This week we bring you more news on the federal proposal to change IRB rules, a link to registration for THATCamp, and an interview with a history student working for Occupy Wall Street. Also check out reports on a future National Digital Public Library, a new book from a previous AHA staff member, photos from the construction of the Hoover Dam, John M. Blum’s obituary, and the 2011 National History Teacher of the Year. Finally, just for fun, some historically themed pumpkin carving templates.

Institutional Review Boards

• The AHA recently submitted this  letter to the federal Office of Human Research Protections reiterating our stance on oral history review and expression concern over the extension of privacy rules. Zachary Schrag has also posted the letter he submitted on the Institutional Review Blog.
• Questioning Privacy Protections in Research
  The New York Times takes a closer look at, and notes the AHA’s involvement in, the federal proposal to change institutional review board (IRB) rules.

Annual Meeting

• THATCamp – Registration and Participants
  You can now register to attend THATCamp, an open "unconference" at the AHA 2012 annual meeting. Check out the list of participants who will be taking part, and learn more here.

Occupy Wall Street

• History Student on Occupy Wall Street Press Team
  James Livingston at HNN interviews Mark Bray, “a member of the OWS press team who happens to be a third-year graduate student in History at Rutgers, working with Temma Kaplan on modern Spain.”

Books

• A National Digital Public Library Begins to Take Shape
  Jennifer Howard at The Chronicle reports on the support expressed at a recent National Archives meeting for a National Digital Public Library. Dan Cohen also reported from that meeting.
• War Stories: Suffering and Sacrifice in the Civil War North
  Congratulations to former AHA staff member Frances M. Clarke (University of Sydney) who recently published War Stories, which “argues that we need to reconsider the letters, diaries, songs, and journalism penned by Union soldiers and their caregivers to fully understand the war’s impact and meaning.”

Photos

• Construction of the Hoover Dam
  Check out over 50 photos documenting the construction of the Hoover Dam, which just celebrated its 76th anniversary.

News

• John M. Blum, Historian of Presidents, Dies at 90
  Learn more about the life and work of historian John M. Blum, known for his 1954 biography of Theodore Roosevelt, who passed away last week at the age of 90. 
• 2011 National History Teacher of the Year
  The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has named Stacy Hoeflich, a fourth grade teacher at John Adams Elementary School in Alexandria, VA, 2011 National History Teacher of the Year. Learn more about Hoeflich in this article from TeachingHistory.org.

Fun

• Pumpkin Templates from the National Archives
  The National Archives has posted a number of pumpkin carving templates on its Flickr page, to help you make your Halloween a little more history-related this year. Some of your options include “We the People” text, and George Washington and Benjamin Franklin’s faces.

Contributors: Debbie Ann Doyle, Elisabeth Grant, and Robert B. Townsend

This post first appeared on AHA Today.