A special Footnote for history buffs
Posted by Jacque on August 8th, 2007
A PC Magazine review caught my eye because of the potential educational benefit of the Website under scrutiny.
Footnote.com, “History for the People — Discover. Discuss. Connect. Share,” say its mission is to build an online community around history, using an amalgamation of the United States National Archives and social networking to foster contact between users who can download documents from the site and upload their own scanned content.
The site’s partnership with the National Archives has allowed Footnote to digitize its entire collection – about 9 billion documents, many of which have previously been released only on microfilm. The site already boasts 15 million documents and continues to upload millions more each month.
Reviewer Lisa Ruefenacht says, “The thing I love most about Footnote is the immediacy it gives to history. If I’d had a Web site like Footnote when I was a kid, I think I’d have a significantly better grasp of my country’s history. Seeing actual original documents like this is something no textbook can parallel. This is the sort of stuff that turns people into historians. Even though Footnote is still years away from its peak, information-wise, it’s already an invaluable site for researchers, genealogists, academics, or even the general Internet surfer with even a little curiosity about the past.”
It is easy to use; well-designed, and has a clean, fast interface. Millions of documents are free to search but there is only a select number of titles where you can view every document, annotate, comment and print for free. See what is free here.
You can take a tour of the site and there is a 7-day free trial available. For $7.95 monthly or $59.95 annually, you get unlimited access to the site’s amenities.
