The Electronic World of Online Resources–A World Close to Home

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Barbara Macaulay

UMassOnline Barbara Macaulay Every once in a while, it is heartening to read about the world of online learning in a different way—this time it is about the rich world of electronic/digital resources or the growing access to knowledge that has heretofore been unavailable.

The most recent addition to this wonderful sphere of online learning is the announcement by UMass Amherst that the vast collection of writings by W.E.B. Du Bois, a prominent African- American scholar of the 20th century, will be digitized and made available for perusal and reading by scholars and interested learners all over the world. Through a grant from the Verizon Foundation, the 2 year project will provide a glimpse into correspondence and personal papers of Du Bois, as well as the more scholarly writings for which Du Bois is well known.

Du Bois grew up in Great Barrington, MA and is well known as a “pioneering black scholar and civil rights activist.” His most well known work is “The Souls of Black Folk,” written in 1903, but also made history in being one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909.

This online collection will be a significant one and demonstrates the wealth of information that can be gained online through the efforts of colleges and universities.