AHA Announces New Fellowship in Digital History

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In 2009, George Mason University and the American Historical Association will offer the first Roy Rosenzweig Fellowship for Innovation in Digital History. This award was developed by friends and colleagues of Roy Rosenzweig (1950–2007), Mark and Barbara Fried Professor of History and New Media at George Mason University, to honor his life and work as a pioneer in the field of digital history.

This nonresidential fellowship will be awarded annually to honor and support work on an innovative and freely available new media project, and in particular for work that reflects thoughtful, critical, and rigorous engagement with technology and the practice of history. The fellowship will be conferred on a project that is either in a late stage of development or which has been launched in the past year but is still in need of further improvements. The fellow(s) will be expected to apply awarded funds toward the advancement of the project goals during the fellowship year.

In a 1-2 page narrative, entries should provide a method of access to the project (e.g., web site address, software download), indicate the institutions and individuals involved with the project, and describe the project’s goals, functionality, intended audience, and significance. A short budget statement on how the fellowship funds will be used should be attached. Projects may only be submitted once for the Rosenzweig Fellowship.

The entry should be submitted by e-mail to [email protected]. Questions about the prize and application process should be directed to [email protected]. The deadline for submission of entries is May 15, 2009. Recipients will be announced at the 2010 AHA Annual Meeting in San Diego.

History of Slavery in New York Discussion Today

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Historian Alan Singer, a professor of education at Hofstra University, will address &#8220Time to Teach the Truth: The History of Slavery in New York State,&#8221 during a daylong series of talks and workshops at SUNY Cortland and at Cortland Junior-Senior High School on Wednesday, March 4.

&#8220Most Americans are aware of the more than two century-long history of slavery in our country,&#8221 explained Keith Smith, director of the Educational Opportunity Program and one of the event organizers. &#8220Most, however, consider slavery to have been limited to the South. Dr. Singer is an expert on the many facets of slavery in the Empire State, and how to teach about them. He is eager to discuss his work with colleagues and students.&#8221

A drop-in discussion session will be held between 9:30-11:30 a.m. in Old Main, Room 127, for any educators, would-be educators, and others interested in conversing with Singer and viewing his teaching materials. Singer will speak on the history of slavery in New York state during a sandwich seminar, which is free and open to the public, at 12:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.

He will conduct a workshop on teaching about slavery from 3-4 p.m. at Cortland Junior-Senior High School. For information about attending that event, please contact Karen Hempson, coordinator of the Professional Development School, a SUNY Cortland-Cortland Public Schools initiative, at (607) 753-4209 or by e-mail at: [email protected].

At the Hofstra University School of Education and Allied Human Services, Singer is a professor of secondary education and the director of social studies education. A former New York City high school social studies teacher, he is editor of Social Science Docket, a joint publication of the New York State and New Jersey Councils for the Social Studies. His books include New York and Slavery, Time to Teach the Truth and Social Studies for Secondary Schools (Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, 2nd edition, 2003).

Singer, who earned a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Rutgers University, is the author and editor of New York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistance, a 268-page secondary school curriculum guide.

The daylong events are being sponsored by a combination of College and community groups. The College sponsors are: Africana Studies Department- Center for Gender and Multicultural Studies- Dean of Arts and Sciences Office- Dean of Education Office- Education Club- Educational Opportunity Program- History Department- President’s Office and the Provost’s Office. The community sponsors include the Cortland Junior-Senior High School Department of Social Studies, the Professional Development School, and the Wilkins Foundation.

State Proposes Sales Tax on Preservation Projects

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According to the New York Landmark Society a proposed change in New York State Tax Law would adversely affect preservation projects in the state:

A proposed change to the New York State Tax Law would harm preservation and increase sales tax on preservation projects by narrowing the definition of “capital improvements” on buildings. The new language would limit the definition to apply only to projects that constitute “new construction, or a new addition to or total reconstruction of existing construction.” This is a change from the current definition which allows an exemption of sales tax on labor for the many preservation projects whose scope is less than 100% reconstruction of a building.

