--American Memory--

Contents

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1. Introduction

2. Substantive Writing
3. Mechanics of Writing
3.1 Abbreviations and Names
3.2 Illustrations: Captions and Legends
3.3 Notes and Bibliographies
3.4 Numbers and Dates
3.5 Punctuation
3.6 Spelling and Special Terms
 
4. Editorial Process
 
5. Editorial Support
 
6. Collection Framework
6.1 About the Collection
6.2 Acknowledgments
6.3 Building the Digital Collection
6.4 Cataloging the Collection
6.5 Copyright and Other Restrictions
6.6 Related Resources
6.7 Scope and Content Note
6.8 Selected Bibliography
6.9 Special Presentations
6.10 Other Components
 
7. Learning Page
 
8. Today in History
 
9. Glossary

7. The Learning Page

The Learning Page is a Web site created by NDLP User Services and is designed to help teachers, students, and lifelong learners who use the American Memory collections.The Learning Page provides navigational, technical, and contextual guidance in finding and using items within these primary source collections. It also:

  • Provides basic search help;

  • Demonstrates to users the ability of American Memory to present topics in multiple formats for richer, deeper research and understanding;

  • Supports the development and expansion of research skills;

  • Supports development of visual and information literacy skills;

  • Demonstrates the curricular relevance of individual collections;

  • Provides suggestions and examples of classroom use of American Memory materials;

  • Offers educators opportunities to learn tools and techniques to incorporate American Memory materials into their classrooms.

Content includes:

  • Various search guides to the collections;

  • Activities developed around American Memory collections to involve and engage users with the materials in a participatory manner;

  • Interactivity with American Memory collections;

  • Presentations that integrate American Memory materials and encourage exploration of the collections.

For contractors creating content and American Memory Fellows designing lesson plans, the Learning Page has a style guide based on the Chicago Manual of Style, the Library Web Style Guide, and Learning Page-specific requirements.

Organization

The Learning Page has eight sections:

(1) Search Help contains search strategy tips and Pathfinders organized by events, people, places, time, and topics that provide navigational guidance to American Memory collections.

(2) Features are presentations that bring together items from across the collections to highlight specific themes.

(3) Learn More About the Collections! are presentations that explore individual collections in terms of their history and social-studies and language-arts content and provide a centralized location for Library Web resources related to the collection as well as collection-specific technical and search tips.

(4) Activities are problem-solving games that draw upon American Memory materials and focus on the development of visual and information literacy skills.

(5) Educators' Programs are training opportunities for educators to learn about using American Memory materials in their classrooms. These programs include the American Memory Fellows Program, which culminates in the weeklong Educators Institute each summer, as well as online workshops, conferences, and real time workshop opportunities.

(6) Lesson Ideas contain lesson suggestions and plans created by American Memory Fellows and other educators.

(7) Research Tools contains information about citing American Memory electronic resources, copyright and fair use, resources outside American Memory for further research, and technical guidance for students and teachers.

(8) New is a central location where users can learn about additions to the Learning Page.

 

Coordination with Collection Production

Since the Learning Page provides learning tools and other resources for American Memory collections, Learning Page staff rely upon:

  • The American Memory Production Calendar to plan workflow;

  • Project leaders to contact Learning Page staff during the early test phase of a collection. Inclusion in this early content review aids Learning Page staff in deciding where and how to integrate the collection, and what technical and search tips might be needed;

  • Notification two to three weeks prior to the collection's move to production so that a new Learn More Summary of Resources page can be created in a timely fashion. Other sections of the Learn More follow as time, resources, and scheduling permit;

  • The Web design team to create a link from the collection home page to the corresponding Learn More and to create a small version of the collection title for the Learn More.

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September 1999