I find the trend to digitize the collections of libaries, museums and other organizations which accumulate “stuff” truly amazing (e.g., National Archives). At one point, early in this process, a curator explained that you can see many things online that you cannot see at the museum. I did not truly understand this until I had the opportunities to interact with the staff of the ND State Historical Society because of grants and wonder about a bit in the storage areas. (See People of the Upper Missouri – a recent project developed as part of the Teaching American History grant awarded to the Grand Forks Schools).
I was reminded of this again today when I read a post promoting access to the digital resources of the University of Wisconsin. There is some really cool stuff in the back rooms.
