Architectural historians can often be confronted with want seems to be insurmountable problems when examining buildings in cityscape or the cityscape itself, and often reconstructions of the cityscape can be problematic. Generally when reconstructing an ancient or lost cityscape it is very unlikely that there will be a detailed plan, let alone elevations or sections to assist in the reconstruct...

Genealogy and family history are examples of everyday life information seeking and provide a unique example of intensive and extensive use of libraries and archives over time. In spite of the ongoing nature of this activity, genealogists and family historians have rarely been the subject of study in the information seeking literature and therefore the nature of their information problems have n...

This paper was the response to a challenge set me as the senior historian of chemistry (in age) serving on the ACS National Historic Chemical Landmarks Committee. The challenge was to reflect on the history of chemistry in terms of the question posed in the paper’s title. Although there is a “tongue in cheek” quality to the question, it also has its serious side and it challenged me. I have to ...

In this article we argue that theories of transnationalism have value in exploring the historical context of migration and that historical contexts help to shape such theoretical conceptualisations. Historians of migration have now begun to engage more directly with the literature of transnationalism, focusing on the networks that linked settler and home communities. Here we add to this by exam...

Background: the methodology of historical research depends on a commitment to reporting and record keeping based on investigation of primary and secondary sources. This dependence on finding and assessing the reliability of information sources presents particular challenges to designers of information retrieval software intended to support historical research. Aim: this paper reports the result...

Efforts in the 1960s to demonstrate the value of the “new archaeology” involved showing that the competing culture-history paradigm was inferior. One allegedly weak plank in that paradigm had to do with how culture historians viewed culture— as a set of ideas transmitted in the form of ideal norms or mental templates. Lewis Binford referred to this view as “normative theory.” In archaeology tha...