This data base is one that I may never have thought to use if it hadn't been for this challenge. When I did the search on Sitting Bull, I learned he was a leader of the Hunpapa Sioux. The card gave the three other names he is known by and the highlights of his life. I found it interesting that he toured with Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show.
I tried to do a search on Houdini, Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok, and Annie Oakley. Each of these had no material. I then chose to search Laura Ingalls Wilder. There were many sources to choose from. There were several books and actual letters of correspondence of Laura's family members. It was interesting to note that there were several links on the page. For instance, there was a lesson plan link and links to related topics. The citation for the source is also given on the result screen. When I clicked on the link on the family correspondence source, one of the letters was available to read. The source listed every topic the collection covers. Most of the material for Laura Ingalls Wilder is found at the Wisconsin Historical Society.
This is a great resource for those who are interested in the past, planning lessons, or writing reports. It is very easy to navigate and the information very credible. This again allows libraries to expand their resources. Libraries are able to offer additional sources of information with no cost to the patron and or the library.
Glad you can see the value here, Soo Much! Try Jesse James as "James, Jesse" and you'll get some good results. I found some results searching "Hickock, James" and "Wild Bill" (not all relevant in the latter case). I got 32 results for "Houdini, Harry." I guess you have to use last name first and quotation marks to get the best results. How cool that you found a full-text Laura letter! Most of ArchiveGrid is not full text, but tells you what's where, so you hit the jackpot with that one. :)
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