From the Chairman of the
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Cole |
Three years ago, the NEH and the Library of Congress launched a partnership to make more than twenty million pages of historic newspapers freely available to all Americans via the Internet. The first fruits of this ambitious undertaking went online just this past month as a project entitled Chronicling America—a website hosted by the Library of Congress (<http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica>), that now holds more than 226,000 pages of newspapers from California, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Utah, Virginia, and the District of Columbia published between 1900 and 1910. The text of the newspapers is fully searchable, and search terms can be limited to a particular state, a specific newspaper, by year or years of publication, and even by month. When announced, Chronicling America marked the beginning of an agency-wide effort to make more of our heritage accessible to all Americans through the power of digital technology. In just the last three years, the NEH’s Digital Humanities Initiative has helped document dozens of languages on the brink of extinction through state-of-the-art digital recording; it is helping to digitize the correspondence of some of our nation’s most celebrated early leaders and statesmen; it is digitizing thousands of endangered musical recordings once kept on disintegrating media; and it is digitally recording vote counts taken during the early days of the republic. This is the new frontier for the humanities, and it has been exhilarating to see the way these programs change the way we research, and how we draw new generations of learners into the fold. The same can be said of the work our partners on the state and territorial humanities councils are performing. From online encyclopedias and historical guides of mind-boggling depth, to venues for citizens, young and old, to share their thoughts and insights about their home states, our state and territorial councils are charting a fresh and exciting way forward in the humanities. In doing so, they are helping to reinvigorate the teaching, study, and understanding of local cultures, and in turn, inspiring the best in citizenship—the very essence of the NEH’s We the People initiative. In this limited space, I would like to share a few of the extraordinary online resources produced by our hard-working state and territorial councils: The Arizona Heritage Traveler (Arizona Humanities Council) <http://www.arizonaheritagetraveler.org/ templates/index.php> This award-winning site features nearly three hundred heritage destinations throughout the state and allows travelers to plan an itinerary for their Arizona vacation based on interests ranging from astronomy to architecture to Native American and Old West history. Since October of 2005, the Heritage website has received more than two million hits from viewers interested in Arizona’s history and culture. “How I See It”—The Youth Digital Storytelling Program (California Council for the Humanities) <http://www.calhum.org/guidelines/ guidelines_ydf_intro.htm> Part of the multiyear California Stories initiative, this innovative site enables young people to share—in their own words and through a variety of media—what their lives are like, what they care about, and what it is like to grow up in today’s California. Through “How I See It,” youth will have an opportunity to explore community and personal issues and present their thoughts, ideas, and discoveries to the public. Connecticut’s Heritage Gateway (Connecticut Humanities Council) <http://www.ctheritage.org> This comprehensive directory serves as a history resource for teachers, students, researchers, and others who want to better understand the world around them through the stories of Connecticut’s past. Online since 1999, Connecticut’s Heritage Gateway has grown to include information on over two hundred cultural organizations throughout the state, their historical specialties, location, and contact information. The activities calendar lists one hundred or more heritage activities each month, while The Laptop Encyclopedia of Connecticut History features hundreds of articles on Connecticut people, places, and historical events. The New Georgia Encyclopedia (Georgia Humanities Council) <http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Home.jsp> This enormous resource covers a wide expanse of Georgia history, culture, and institutions, giving visitors access to topics from the arts, to business and industry, cities and counties, education, folklife, government and politics, archaeology, land and resources, literature, media, religion, science and medicine, sports and recreation, and transportation. In addition to text, the site offers a rich array of images, maps, and illustrations and is constantly expanding. Guampedia (Guam Humanities Council) <http://www.guampedia.com> Guam’s online encyclopedia allows visitors to research Guam’s heritage from its abundant natural resources, to sections about ancient history, cultural and social dynamics, religion, education, economics and commercial development, politics, language, and the arts. Students will find articles, images, maps, and historical pictures. This growing site will also feature video clips and audio recordings from people willing to share their memories of important historical events such as pre-World War II society on Guam, the Japanese invasion in 1941, influential political events, typhoons, and Operation New Life, which brought thousands of Vietnamese to Guam shortly after the Vietnam War ended. |
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