Anthropology Module Synthesis

The article for this week, “Evolving Internet Reference in Anthropology,” presented a list of sources for anthropological research and offered some critique on each. Although the list appeared to be good, many of the electronic resources are now available collectively through a few anthropology databases. Thus, I would think that since 2005 finding literature and sources in anthropological research has probably become significantly simpler. Moreover, I checked a few of the links to see if they are still active, and I was not surprised to find that in the nine years since the article’s publication, there were more than a few broken links. Consequently, although the information the article provides on the changing nature of anthropology reference work is still good, the resources it suggests are largely outmoded.

The second article I read, on CRL’s resources for colonial Latin America, was good but also outdated. It was published in 2002, and as one of my classmates commented, CRL’s collection has probably changed significantly since then. Even so, I was impressed at the scope of CRL’s holdings in terms of breadth within the study of colonial Latin America, but also age. Some of the documents available were several hundred years old. Consequently, it seems like CRL would be a fantastic institution to point users towards if they are looking for rare or very old resources.

I also perused the suggested links on the course wiki. The American Anthropological Association website was extremely helpful as it presented a long list of resources presented by each of the sub-disciplines of anthropology. This would be a good tool to use to help patrons who are seeking information on a specific anthropological topic. The list of Top 100 Anthropology Blogs was somewhat helpful, but I found some broken links, and others require the user to either log in or create an account. While I am fine with creating a free account to access information, some older library users are either unwilling to set up a plethora of accounts, or lack the technical skills to do so. Thus, the list of blogs would be a useful starting point, but the discerning librarian would need to be aware that parts of it may be inaccessible. The Cultural Survival Quarterly website was an interesting resource on the plights and status of different indigenous peoples around the world, many of whom are vanishing. This would be a good resource for individuals doing research on the current state of indigenous peoples, or for those researching how modern nations interact with the native peoples in their lands. Since many indigenous populations are marginalized, this could also be a useful resource for anthropologists studying marginalized peoples and cultures. Finally, although the information it presents appears to be good overall, some of it was preachy and sensationalist. Although many of the claims made were likely true, I was put off by the strong tone.

The YouTube videos were my favorite activity coming out of this week for two reasons. First, they were a reminder that in spite of its somewhat checkered reputation, there is good information to be found on YouTube, and this is a resource that we as reference librarians should not be ignorant of. As such, this is another tool that I am adding to my reference arsenal. Second, some of the videos found by my classmates were absolutely fascinating. There was one documentary in particular, which examined an Indian arranged marriage, which I thought was extremely well done. Outside of print resources, the documentaries and lectures on YouTube do a lot to add to the field of anthropology. And even though they may not be as traditionally academic as journals or books, they certainly should not be ignored by either the librarian, or the patron doing research in the discipline.

Finally, I briefly examined the Anthropology SubReddit. I was disappointed that it did not contain any sub-SubReddits like the Economics module did. However, I found this resource to be a useful jumping off point for anthropological research. Likewise, I was pleasantly surprised that the links on this Reddit tended to be for reputable resources, more so than the other modules that we have examined thus far. I could honestly see myself recommending the Anthropology SubReddit to a patron seeking more information on the discipline.