The Library of Congress
Image of covered wagon PROSPECTING IN AMERICAN MEMORY

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Overview | Facilitator's Framework | Exercise

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I. Introduction (5 minutes)

American Memory collections have different search capabilities depending on when they were catalogued, and the various media formats represented. Check both the American Memory home page and the Collection Finder for a brief introduction to searching possibilities and the variety in American Memory collections.

II. Formulating a topic: Brainstorming (10 minutes)

  1. Brainstorm keywords or phrases that can be used to research the "West."

  2. What word(s) would you want to search on first? Why?

  3. Brainstorm keywords for your project with your partner.

III. Cross collection searches (10 minutes)

Using the American Memory cross-collection search page:

  1. Search for the keyword west. Examine the returns, discuss them, and identify possible keywords in returns. Use the option "exact phrase" and search for wild west. What are your results?

  2. Try covered wagon and discuss results.

  3. What are advantages and disadvantages of cross-collection searching? How would you improve your search strategy?

Using the Learning Page Pathfinders:

These indexes allow you to look at American Memory collections in five ways. Each keyword is searchable in the collections associated with it. Choose Events, People, Places, Time, or Topics and try a keyword on the west. Search with that word in a couple of collections. What do you find?

IV. Collection Finder options (35 minutes)

  1. Go to the Collection Finder. Scroll down below Broad Topics to Time Periods.

    1. Select 1850-1899 time period.
    2. Search for cattle drive. Search for driving cattle.
    3. Discuss results.
    4. Identify words found in returns that could be used as keywords.

  2. Return to the Collection Finder. Look to the right of the screen for the Original Format.

    1. Select one or more of the media types and search for the keyword ranching (Written Materials, Motion Pictures, Photos to Print, Sound Recordings).

    2. In Maps, search for westward expansion. Click on a map for a larger view to try the map technology.

V. Collection level searching (10 minutes)

Go to the Collection Finder and choose List All Collections.

  1. Choose California As I Saw It.
  2. Try a keyword search for cowboy, pony express
    3. .
  3. Search with these words in both Descriptive Information and Full Text.
    (NOTE: To find your search words more easily in the text, go to Edit-Find in Page on the browser toolbar.)
  4. To get a better sense of the collection content, on the home page look at:
    • Special Presentations and other supporting materials;
    • Browse by Subject, Author, and Title

With your partner, select a collection that repeatedly showed up in your keyword searches. Search the collection, noting search options and successful strategies.

VI. Round Up (3 minutes)

What was the one successful search you tried? What was unsuccessful? What strategies would you use with your students?

 
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Last updated 01/06/2003