American Memory

I do a lot of Web research in my job, and I am always coming across sites of astonishing richness, variety of content, insights and overall brilliance. We had a training session yesterday on electronic databases, and the instructor, who is from my hometown of New Orleans 🙂 said that information and knowledge were practically galloping across the vast reaches of cyberspace and that we were witnessing the future right now on our computers via the Web and Internet. I agree.

As a means of distribution of words, sound, images and videa, the Web is unparalleled in all of modern communication history. There is no doubt about it. The question is, how will be use this treasure trove of information? Will the youth of today in high school and colleges see it in the context of what has come before? This medium has not suddenly sprung up out of some vaccum. It is building upon the work of generations of writers, editors, journalists, scholars, musicians, librarians, researchers, artists, and multitudes of other creative thinkers and visionaries. Since there is so much out there on the Web, the key is finding and utilizing fully the best sites.

If you want to get a taste of what the future holds for information storage and retrival in all media, then you can visit the Library of Congress’ magnificent and awe-inspiring (I can’t give this site enough praise) American Memory collection. Over the past few years since the advent of the Web and well into the future, the Library of Congress is digitizing millions of photographs, documents, musical arrangements, compositions, and songs, and motion picture and video from its vast holdings and from archives and collections elsewhere. This is truly a library for America. The process is ongoing. Now American history and “memory” is available online in one authoritative site for the world to visit and where future generations can learn and absorb the lessons of our culture and history.

The main collection index is at:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/finder.html

It is a good idea to have the RealPlayer software installed on your computer if you want to benefit from the richness of the collection and hear sound and see video and motion pictures. For example, I have been listening to a band concert of music from the Civil War era located at:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwmhtml/cwmhome.html
(Scroll down and click on the link that says “A Concert for Brass Band, Voice and Piano”)

Some of my favorite American Memory sites are included below:

Turn-of-the-century American Photography
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/detroit/dethome.html

Environmental Photography
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/icuhtml/aephome.html

Small-town Life, Mid-Atlantic Stereoscopic Photographs,
1850-1920
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/nyplhtml/dennhome.html

and,

Southern U.S. Personal Narratives, 1860-1920
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/ncuhtml/fpnashome.html