The main obstacle to access is the subscription fee journals require. They are very expensive, even for libraries, and their price only increases.  This makes the feasibility of purchase for individual students (most of whom have incurred prior debt) impossible, and for libraries, very hard. This has to do with hard financial times for students and institutions.

Summaries of important work could be paraphrased on Wikipedia, allowing students to get the gist of the research, without access to the source material. This requires those with access to reference that which they have read onto Wikipedia on a regular basis.

At the mid semester, I felt I had learned a lot about both the Vinegar Hill area, a topic of which I knew nothing about, as well as some techniques into gathering research data (and presenting it as well).  The concept of visiting archives was foreign to me as well.  Actually going to an archive (like the Brooklyn Collection at the BPL) was an illuminating experience, which will definitely prepare me if I need to visit one again.

Of particular interest were the NYPL maps collection, and the general introduction to GIS.  The NYPLs online collection was an amazing tool to use; the access to the maps I needed was seamless, and there were a lot of maps to choose from.  On the GIS side, CartoDB was a useful tool for me, due to my novice level at GIS mapping.  However, my background knowledge in data science and SQL made it a tool I could learn easily, if I ever needed to apply GIS.

Rothman makes an interesting juxtaposition about academic writing. He states that academic writing is supposed to be “dry but also clever; faceless but also persuasive; clear but also completist,” but yet it is “actually among the most personal writing there is.”  He attributes this paradox to the “very small audience of hyper-knowledgeable, mutually acquainted specialists” that academic writing targets.

Rothman goes further to attribute the marginalization of academic writing to the “tightly-packed, super-competitive jungle” authors face when publishing.  This is due to the shrinking interest in topics which would have, at one time, had an audience of like-minded academics.

Rothman, Joshua. “Why Is Academic Writing So Academic?” The New Yorker. Advance Publications, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 May 2016. <http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/why-is-academic-writing-so-academic>.

How are the papers organized?

16 “Series”

◦Series 1. Personal and “Library” Correspondence

◦Series 2. Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority

◦Series 3. Emergency Public Works Commission

◦Series 4. Office of the City Construction Coordinator

◦Series 5. New York Gubernatorial Campaign

◦Series 6. New York City Department of Parks

◦Series 7. New York State Constitutional Convention

◦Series 8. Long Island State Park commission

◦Series 9. New York State Council of Parks

◦Series 10. New York State Power Authority

◦Series 11. Committee on Slum Clearance

◦Series 12. New York World’s Fair, 1964-1965, Inc

◦Series 13. Housing

◦Series 14. Speeches

◦Series 15. Printed Matter

◦Series 16. Photographs

What kinds of materials are included?

The collection consists of speeches , correspondence, memoranda, reports, press releases, plans, clippings, photographs, and other printed matter. These all document the career of Robert Moses

How could you access these resources?

One must give advanced notice to the archive, and go to:

Manuscripts and Archives Division

Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788

Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Relevance: This article will help me write my reflection about Brooklyn’s history.

Expertise: Eamon Loingsigh, a writer, sired by Irish immigrants. There is a little biopic about Eamon Loingsigh on the webpage.  He has released three books on historical subjects, so my trust in him is high.

Currency: Article published on April 8, 2013 – 3:49pm. Concerns historical information, so publication date is not so relevant.

Accuracy: Eamon references several primary and secondary sources, in text, in a way that one could easily find the original sources.

Purpose: Eamon is researching his heritage. He was interested in the White Hand Gang, so the information about Brooklyn is highly relevant in his own research.  There is no bias, but Eamon definitely wants exposure for his upcoming book.