In the news this week, Google is assisting in making the Dead Sea Scrolls available online in the near future, a Virginia textbook has been criticized for misrepresenting the numbers of black Confederate soldiers, and for those in the D.C. area, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society is hosting book signings today and next week. We came across a number of articles on scholarly writing this week. Check out the Writing History site (and submit your writing), a look at citations (and the lack of them) in popular history books, and two perspectives on Open Access Week. Then, we present two education-related links. First, EDSITEment has some spooky lesson plans and then Sir Ken Robinson’s talk on education gets animated. Finally, take a glimpse into the past with the National Museum of Natural History’s Africana Collection, a cell phone tour at the Seattle Art Museum, the Paul Revere House  in Boston, one historic gastronomist, and NPR and a series of shooting gallery photos.

News

• New Web Life for the Dead Sea Scrolls
  Google and the Israel Antiquities Authority are teaming up digitized images of the Dead Sea Scrolls and making them available online. See also coverage by the Daily Mail.
• Virginia 4th-grade textbook criticized over claims on black Confederate soldiers
  The Washington Post dissects the account of African American confederate soldiers in Virginia’s 4th grade history textbooks, which was apparently derived from Internet sources. Also see this related “The Answer Sheet” blog post.
• The U. S. Capitol Historical Society’s Fall Book Signings and Author Talks
  The U.S. Capitol Historical Society is hosting a number of book signings and author talks this month, including Pamela Scott on Fortress of Finance: The United States Treasury Building (October 21) and Patrick Mendis on Commercial Providence: The Secret Destiny of the American Empire  (October 27).

Writing

• Writing History: How Historians Research, Write, and Publish in the Digital Age
  Submit your writing, or help review the writing of others, at the Writing History site, a project of the History of Education Society Graduate Student Committee and the H-Education electronic network. Submissions are being accepted between October 11 and November 11.
• No footnotes please, we’re Americans.
  Jonathan Rees laments the lack of footnotes in the otherwise enjoyable book At Home: A Short History of Private Life, by Bill Bryson. He also considers what this might mean for the future of research and publishing.
• Is There an Open-Access Citation Advantage?
  Jennifer Howard at The Chronicle’s Wired Campus blog takes a look at Open Access Week and the debate about “whether authors benefit from open-access publication.” See also the ACRL’s perspective in their blog article: “Why I’m Not In The Mood To Celebrate Open Access Week.”

Education

• History and Origins of Halloween and Day of the Dead Celebrations
  It’s October, so it’s fitting that EDSITEment has a lesson plan and links to more resources on the origins of Halloween.
• RSA Animate – Changing Education Paradigms
  Watch an animated talk from Sir Ken Robinson, of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, where he discusses his thoughts on educating children today, rates of ADHD, standardized testing, arts education, and more.

Resources

• The Smithsonian/Roosevelt African Expedition 1909-10
  The blog of the National Museum of Natural History shows some highlights from its Russell E. Train Africana Collection.
• Cell Phone Tours
  Larry Cebula recently toured the Seattle Art Museum with his cell phone as his guide. Check out pictures and info about his experience. And if you’re interested in more history cell phone tours, check out the Museums and Walking Tours portions of our recent post, “History, There’s an App for That.”
• Paul Revere’s next challenge
  The Boston Globe takes a look at public history in Boston through the Paul Revere House.
• Sarah Lohman: The historic gastronomist
  Read an interview with Sarah Lohman who dabbles in cooking and history and describes herself as a “historic gastronomist.” We first heard about Lohman last year, when she was featured in a short video documentary last year.
• Talk About Time Lapse: A 70-Year Shoebox Series
  NPR travels through time with Ria van Dijk, a woman from Holland, in a series of shooting gallery photos from 1936 to present day.

Contributors: Miriam Hauss Cunningham, David Darlington, Debbie Ann Doyle, Elisabeth Grant, Vernon Horn, and Robert B. Townsend.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.