I wrote a chapter on Civil War holidays for a book on American life and culture. I used the internet to read most of the primary sources that, twenty years ago, I would have had to travel the country to see.
I found a great quote on Easter from a pastor with the 18th Mass. Volunteers on a website. Unfortunately, the publisher doesn’t want to use any online sites. I’m guessing they’ve had sources disappear and there’s nothing like having the book be dated by the time it arrives at print. (Though it seems like we ought to be able to quote .gov sites. They should be stable.)
Anyway, I wrote the author(s) and asked for citation information so that the quote could be used in the chapter. And he sent it. Whoo hoo! So the quote stays in.
I’m guessing he googled me, since I gave him my full name, and he said I’d had a “varied” career… Yup. That’s me. Multiple lines of research interests. It confuses the search committees, if nothing else. And it means I usually have something I can talk about at parties.
I am just thrilled. I’m thrilled to be able to do research online. I’m thrilled with the help from the blogger. I’m thrilled the chapter will go into the book as written. I’m just thrilled. The internet is amazing.