Google Book search

Book Search really appeals to the historian in me. When I did work on early modern european history I was particularly interested in cultural practices. For example, what did it mean to be a "gentleman". And there were a lot of advice manuals telling men how to achieve this state - and we're talking 17th century - so self improvement books are not a new phenomena!

So, how does this relate to Book search? Well, by having access to primary textual material that may have only been available in limited numbers of library collections. I did a search on housekeeping and brought back works on American housekeeping from mid 1800's. Ease of access to this material saves an enormous amount of time and provides richer understandings because more material is available to be used. Really positive application of web resources.