For our third blog assignment, we were asked to read an article by Patrick Leary, "Googling the Victorians." The article talks about the intricate web people have to go through on the internet to find certain things. Many pieces of information get lost or forgotten, but the web can help us make our way to finding them.
For me, the internet has had a big influence on my research (past and present). When I hear of something that interests me, I instantly Google it. Most searches lead me to Wikipedia. I know Wikipedia is not a great source, but for me to get an idea of what I'm looking for, it tends to help. Once I have learned a little about what I am looking for, I look into more reliable sites. When I want to find books about certain topics, I will search a certain phrase in Collier's UNACat or on Books-A-Million's website.
I know I have had an experience like Leary did with "Please to remember the grotto;" however, I do not remember a specific experience. I am constantly finding pictures, phrases, songs, and stories that really interest me, but I will forget where I have seen them. I will search what I can remember, and work through what I find. It becomes a series of hits and misses. However, with persistence and determination, I usually find what I am looking for.
Now that I think of it, there was a time that I had an experience like Leary. I was in class one day, and I'm almost positive it was the Public History class that I took, and our guest speaker was talking about how the shoals area looked in the past. A picture of a huge, gorgeous building caught my eye! I kept thinking to myself, "How have I never seen this building?" Then the speaker revealed that it had burned down a long time ago. I would go through the process of how I found it, but I completely forgot about it! I am going to research and find it again, and when I do, I will post it!
There are many positives and negatives to using the internet for research. A positive is that the world is at your fingertips. You can access almost anything, anytime, anywhere. There are so many resources that your local libraries might not have. I have found many books in the library that were essential to my research, but the internet allowed me to find articles that helped even more. A negative is that you cannot always trust what you read online. Many people make sites, and they do not always have the right sources or the right information. We should really make it a point to only get information from a scholarly site. In the past, when I found information that I thought about using, I would look up the person who posted it and see if they really were a professional in their field.
I do not think the internet can substitute an archive. Some people are more comfortable with the internet and would disagree. However, I like to see the real thing. I have not done research in an archive, but if I had the chance to go to Massachusetts and search actual records from the Trials, I would. Nothing beats the sensation you get when you are acting like Sherlock Holmes, trying to find the next clue.
I found it!!!!!
For me, the internet has had a big influence on my research (past and present). When I hear of something that interests me, I instantly Google it. Most searches lead me to Wikipedia. I know Wikipedia is not a great source, but for me to get an idea of what I'm looking for, it tends to help. Once I have learned a little about what I am looking for, I look into more reliable sites. When I want to find books about certain topics, I will search a certain phrase in Collier's UNACat or on Books-A-Million's website.
I know I have had an experience like Leary did with "Please to remember the grotto;" however, I do not remember a specific experience. I am constantly finding pictures, phrases, songs, and stories that really interest me, but I will forget where I have seen them. I will search what I can remember, and work through what I find. It becomes a series of hits and misses. However, with persistence and determination, I usually find what I am looking for.
Now that I think of it, there was a time that I had an experience like Leary. I was in class one day, and I'm almost positive it was the Public History class that I took, and our guest speaker was talking about how the shoals area looked in the past. A picture of a huge, gorgeous building caught my eye! I kept thinking to myself, "How have I never seen this building?" Then the speaker revealed that it had burned down a long time ago. I would go through the process of how I found it, but I completely forgot about it! I am going to research and find it again, and when I do, I will post it!
There are many positives and negatives to using the internet for research. A positive is that the world is at your fingertips. You can access almost anything, anytime, anywhere. There are so many resources that your local libraries might not have. I have found many books in the library that were essential to my research, but the internet allowed me to find articles that helped even more. A negative is that you cannot always trust what you read online. Many people make sites, and they do not always have the right sources or the right information. We should really make it a point to only get information from a scholarly site. In the past, when I found information that I thought about using, I would look up the person who posted it and see if they really were a professional in their field.
I do not think the internet can substitute an archive. Some people are more comfortable with the internet and would disagree. However, I like to see the real thing. I have not done research in an archive, but if I had the chance to go to Massachusetts and search actual records from the Trials, I would. Nothing beats the sensation you get when you are acting like Sherlock Holmes, trying to find the next clue.
I found it!!!!!
I believe I spent an hour and a half looking for this! I tried every search phrase I could think of about schools in florence for girls. I finally remembered the speaker saying something about there being a water tower or a bell tower, and that became part of my search. I found information about the old water tower on Seymore Avenue. It was like a lightbulb had gone off. I was so close I could taste it. I knew where the school had been located, but still could not think of the name! I was about to give up and started looking at information on the Florence Synodical Female College; believing that was the school and it just was not as grand as I remembered. Most of my search consisted of sifting through images. All of a sudden a familiar building caught my eye! I had finally found a photo of that magnificent building! Luckily, the photo came from the blog of the very guest speaker, Dr. David Curott, that had informed us about it. It was a relief to finally find it.
This building is the Southern Female University/Florence University for Women. It was originally going to be a baptist college when it opened in 1891. However, support withdrew and moved the school to Birmingham. In 1908, the doors were opened for the SFU/FUW. However, it was not very popular (because of location) and the school burned in 1911.
I wish I could go back and see this building. It looks like it would be breathtaking to be near. I mean, it is five stories tall. That can give you some perspective to just how big this building was.
I'm not positive how to cite this information, but the photo and the information on the building all came from Dr. Curott's blog, http://drcurott.blogspot.com/2013/01/here-today-gone-tomorrow.html.
This building is the Southern Female University/Florence University for Women. It was originally going to be a baptist college when it opened in 1891. However, support withdrew and moved the school to Birmingham. In 1908, the doors were opened for the SFU/FUW. However, it was not very popular (because of location) and the school burned in 1911.
I wish I could go back and see this building. It looks like it would be breathtaking to be near. I mean, it is five stories tall. That can give you some perspective to just how big this building was.
I'm not positive how to cite this information, but the photo and the information on the building all came from Dr. Curott's blog, http://drcurott.blogspot.com/2013/01/here-today-gone-tomorrow.html.
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