Core Historical Literature of Agriculture
Encyclopedia
The Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA) is the name of both a digital preservation
project and the resulting digital library
which began at Cornell University's
Albert R. Mann Library in 1994. It is notable as an early digital library and, unlike later book digitization projects by Google
and Microsoft
, where the focus is mainly on the wholesale scanning of massive numbers of titles, its collection follows a scholarly selection methodology with a specific subject focus (primarily agriculture). Although CHLA is a much smaller collection than that of Google Books Library Project
, for example, all of its titles are considered academically and historically important, and all texts in CHLA are freely accessible.
The CHLA project scans books and journals which are considered landmark titles in the history of agriculture
that were originally published between the early nineteenth century and the middle to late twentieth century. Most of the titles in the collection were published in the era when acidic paper was used for printing; over time such paper becomes brittle, yellows and begins to disintegrate with age.
Mann has established a similar collection known as The Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition and History (HEARTH) that focuses on the historical literature of home economics and human ecology.
began the Core Literature Project at Mann Library. With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation
, Olsen assembled groups of scholars at Cornell University and across the US to determine what the core books and journals in the broad range of subjects relating to agriculture were, both current and historical. These teams of scholars gathered to evaluate texts in their respective fields of specialization, ranking works based on a range of criteria that relied heavily on citation analysis
. By the end of their research, Olsen's teams of scholars produced enough research to fill what became a seven volume series titled The Literature of the Agricultural Sciences, published between 1991 and 1996.
In accordance with 1993's National Preservation Program for Agricultural Literature, digitized materials were initially made available on compact disk and microfilm. The materials were later made accessible on the World Wide Web in August of 1997. Titles cover agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, animal science, crops and their protection, food science, forestry, human nutrition, rural sociology, and soil science.
Agricultural history. Agricultural History Society, Fargo, N.D. : (1927 - 1965)
Agricultural price control. Shepherd, Geoffrey Seddon. Collegiate Press, Ames, Iowa : 1945.
Agricultural reform in the United States Black. John D. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York : 1929.
Apple growing. Burritt, M. C. Outing Publishing Company, New York : 1912.
Beekeeping. Phillips, Everett Franklin. [1915?]
1st Ed. (LaGrange, IL: author, 1920)
Canning and how to use canned foods. Bitting, A. W. National Canners Association, Washington, D.C. : [c1916]
The cattle-breeder's handbook. Watson, James A. S. Ernest Benn Ltd., London : 1926.
The climates of the United States. Ward, Robert DeCourcy. Ginn and Company, Boston ; [c1925]
1st Ed. (LaGrange, IL: author, 1914), 2nd Ed. (LaGrange, IL: author, 1918), 3rd Ed. (LaGrange, IL: author, 1920), alternative 3rd Ed
Dairy farming Eckles, Clarence Henry. Macmillan New York : [c1916]
Farm machinery Culpin, Claude. C. Lockwood & Son, Ltd, London : 1938.
Farm management. Boss, Andrew. Lyons & Carnahan, Chicago ; [c1914]
The first book of farming. Goodrich, C. L. Doubleday, Page & Co., New York : 1905.
Ferguson, John Arden. Farm forestry. J. Wiley & Sons, New York : 1916.
Horses, cattle, sheep and swine; origin, history, improvement, description, ... Curtis, George W. [s.n.], College Station, Tex.: [c1888]
Green, Samuel B. Vegetable gardening; a manual on the growing of vegetables for home use... Webb Publishing Company, St. Paul : 1896.
The grapes of New York. Hedrick, U. P. J.B. Lyon Company, Albany : 1908.
Irrigation farming; a handbook for the practical application of water ... Wilcox, Lucius Merle. Orange Judd Co., New York : [c1895]
The A B C of strawberry culture, for farmers, village people, and small growers; a book for beginners. Terry, T. B. A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio : 1902.
Digital preservation
Digital preservation is the set of processes, activities and management of digital information over time to ensure its long term accessibility. The goal of digital preservation is to preserve materials resulting from digital reformatting, and particularly information that is born-digital with no...
project and the resulting digital library
Digital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
which began at Cornell University's
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Albert R. Mann Library in 1994. It is notable as an early digital library and, unlike later book digitization projects by Google
Google Books Library Project
The Google Books Library Project is an effort by Google to scan and make searchable the collections of several major research libraries. The project, along with Google's Partner Program, comprise Google Books . Along with bibliographic information, snippets of text from a book are often viewable...
and Microsoft
Live Search Books
Live Search Books was a search service for books launched in December 2006, part of Microsoft's Live Search range of services. Microsoft was working with a number of libraries, including the British Library, to digitize books and make them searchable, and in the case of out-of-copyright books,...
