In the news this week, the American Library Association takes a look banned books, in an effort shine a light on “the harms of censorship.” Also, check out two links on digital history; one on history in the digital age and the other on spatial history.  We then look to two sites, from the National Archives and the National Museum of American History, for information on primary documents and artifacts. Finally, read articles on painting and history, 45 years of teaching history, biographies of Washington, history in China, and jobs in historic preservation.

News

• Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read
  The American Library Association supports Banned Books Week in an effort to draw “attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.”

Digital History

• Why Everyone Has to Be a Historian in the Digital Age
  Given the vast amount of information being generated every day in transient digital media, historian Tom Scheinfeldt argues that we need to develop new reading and preservation skills.
• Digital Humanities Labs and Undergraduate Education
  Cameron Blevins at the Historying blog talks about Stanford’s Spatial History Lab and some recent projects to come out of it.

Documents and Objects

• Docs Teach
  With the start of the new school year in mind, the National Archives has launched www.DocsTeach.org, a new online tool for teaching with documents.
• Stories of the Mexican Revolution
  The National Museum of American History presents some objects related to the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.

Articles

• The Historian As Artist
  Nell Irvin Painter finds a valuable symmetry between her avocation as a painter and her study of paintings and images, Duke Today reports.
• Victory Lap
  Jerold S. Auerbach, professor emeritus of history at Wellesley College, reminisces on 45 years of teaching.
• His Highness
  Jill Lepore, in this article from The New Yorker, takes a look at the many biographers who’ve taken on George Washington.
• A System Afraid of Its Own History
  Fan Meizhong speaks of learning a limited history, while going to school in China, and how he hopes to change that for his history students.
• Preservation Careers: Getting Your Foot in the (Four-Paneled) Door
  Priya Chhaya at the PreservationNation blog, of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, interviews the founders of HISTPRES, a site that offers help for finding jobs in historic preservation.

Contributors: Elisabeth Grant, Vernon Horn, and Robert B. Townsend.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.