Laurel Mittenthal
Harvard University, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations

Harvard University Library's Computer and Electronic Resource Fellows Outreach program

Harvard University Library's Computer and Electronic Resource Fellows Outreach program has been being implemented in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University since the fall of 1997 to help graduate students and faculty in the humanities to identify and obtain the research-related resources they need from the WWW and the internet, and to the increase the use and efficiency of use of Harvard University Library's online and electronic resources. The author is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University.

In this short communication the author intends to touch on the some of the important issues which have been identified in implementing the aforementioned program in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. First, the communication will discuss the different types of and ways in which Asian-language (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) historical materials are currently available on the WWW and the internet. This segment will include a brief discussion of technical issues, but will also focus on the various types and genres of information available, in the hope of identifying resource areas in need of support and development. Next, the communication will present the methods which the author has developed to help researchers and students identify and gain access to Asian-language historical resources on the WWW/internet. Finally, the author hopes that this short communication will provide a platform for discussing how similar programs could be established elsewhere, and how users and those who control access to historical sources on computer could collaborate on improving the access to and use of historical sources available on the WWW, over the internet, and by other electronic means.