In the news this week, AHA member Douglas Greenberg receives a top honor from Phi Beta Kappa, David Ferriero is questioned at his confirmation hearing to become Archivist of the United States, and history professor Merrill D. Peterson passes away at age 88. We also link to a study of Google Scholar by Library Journal, and take a look at The Historical Society blog. Then read two articles on archiving papers (those of Supreme Court Justices and historians). Finally, watch videos and lectures on the new Anne Frank YouTube channel and the Forum Network.

News

• Douglas Greenberg Honored for Distinguished Service to the Humanities
  Former AHA Council member and current AHA member Douglas Greenberg was honored last month with Phi Beta Kappa’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities. “Greenberg’s career has been a combination of scholarship, teaching, and institutional leadership in several different arenas of the humanities.”
• Ferriero Confirmation Hearing as U.S. Archivist (update)
  The National Coalition for History reports on the confirmation hearing of David Ferriero, nominated Archivist of the United States, and posts questions and answers (PDF) from the hearing.
• Merrill D. Peterson, Jefferson Scholar, Dies at 88
  Merrill D. Peterson, professor emeritus at the University of Virginia, Jefferson Scholar, and 50-year AHA member passed away September 23 at the age of 88.
• Newswire Analysis: Google Scholar’s Ghost Authors, Lost Authors, and Other Problems
  If you have ever thought of using Google Scholar to test the popularity of your scholarship, think again. A study in Library Journal notes that (in addition to a heavy science bias) the flawed metadata in the site make it impossible to use the site "to analyze the publishing performance and impact of researchers."
• New to the blogroll: The Historical Society blog.
  Jonathan Rees at More or Less Bunk takes a look at The Historical Society blog, especially noting the sections on “advice for struggling undergraduate history students.” Definitely a good new addition to our RSS feeds.

Archiving Papers

• Down the Memory Hole
  In this op-ed piece from the New York Times, Linda Greenhouse explains that Justice Paul Stevens’ departure from the Supreme Court will mean the opening of his colleague’s papers to researchers.
• What Happens to the Papers of Dead Historians?
  David Liebers at HNN notes that historians have a poor track record of preserving their own records for future research, and asks what can be done.

Video

• Anne Frank YouTube Channel
  The Anne Frank House has created an Anne Frank YouTube channel, providing video tours of the Anne Frank House, interviews discussing the diary (Otto Frank, Nelson Mandela, Miep Gies, and more), and the only existing film of Anne Frank. Hat tip.
• PBS and NPR Add to Trove of Free Online Lectures
  The Chronicle’s Wired Campus blog reports on the new Forum Network, a collaboration between PBS and NPR that offers audio and video of lectures by academics.

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

This post first appeared on AHA Today.