HISTNews On-Line Newsletter

Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1993 22:21:11 EDT Sender: Pan-Africa Discussion List From: "Marilyn H. Fetterman"

------------------------------------------------------------------------ I just wanted to let you and your AFRICA-L subscribers know about a new outlet for announcements that might have broader interest. The International History Network has recently begun the publication of a bi-weekly newsletter called HistNews. It's goal is to disseminate information about internet sources to historians in all fields, including the history of Africa. I hope you and your collegues will use it to disseminate news and to receive similar information from other scholars.

Subscriptions can be arranged through LISTSERV@UKANVM.BITNET; (SUBSCRIBE HISTNEWS). Submissions can be made either to me, or to HISTNEWS@UKANVM.BITNET.

Best, -- Bob Pasker -- Brown U, Dept. of History -- rbp@brown.edu

---------------------------HISTNEWS ANNOUNCEMENT------------------------

International History Network announces HISTNEWS: An On-Line News and Information Source for Faculty, Scholars and Graduate Students.

I am pleased to announce the introduction of HISTNEWS: an on-line newsletter geared to the dissemination of news and information of interest to historians.

Having been an avid Internet user for the past five years, I have witnessed an explosion not only of users, but also of sources. Rarely do we get too little information coming across our screens: usually, its too much of the wrong kind of information. Much information of the news variety--calls for papers, job announcements, new list announcements--is duplicated from other sources, so you often see the same news item two, three, even five times over the course of a few days. Also, historians and graduate students don't always have the time or inclination to read the massive HISTORY@PSUVM list--where many announcements get posted--but would still like to keep abreast of what is happening on and off the net.

HISTNEWS seeks to address these problems. Ideally HISTNEWS will be a bi-directional link between those who have newsworthy information and those who want to read it. HISTNEWS is not designed to replace the posting of announcements on topical lists: there will be some cross- fertilization between the topical lists and HISTNEWS. But on the other hand, some list owners may decide that with the advent of HISTNEWS, they will no longer need to post individual announcements; their subscribers can subscribe directly to HISTNEWS.

Let's face it: we're all busy. No one wants to subscribe to yet another list that is going to have lots of useless information and blather. The format of HISTNEWS is designed to make it as quick and easy to read as possible:

a. HISTNEWS will be published as a digest, twice per week on Monday and Thursdays. It will only add two messages per week to your mailbox, not dozens per day. You can print HISTNEWS out and read it at your leisure or page through it on your screen when you're ready to take a break. Departments can also print out and post HISTNEWS on cork bulletinboards or place it in mailboxes.

b. Each issue will be preceded by a table of contents. Scan the table of contents to see of there is any news of interest. Use the keywords or the title to zoom to the articles you want.

c. Most articles will be edited down to about one screen. For instance, rather than reproducing entire conference programs and registration forms, the article will describe the conference and point you to a source for the complete text of the article. You will get the gist of the announcement and directions for how to get more information. When you want more info, look for the word FFI (For Further Information).

d. Back issues will be kept on-line at HNSource at the University of Kansas and on the byrd FTP site. Soon, each article will be coded with HTML and so can be searched using WWW (World Wide Web) or Mosaic.

HISTNEWS will work best with the cooperation of the history community. If you want to submit an article to HISTNEWS, it may be sent to HISTNEWS@ukanvm.bitnet. Please include your name, e-mail address, and affiliation, as well the source of the message. Please note that the editors reserve the right to edit all submissions for brevity and style.

This service is for you. If you have questions or comments, I want to hear what they are. Undoubtedly, changes will be made as we gain more experience with HISTNEWS.

HISTNEWS is a volunteer effort. In addition to myself, Lynn Nelson, University of Kansas (lhnelson@ukansvm.bitnet) and Don Mabry, Mississippi State University (djm1@ra.msstate.edu) act as advisors. Thanks go to the University of Kansas Computer Center for providing computing resources for this project.

-- -- bob pasker -- rbp@brown.edu -- brown u, dept. of history