"Teaching with Colorado's Heritage"
Module 6: Searching the Library of Congress American Memory

This module will introduce you to the Library of Congress American Memory, a repository of over 7 million digital images of written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.

1. Library of Congress Resources
   Review the Library of Congress web site- it offers card catalog access, legislative information from THOMAS, virtual exhibitions and a link to over one million digitized items in the American Memory historical collections. Which resources on this site would be useful for use with students?

2. American Memory Gallery
   Enter the American Memory Gallery. This is your first look at American Memory. Choose an item that you like - something that represents your hobby, talent, future ambitions, secret wishes, alter ego, or just your favorite in the Gallery! Sample a few while you are here. Get to know a bit about what you'll be exploring in our search workshop. Which item did you select and why? Which the collection(s) did you sample and what treasures did you find? (Note: Ignore the link to the Introductions Discussion on the American Memory Site.)

3. Treasure Hunt
   The Treasure Hunts are designed to immerse you in the collections...looking, listening, wondering, and learning! Chose one of the three Treasure Hunts to complete. Which treasure hunt did you choose? How did the treasure hunt you chose excite you about the resources available through the collections?

4. Engaging Activities
   What is a highlight of Today in History?
   How might you use this site with your students?

5. Exploring Options
   These exercises will help you become familiar with different aids to finding information, including search features, available to you in American Memory. Understanding what these finding aids (see Glossary) can and can not do will be more meaningful if we choose a topic. Use civil war for both exercises. Would browsing or searching a particular topic work better with students? (Note: These exercises are a part of another on-line course. Do not worry about any other information on the page except the exercises)

   • Exercise 1: Browsing American Memory
   • Exercise 2: Searching
     
     
6. Searching Descriptive Information
   Many American Memory collections have bibliographic or descriptive information on each item. InQuery, the database used by American Memory, searches against this information to find your search request. In this activity, you'll learn strategies for choosing successful search words and phrases while looking at photographs of the Civil War and turn-of-the-century America. Then we'll turn you loose to search for your own lesson materials. (Note: These exercises are a part of another on-line course. Do not worry about any other information on the page except the exercises.)
   • Exercise 1: Keywords and Subject Terms
   • Exercise 2: Subject Indexes
   • Exercise 3: On Your Own!
     
     
7. References
   Refer to the following links during your American Memory searches.

• Pathfinders for Browsing (Events, People, Places, Time, and Topics)
• Finding Items in American Memory
• Search Help
• Searching Summary
• Searching full text collections

8. Teaching and Learning with American Memory using the Learning Page.
   This web site was created to assist educators as they use the American Memory web site to teach about United States history and culture. The site provides tips and tricks for using the American Memory collections, as well as frameworks, activities, and lessons that provide context for their use.

   • Select Features and Presentations to view presentations that bring together items from across the collections.
   • Examine the American Memory Timeline. Go the section on Postwar United States, subsection on The Presidential Election of 1960. What poem did Frost read at the Kennedy inauguration? Does this poem suggest how Frost regarded JFK?
   • Review the lessons area that offers teacher-created and classroom-tested curriculum materials and guides for using primary sources. Which of these lessons might be useful in your curriculum?
   • Look at Collection Connections, which provides activity ideas for using the collections to develop critical thinking skills. How will these activity ideas be helpful to you?

9. More Practice
   When you complete your exploring of the vast resources on the American Memory website, go back to Search All Collections. Searching any topic that fits with your curriculum, choose/identify a primary source you believe will intrigue/engage students. How might you use this source with students in the classroom?

Most of this content has been created by the Library of Congress American Memory, or adapted from 'The Library of Congress and AmericanMemory: A Primary Resource for Unit Design' by Scott Durham and Gigi Lincoln, Lakeview High School, Battle Creek, MI When you visit the links above you will be leaving the website of the Colorado Digitization Program and going to the website of the Library of Congress American Memory.