Thank You Google

This addition to our learning toolbox may seem obvious to all you lifelong learners. No drum roll of expectation here. However, Google Books has to be at the top of the list when you're ready to do research on the Internet.

I was reminded again today just how many nineteenth century volumes with full view are now available on Google Books. My favorite discoveries are little unexpected snippets of history that show up almost every time I do a search in Google Books.

For instance, I've been doing research on both the Lowell Institute (started because in the Lowell Observatory library there is a display that mentions Lowell Institute) and Amelia Blanford Edwards (started because I wanted to confirm when this monumental figure in Egyptology started her first American lectures.) I certainly didn't expect the two to be mentioned in the same sentence. But here it is, "The efforts made to secure a place for Miss Amelia B. Edwards as one of the lecturers before the Lowell Institute in Boston have been unsuccessful. No woman has ever yet delivered a Lowell course. The coming of Miss Edwards to America is anticipated with much interest." This popped up in on page 128 of The Literary World, Boston, April 13, 1889.

When one would normally read something to the effect that Amelia Edwards gave her first series of lectures in the United States in 1889, little jewels like this add a backdrop, a sense of what the atmosphere actually was at the time. I guess it could be called "timely local flavor."

As you can tell, it doesn't take many words to make this everyday scholar happy. I hope you enjoy Google Books as much as I do.