As a result of the proposed change, many renovations, restorations and rehabilitations of existing buildings would no longer qualify as “capital improvements” and the labor associated with these projects would become subject to the State sales tax (4%), and possibly also the New York City sales tax (4%) and MTA sales tax (.375%). At present, these projects generally pay sales tax on building materials but not on labor.

Please e-mail Governor Paterson today by clicking here saying:&#8221please continue using the current definition of &#8216-capital improvement’ in part PP of Tax Law 1101(b)(9) and not limit it to new construction. The proposed changes work against preservation projects by adding a sales tax to the cost of labor. Preservation projects promote economic revitalization, build communities, and save energy.&#8221

NYPL Updates Google Earth-Maps Division Collection

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Matt Knutzen is reporting on the NYPL’s blog that they have updated the Map Division’s Google Earth index to the digitized New York City map collections. The index now includes &#8220more than 2000 maps from 32 titles, organized chronologically and geographically by borough, all published between 1852 and 1923.&#8221

Here are Knutzen’s recommended ways to search for maps using the index.

1. Select a borough and vintage using the folders from the list on the left sidebar.

2. Double click the map to fly to your chosen location, then use the time slider at the top left of the map frame to narrow the chronological search scope.

3. Enter a street address in the &#8220fly to&#8221 search box, then use the time slider.

Once you’ve located a historical map coverage, scroll your mouse over the area and click. A popup window will allow you to access bibliographic information and a digital copy of the historical map.

Libraries Protest Tax Collection Services

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The New York State Library Association (NYLA) called on Governor David Paterson and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today to immediately end pushing tax form distribution and customer service duties onto local public libraries.

&#8220Not only are you asking us to do more with less, but you are asking libraries to help collect the very tax dollars you are taking away from us,&#8221 said Michael Borges, NYLA’s executive director. “Our members are local community libraries, not state tax collection agencies.”

The NYS Department of Taxation and Finance has discontinued mailing out forms to NYS taxpayers, and a press release and postcard sent to New Yorkers informed citizens to either visit their public libraries to pick up tax forms or download them from the internet. The move was labeled a cost cutting move, saving the Department of Taxation and Finance roughly $1 million annually. However, the cost of handling tax form distribution has been largely dumped on New York’s libraries, which are now expected to print out tax forms and provide tax-related customer service.

“Libraries are responsible for not only providing the forms, but also for helping taxpayers fill out the forms and answering other tax related questions,” said Borges. “Library traffic is up, circulation is up, and the types of library services in high-demand continue to climb while our state funding is getting cut. Adding tax form services simply shifts the costs and administrative burdens from state agencies to local libraries, and we are in no position to accept these unfunded mandates.”

“In recent years we have had hundreds of state and Federal forms given to us by the state and picked up by local residents. There is absolutely no way that we could afford to absorb the printing costs if we are forced to provide these forms entirely on our own” said Kevin Gallagher of the Middletown Thrall Library. “Imagine the cost of hundreds of tax forms, considering our budget is already being cut. It’s just not feasible.”

”I don’t mind providing this service, as I consider anything which brings more people into the library, and which increases our value to the community, to be an asset. But, certainly, it is incongruous for the state to cut library funding while it is savings millions itself by shifting its responsibilities to the very libraries it is cutting”, said Ed Dunscombe, Director, George Johnson Memorial Library in Endicott.

“This year we have spent more staff time and effort on tax-related services than ever before, &#8220said Barbara Nichols Randall, Director of the Guilderland Public Library, “We have a long standing partnership with AARP to help people in our community prepare their taxes but the mandate that local libraries replace the state in providing tax forms to the public is an added cost for the library itself. In January alone, our estimated staff cost for this service is almost $2,500, not to mention the overhead expense incurred by using our copiers and paper supplies to print the forms.&#8221

“It’s a service we provide happily, but it takes staff away from serving patrons’ other reference needs and is having an impact on our supply budget,” added Mrs. Randall. &#8220This year we estimated that we will save the community $42,000 with this service.&#8221

The proposed 2009-10 Executive Budget reduces library aid by $18 million or 18% to $80.5 million, a level not seen since 1993. These cuts are on top of the two cuts already imposed on libraries in 2008, reducing Library Aid from $102 million in 2007 to $98.5 million at the end of 2008. The proposed cuts will also result in a corresponding loss of $2 million in federal funds for library services in New York, reducing federal aid from $9 million to $7 million by 2011.

