HEARTH: Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History <http://hearth.library.cornell.edu/> Reviewed: September 28, 2007 to October 7, 2007. This site is created and maintained by the Albert R. Mann Library of Cornell University.
HEARTH: Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History, presented by the Mann Library at Cornell University, examines the field of Home Economics in America between 1850 and 1950. Created by a team of twenty-three scholars, ranging in background and speciality, the website provides an easily accessible database of primary and secondary sources for those researching the field of Home Economics. The goal is to present the history of Home Economics while outlining the triumphs, technologies and fundamental developments during the selected period. The site also seeks to credit the forgotten stories of women and path-makers in the field Home Economics. By maintaining the records and materials available, the HEARTH website not only preserves digital evidence, but also organizes it into a user-friendly, comprehensive online archive.
The presentation of history throughout HEARTH is straightforward, engaging the reader in short essays, while providing access to copious amounts of primary and secondary sources for additional research. The ‘About’ section gives a detailed introduction, outlining and defining Home Economics, while also offering a concise historiography surrounding the subject. The written content of the site offers a revisionist history of Home Economics, challenging traditional stereotypes, such as the belief that Home Economics was a lacklustre field, which was restrictive to women. The HEARTH site views the growth of Home Economics as a positive and progressive development in America society, which opened up opportunities for women. Such opportunities or themes are outlined in the ‘Subject’ link where you can search topics such as Applied Arts, Child Care, Home Management, Home Equipment, Etiquette and Hygiene. Each theme provides a short history, highlighting important people, emphasizing significant political developments, and displaying numerous photographs or images. Each history provides a detailed bibliography for those seeking future research. The subject list makes the search for major historic themes within the database clear and accessible.
HEARTH has many positive features that make it a valuable and effective resource. The websites most notable strength is that it is a gateway to numerous academic sources that are not easily accessed by the public. The website includes more than nine hundred on-line books ranging in date from the early 1850s to the mid 1900s. It also allows free access to nine uncommon academic journals, such as The Home Economist, Journal of Social Hygiene and The Journal of Home Economics. With so much content, HEARTH is surprisingly easy to navigate, separated into six available sub-groups: About, Subjects, Search, Browse, Contact and Help. The ‘Search’ and ‘Browse’ links offer different ways to navigate the resources depending on how specific your research is. ‘Browse’ offers a more whimsical approach searching by lists of time periods, authors, or journal titles. The ‘Search’ link provides a useful key word or title search. Once you have located a valuable resource, you can add it to your ‘Bookbag’ which will record and organize your favourite sources. This is an extremely useful asset, as on-line research can often become mismanaged. Aesthetically, the site is tasteful, disregarding elaborate and unnecessary graphics to entice viewers. The site has a consistent L-shaped, graphic border, which frames the content of the site throughout your exploration. The boarder also provides the sub-groups, which remain on the left-hand side while you navigate the site. HEARTH displays numerous images that relate to the subject matter on the page and provide additional visual interest.
The positives outweigh the negatives with regards to the HEARTH website, however the site is not without flaws. The essay titled, ‘Teaching and Communication’ is currently not available and directs the reader back to the ‘About’ section of the website. Another major drawback is that some digital books are excessively large and take a long time to load, if they load at all. The website is best viewed with high-speed Internet access and a capable computer. While searching the website it is also helpful to note that the sources cited in bibliographies do not act as direct links, which leads to extra research for those seeking the additional sources. Furthermore, although the website caters to both casual browsing and research, the best results are found when you have a strict focus, submitting a specific name or title. Without a narrow focal point, searches can become endless. Lastly, the website did have a minor spelling error which was reported to the site via the ‘Contact’ section on September 30, 2007; it remains unchanged.
Overall, the website is designed to cater to a large and diverse audience. The website is easily accessible through a general Google search or as a link through Cornell’s Mann Library website. More specifically though, the site is geared towards individuals doing research; HEARTH provides extensive bibliographies, copious amounts of research material and reputable information backed by scholarly research and peer evaluation. The primary intended audience are Undergraduate and Graduate students specializing in History, Women’s Studies and Home Economics. Although it is geared towards a more academic audience, the site offers straightforward and approachable information for any high school student or history hobbyist.
