I am conducting research for a graduate class about the information-seeking needs and behaviors of historians. I must interview some historians, and I thought this would be a great place to do so. I am a long time lurker, and this is my first post in this sub - I hope this type of question is allowed (I did read the rules, I promise)!
With that being said, I suppose you need some questions to get the conversation going! What is the process you go through to find background information or relevant information on your topic? What types of sources do you utilize the most? Where are you most likely to begin your research (libraries, the Internet, etc.)? Do you utilize archives and do you prefer the physical archive over the digital archive?
And as a bonus set of questions, are any of you members of a historical society? What do you feel is the most useful aspect of said society (community, resources, connections, etc.).
I appreciate any feedback you can provide me. It is fun to read the countless studies done about this topic and all, but I would much rather hear from you all!
I'm a total nutter for primary source material. I just don't enjoy having to wrap my head around someone else's interpretation of events, especially in my field of study, when some historians summarize entire months or even years worth of events in just a few sentences. I've said this before, history is the study of people, and if I'm to understand what they did, I want to know why they did it, and more precisely, when.
Here in Milan, there is the Biblioteca Ambrosiana which has around 8,000 manuscripts, mostly chronicles. There's also a massive collection of documents in the Sforza's Castle, although they're mostly centered around art/art history. The absolute best though is the Archivio di Stato, or State Archive in Milan, which holds not only the archives of the local government offices (tax provisions, electricity contracts and the like), but also the archives of all previous governments: all acts by the Spanish and Austrian Viceroys, and all the acts done by the Sforza (although records get spottier for anything earlier). My personal favorite is the Archivio di Stato in Venice, which holds innumerable documents pertaining to the Republic of Venice and it's millennial history (including letters by Venetian ambassadors and spies abroad, dating all the way back to the eight century).