About NYLA: The New York Library Association &#8212- America’s first state library association &#8212- was founded in 1890 to lead in the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship to enhance learning, quality of life, and equal opportunity for all New Yorkers. Today, NYLA is working stronger than ever to promote its mission of supporting libraries and information services.

400 Years of The Champlain Valley Event

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Rich Strum, Director of Interpretation and Education at Fort Ticonderoga, will offer a program entitled &#8220Conquest, Commerce, and Culture: 400 Years of History in the Champlain Valley&#8221 at Saranac Village at Will Rogers in Saranac Lake on Sunday, March 8, 2009.

Samuel de Champlain first saw the great expanse of Lake Champlain, the Green Mountains to the east, the Adirondacks on the west in 1609. New York State, Vermont, and the Province of Quebec are commemorating the 400th anniversary of Champlain’s explorations this year through a variety of programs and events.

Strum will provide an illustrated overview of four centuries of the Champlain region’s history. He will discuss military contests for control of the vital Champlain corridor, the role the lake has played in economic growth and expansion, the lasting impact of 150 years of French dominance in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The presentation will begin at 2:00 p.m. and is offered at no charge to member sof the Adirondack Museum and children of elementary school age or younger. Free admission will be extended to all residents of Saranac Village at Will Rogers. The fee for non-members is $5.00. For additional information, please call the Education Department at (518) 352-7311, ext. 128 or visit the museum’s web site at www.adirondackmuseum.org.

Rich Strum has been the Director of Interpretation and Education at Fort Ticonderoga since 1999. He serves as North Country Regional Coordinator for New York State History Day. He is the author of Ticonderoga: Lake Champlain Steamboat, as well as two books for young readers: Causes of the American Revolution and Henry Know: Washington’s Artilleryman. He lives in Ticonderoga, N.Y. with his wife and daughters.

A New Decorative Objects Online Resource

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The Smithsonian has announced online access to the E. F. Caldwell & Co. Collection which &#8220contains more than 50,000 images consisting of approximately 37,000 black & white photographs and 13,000 original design drawings of lighting fixtures and other fine metal objects that they produced from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries.&#8221

According to the site: Edward F. Caldwell & Co., of New York City, was the premier designer and manufacturer of electric light fixtures and decorative metalwork from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. Founded in 1895 by Edward F. Caldwell (1851-1914) and Victor F. von Lossberg (1853-1942), the firm’s legacy of highly crafted creations includes custom made metal gates, lanterns, chandeliers, ceiling and wall fixtures, floor and table lamps, and other decorative objects that can be found today in many metropolitan area churches, public buildings, offices, clubs, and residences. A majority of these buildings were built in the early 20thcentury, a time of tremendous growth in construction and when many cities were being electrified for the first time.

The New York Public Library has additional materials [pdf].

Call For Papers: Reconsidering the City

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The History Department of SUNY Fredonia requests proposals for a conference, “Reconsidering the City,” scheduled for April 2010. The conference will explore new directions in the field of Urban History. How do Urban Historians define “the city”? How do scholars today conceptualize the field of Urban History? We welcome proposals for individual papers or panels that address these conceptual issues as well as proposals that highlight new work being done in Urban History in both western and non-western contexts. Paper proposals should be no more than 500 words- panel proposals should also include a brief (250-word) summary of the panel and its theme. Please send proposals and a one-page cv electronically to Mary Beth Sievens, Associate Chair, Department of History, SUNY Fredonia: [email protected].

The deadline for proposals is March 13, 2009.