HEARTH: Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History, presented by the Mann Library at Cornell University, examines the field of Home Economics in America between 1850 and 1950. Created by a team of twenty-three scholars, ranging in background and speciality, the website provides an easily accessible database of primary and secondary sources for those researching the field of Home Economics. The goal is to present the history of Home Economics while outlining the triumphs, technologies and fundamental developments during the selected period. The site also seeks to credit the forgotten stories of women and path-makers in the field Home Economics. By maintaining the records and materials available, the HEARTH website not only preserves digital evidence, but also organizes it into a user-friendly, comprehensive online archive.
The presentation of history throughout HEARTH is straightforward, engaging the reader in short essays, while providing access to copious amounts of primary and secondary sources for additional research. The ‘About’ section gives a detailed introduction, outlining and defining Home Economics, while also offering a concise historiography surrounding the subject. The written content of the site offers a revisionist history of Home Economics, challenging traditional stereotypes, such as the belief that Home Economics was a lacklustre field, which was restrictive to women. The HEARTH site views the growth of Home Economics as a positive and progressive development in America society, which opened up opportunities for women. Such opportunities or themes are outlined in the ‘Subject’ link where you can search topics such as Applied Arts, Child Care, Home Management, Home Equipment, Etiquette and Hygiene. Each theme provides a short history, highlighting important people, emphasizing significant political developments, and displaying numerous photographs or images. Each history provides a detailed bibliography for those seeking future research. The subject list makes the search for major historic themes within the database clear and accessible.
HEARTH has many positive features that make it a valuable and effective resource. The websites most notable strength is that it is a gateway to numerous academic sources that are not easily accessed by the public. The website includes more than nine hundred on-line books ranging in date from the early 1850s to the mid 1900s. It also allows free access to nine uncommon academic journals, such as The Home Economist, Journal of Social Hygiene and The Journal of Home Economics. With so much content, HEARTH is surprisingly easy to navigate, separated into six available sub-groups: About, Subjects, Search, Browse, Contact and Help. The ‘Search’ and ‘Browse’ links offer different ways to navigate the resources depending on how specific your research is. ‘Browse’ offers a more whimsical approach searching by lists of time periods, authors, or journal titles. The ‘Search’ link provides a useful key word or title search. Once you have located a valuable resource, you can add it to your ‘Bookbag’ which will record and organize your favourite sources. This is an extremely useful asset, as on-line research can often become mismanaged. Aesthetically, the site is tasteful, disregarding elaborate and unnecessary graphics to entice viewers. The site has a consistent L-shaped, graphic border, which frames the content of the site throughout your exploration. The boarder also provides the sub-groups, which remain on the left-hand side while you navigate the site. HEARTH displays numerous images that relate to the subject matter on the page and provide additional visual interest.
The positives outweigh the negatives with regards to the HEARTH website, however the site is not without flaws. The essay titled, ‘Teaching and Communication’ is currently not available and directs the reader back to the ‘About’ section of the website. Another major drawback is that some digital books are excessively large and take a long time to load, if they load at all. The website is best viewed with high-speed Internet access and a capable computer. While searching the website it is also helpful to note that the sources cited in bibliographies do not act as direct links, which leads to extra research for those seeking the additional sources. Furthermore, although the website caters to both casual browsing and research, the best results are found when you have a strict focus, submitting a specific name or title. Without a narrow focal point, searches can become endless. Lastly, the website did have a minor spelling error which was reported to the site via the ‘Contact’ section on September 30, 2007; it remains unchanged.
Overall, the website is designed to cater to a large and diverse audience. The website is easily accessible through a general Google search or as a link through Cornell’s Mann Library website. More specifically though, the site is geared towards individuals doing research; HEARTH provides extensive bibliographies, copious amounts of research material and reputable information backed by scholarly research and peer evaluation. The primary intended audience are Undergraduate and Graduate students specializing in History, Women’s Studies and Home Economics. Although it is geared towards a more academic audience, the site offers straightforward and approachable information for any high school student or history hobbyist.
1 comment:
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