They’re all over social media – frames, filters, and special camera effects on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms to help you add pizzazz to your selfies and other photos. But is anything really new these days? We found something that may be the grandfather (or at least great uncle) of social media filters – hand-painted backgrounds for photography studios dating from the early 1900s.
Author: Trina Brown
I’ve been a fan of Newcomb pottery since I first saw an example on the Antiques Roadshow more than a decade ago. Currently I have the opportunity to see Newcomb pottery every day — three pieces are featured in an art pottery and glass exhibit at the National Museum of American History, the building where I work. Simple forms, lovely colors and nature motifs make Newcomb pottery very appealing and highly collectible. But there’s also a compelling story behind the pottery. For March, which is both Women’s History Month and National Craft Month, I want to share information about Newcomb College in New Orleans where the pottery was made. This college offered education and employment for women artists at a time when such opportunities were scarce, especially in the South.
Not to brag, but we’ve got a pretty cool new research tool to show off: OneSearch.
Shauna Collier, Librarian for the National Museum of African American History & Culture, contributed this post.
Late last year my dream of becoming the librarian for the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) came true, and a month ago I returned to the Smithsonian Libraries (I worked here years ago as the Anacostia Librarian). After receiving the warmest welcome from my library and museum colleagues, I started receiving the question “So what’s happening with the NMAAHC Library?” Well, it is all still coming together, but I will use this opportunity to give a brief update.
You’ve been using Google for years. In fact, you use it every day. And you always get tons of results, so you must be an expert searcher, right? Not so fast… Getting more results is not always helpful! Do you really have time to go through 264 pages to find what you want?
What you need are better results, which come from better searches. So here are some tips that work in most search engines and research databases to help you get better, on-target results.
Even the most experienced scholars can find it difficult to keep up with new research in their fields. So much is being published in journals and online every day that it can be overwhelming. So I’ve put together a list of websites to help you wade through the rising tide of research. These resources are available free to anyone via the Internet and offer useful tools for discovering new research in a wide variety of subject areas.
On Monday, January 21, 2013, we will celebrate the 57th Inauguration for the President of the United States of America. You will remember that President Obama’s inauguration in 2009 marked the first swearing-in of an African American to lead our country. You also may recall some of the details about the very first inauguration on April 30, 1789, when George Washington was sworn in as president of our new nation. But have you ever wondered about some of the other “firsts” related to this historic event? We have gathered together some bits of information about presidential inaugurations that we hope will enlighten and entertain.