The practice and idea of history is going to be forever changed by the coming of the digital age and digital methods. I think one way this is happening is with shared authority in the historical world. In the past, the study of history has always been very exclusive to scholars- the so called “ivory tower” school of thought. That is not the case today. With increasing public history programs, historians are sharing history with the public more than ever. Digital tools and methods are an important part of this. For example, many museums now offer virtual exhibits in which visitors can view and learn about exhibits right from their computers. Many other museums and institutions offer opportunities for the public to participate in blog discussions. Some institutions allow the users themselves to contribute to exhibits. The East Side Tenement Museum in New York City, for example allows people to submit their own photos and other items to add to the museum’s collection. This new push for shared authority has forever changed the field of history. Historians are not only conversing with each other, but they are also sharing history with the greater public. I believe that as long as Historians are there as the experts to moderate, this can only increase the field’s relevance and interest.
Another way digital methods are changing the study of history is through new research methods. No longer do historians have to spend long hours searching through libraries and archives for their sources (well, at least not all the time). There are now a vast amount of sources available online. While in the past sources were considered scarce, the digital age has created an over-abundance of them. This requires historians to approach online research in a whole new way. They need to know how to sift through sources and weed out the useless ones. This is when researchers will need to master the online tools available to assist them with this. Search tools and the advance search options they provide are most helpful with combing through sources. Other online tools like zotero can help historians organize sources. The digital age has opened up vast amounts of sources. Historians certainly benefit from this, but they must also know how to manage it. Digital methods have changed historical research forever.
Tim Adams' Digital History Blog 