one-sided revisionist sites. There are dangers in exposing students to these groups via their Websites. Yet, it is important to do so in order to convey the importance of critical analysis of information. The authors discuss students' pre- and post-test (CMU's online assessment tool, the “research readiness self-assessment” [RRSA]) scores to determine whether critical thinking skills have improved.     

Private Lives in Public Places–Oral Histories of Performing Artists: How Much Do You Really Want to Know?

ABSTRACT

This article is an exploration of oral history practice within the context of a performing arts archive. It addresses the deceptively simple question of what oral historians should actually ask their respondents and, ultimately, how much do we, as researchers, really want to know. The use of oral history material is discussed from a historical point of view in relation to archival collecting and the needs of scholars and researchers. The notion that oral history practice must both respond to and transcend this history is set forward. The article concludes by advocating an expansive approach to oral history as a means to more fully understand and preserve our pasts.     

Auditorium www.auditorium.ru

ABSTRACT

Auditorium www.auditorium.ru is a useful clearinghouse not only for humanities and social sciences scholarly activities in the Russian Federation, but also a repository for online reference materials.     

Journals in the Core Collection

ABSTRACT

This overview of the core concept applied to journals defines the relevant terminology and cites specific examples of core lists. Ten approaches for determining core journals (subjective judgment, use, indexing coverage, overlapping library holdings, citation data, citation network/co-citation analysis, production of articles, Bradford's Law, faculty publication data, and multiple criteria methods) are reviewed and the practical applications of core journals lists are explained. Theoretical and practical problems associated with the core concept and core journal lists are discussed and a taxonomy for classifying core journal lists is outlined.     

The historian activist and the Gift to the Nation project: preserving the records of the Australian Red Cross

ABSTRACT

In 2014, as part of their centenary celebrations, the Australian Red Cross initiated a project in which it transferred archives to various national, state and territory institutions across Australia including the University of Melbourne Archives and the State Library of New South Wales. The transfer of this voluminous (but not complete) collection built on earlier transfers of archives to the State Library of South Australia and the Australian War Memorial. This paper charts the origins of the plan to donate the records to public repositories. It interrogates the societal provenance of those collections, recognising that the pluralising of records is an historical process, in which the agency of archivists, historians and administrators must be understood. An investigation of Red Cross records in Australia exposes that process in its contingency, inertia and, ultimately, enthusiasm. The paper also reveals the challenges faced by voluntary organisations in preserving their records, and how historians and archivists both can benefit from assisting such organisations. Finally, this paper argues that the ‘Gift to the Nation’ project, with its national and international significance, reflects a shift in our understanding of the First World War to a transnational paradigm that recognises the important role of voluntary organisations.     

Health sciences librarians,patient contact,and secondary traumatic stress

Objective:The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress (STS) in health sciences librarians (HSLs) who have direct contact with traumatized individuals and their families.Methods:A twenty-five-item survey and the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) were distributed via email to three Medical Library Association email discussion lists.Results:A total of fifty-five HSLs responded to the survey. Survey results indicate moderate levels of STS and variability of symptoms among participants.Conclusions:Library and employee assistance program managers should be aware of the emotional toll of patient and/or family contact for HSLs.     

Russia and the Low Countries: An International Bibliography 1500–2000

Abstract

The single most difficult situation publishers have faced since the depression and hyperinflation of 1991-1993 was the financial crisis which began on August 17, 1998. Prior to August 17, Russian publishers were on track to produce a record number of titles. After August 17, production plummeted. Yet by March of 1999 the industry was reviving, and as of May production had returned roughly to pre-cri-sis levels. The August crisis was a severe test for the publishing industry, but the rapid recovery demonstrates its vitality. The authors discuss monographs primarily, but serials are also included. They also explain why caution is necessary when using official Russian publishing statistics since 1991 and how such statistics can still be useful.     

Wikipedia Knows the Value of What the Library Catalog Forgets

Abstract

Shifting library catalogs from physical to digital has come at a cost. Catalog records no longer leave traces of their own evolution, which is a loss for librarianship. The subjective nature of information classification warrants self-examination, within which we may see the evolution of practice, debates over attribution and relevance, and how culture is reflected in the systems used to describe it. Wikipedia models what is possible: revision histories and discussion pages function as knowledge generators. A list of unanswerable questions for the modern catalog urges us to construct a new, forward-thinking bibliography that allows us to look backward.     

Metadata as a machine for feeling in Germaine Greer’s archive

ABSTRACT

What happens when a human coder meets a machine one? This article explores this question with reference to the archive of Professor Germaine Greer: Australian-born feminist, performer, scholar, and professional controversialist. It does so by staging two very different data encounters with the 70,000-word finding aid for the print journalism series, a key component of Greer’s archive. The first encounter is archivist’s creation of the finding aid; the second, archivist and literary scholar’s interpretation of this archival metadata using sentiment analysis. Interrogating these activities side-by-side opens up a productive middle ground between humanities scholars and computer technicians, between historians and archivists, between the hand made and the machine made.

This article argues that sentiment analysis offers a new and highly productive method of interrogating archival metadata, and that, as a method which privileges emotive understandings of content, it is particularly appropriate to the study of feminist archives like Greer’s. It also argues that these kinds of detailed finding aids are new datasets that reward analysis in their own right, and particularly when considered in dialogue with—rather than simply used as straightforward navigational tools for—the ‘original’ archival content.     

Soviet Photography in America: An Introduction to the New York Public Library’s Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary Slavic,East European,and Baltic Collection

ABSTRACT

This article is an introduction to the New York Public Library’s revolutionary and post-revolutionary Soviet and East European photography holdings. It outlines the materials available to researchers from both the large and smaller collections, particularly those that are useful for studies of Revolutionary Russia and the History or World War II in Russia and Eastern Europe. Of particular note is the NYPL’s wealth of images documenting Poland during the Second World War and the Bessie Beatty album The Russian Revolution: An Album of Photographs.     

Education Resources

Abstract

Governmental, non-profit, and commercial organizations are putting a variety of materials online which provide access to information previously published in print, or on stand-alone fee-based databases. Although it is still difficult to locate information efficiently on the Internet, access to relevant materials has been improved by subject-organized online indexes of resources. These indexes take some of the chaos out of locating relevant materials. Rapid growth in online in electronic publishing combined with access to resources via organized indexes to online information make the Internet useful to reference librarians and educators. This article lists some of the resources and access points for information relevant to educators and librarians.