For many researchers, local history work is that which is done in the community – at their local libraries and in their attics and basements. Local history is a way to engage community members with collections, strengthen ties between your institution and the community, and meet community members where they are most passionate–their local\/family stories. In Module 1.1, you explored these materials in our survey of local collections. However, to answer research questions about local history requires you to turn your attention to the collections of state and national repositories which can supplement or extend the material available locally. In this module, you’ll explore locating and assessing these digitized collections so that you can draw on them to gather a collection of sources related to your topic and question.<\/p>\n
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Google search, with which most of us are familiar as a tool for locating information online, can be an effective means of locating digital local history sources \u2013 and is regularly used to do so by historians. The readings highlight some of the issues that we need to remember to bear in mind when using a commercial search engine like Google.<\/p>\n
Fundamentally, it is the lack of transparency about the algorithm behind Google search that creates issues with the tool. We know generally how it works \u2013 as the \u201cHow Search Works\u201d video describes \u2013 but not specifically how it calculates and weighs different elements. \u201cLimitations of Search Engines\u201d summarizes some general issues, of which the emphasis on recency, activity and authority, and the personalization of results stand out as potentially making it difficult to find historical sources. Refreshing your knowledge of Google\u2019s Advanced Search<\/a> provides some ways to manage these limitations<\/p>\n In addition, searching for historical topics has its own particular challenges. Dan Russell\u2019s blog post highlights the issue of language: the terms used today are not necessarily the same as those used in the past. Choosing the correct search terms is the foundation for a successful search for historical records. That means you need to spend time as Russell did identifying the language used in the period you are researching and also searching for synonyms and alternate spellings.<\/p>\n Finally, it is important to remember that not all of the contents of the web are indexed by Google, so there are sources available online that will not appear in search results. In the past, the contents of many databases and digital collections did not appear in search results. It is becoming more common for digital collections to be indexed, but that material is often more effectively searched on the original sites themselves, where you can take advantage of metadata, search tools and resources created for those collections.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n