, where the focus is mainly on the wholesale scanning of massive numbers of titles, its collection follows a scholarly selection methodology with a specific subject focus (primarily agriculture). Although CHLA is a much smaller collection than that of Google Books Library Project
Google Books Library Project
The Google Books Library Project is an effort by Google to scan and make searchable the collections of several major research libraries. The project, along with Google's Partner Program, comprise Google Books . Along with bibliographic information, snippets of text from a book are often viewable...
, for example, all of its titles are considered academically and historically important, and all texts in CHLA are freely accessible.
The CHLA project scans books and journals which are considered landmark titles in the history of agriculture
History of agriculture
Agriculture was developed at least 10,000 years ago, and it has undergone significant developments since the time of the earliest cultivation. The Fertile Crescent of Western Asia, Egypt, and India were sites of the earliest planned sowing and harvesting of plants that had previously been gathered...
that were originally published between the early nineteenth century and the middle to late twentieth century. Most of the titles in the collection were published in the era when acidic paper was used for printing; over time such paper becomes brittle, yellows and begins to disintegrate with age.
Mann has established a similar collection known as The Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition and History (HEARTH) that focuses on the historical literature of home economics and human ecology.
History
In 1988, Wallace OlsenWallace Olsen
Wallace Olsen was a librarian and early proponent of digital libraries.Beginning in the 1960s, Olsen published the groundwork for digital repositories of Land-grant university library collections in the United States...
began the Core Literature Project at Mann Library. With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
, Olsen assembled groups of scholars at Cornell University and across the US to determine what the core books and journals in the broad range of subjects relating to agriculture were, both current and historical. These teams of scholars gathered to evaluate texts in their respective fields of specialization, ranking works based on a range of criteria that relied heavily on citation analysis
Citation analysis
Citation analysis is the examination of the frequency, patterns, and graphs of citations in articles and books. It uses citations in scholarly works to establish links to other works or other researchers. Citation analysis is one of the most widely used methods of bibliometrics...
. By the end of their research, Olsen's teams of scholars produced enough research to fill what became a seven volume series titled The Literature of the Agricultural Sciences, published between 1991 and 1996.
In accordance with 1993's National Preservation Program for Agricultural Literature, digitized materials were initially made available on compact disk and microfilm. The materials were later made accessible on the World Wide Web in August of 1997. Titles cover agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, animal science, crops and their protection, food science, forestry, human nutrition, rural sociology, and soil science.
Select Readings from the Collection
All titles are full-text.Agricultural history. Agricultural History Society, Fargo, N.D. : (1927 - 1965)
Agricultural price control. Shepherd, Geoffrey Seddon. Collegiate Press, Ames, Iowa : 1945.
Agricultural reform in the United States Black. John D. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York : 1929.
Apple growing. Burritt, M. C. Outing Publishing Company, New York : 1912.
Beekeeping. Phillips, Everett Franklin. [1915?]
1st Ed. (LaGrange, IL: author, 1920)
Canning and how to use canned foods. Bitting, A. W. National Canners Association, Washington, D.C. : [c1916]
The cattle-breeder's handbook. Watson, James A. S. Ernest Benn Ltd., London : 1926.
The climates of the United States. Ward, Robert DeCourcy. Ginn and Company, Boston ; [c1925]
1st Ed. (LaGrange, IL: author, 1914), 2nd Ed. (LaGrange, IL: author, 1918), 3rd Ed. (LaGrange, IL: author, 1920), alternative 3rd Ed
Dairy farming Eckles, Clarence Henry. Macmillan New York : [c1916]
Farm machinery Culpin, Claude. C. Lockwood & Son, Ltd, London : 1938.
Farm management. Boss, Andrew. Lyons & Carnahan, Chicago ; [c1914]
The first book of farming. Goodrich, C. L. Doubleday, Page & Co., New York : 1905.
Ferguson, John Arden. Farm forestry. J. Wiley & Sons, New York : 1916.
Horses, cattle, sheep and swine; origin, history, improvement, description, ... Curtis, George W. [s.n.], College Station, Tex.: [c1888]
Green, Samuel B. Vegetable gardening; a manual on the growing of vegetables for home use... Webb Publishing Company, St. Paul : 1896.
The grapes of New York. Hedrick, U. P. J.B. Lyon Company, Albany : 1908.
Irrigation farming; a handbook for the practical application of water ... Wilcox, Lucius Merle. Orange Judd Co., New York : [c1895]
The A B C of strawberry culture, for farmers, village people, and small growers; a book for beginners. Terry, T. B. A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio : 1902.