What does an information-literate classics major need to know?

Judson S. Herrman (Allegheny College)

Existing research guides for students of classics focus on print material and emphasize that the library is at the center of the research process. Such an emphasis is of course desirable and salutary, since students need to become familiar with standard works and learn how to use the established tools in the field. But nowadays several key digital resources stand alongside the stacks of books and journals at the library. For example, a classics major working on a paper for an advanced reading course needs to know how to use the TLG to look for parallel usages of an interesting Greek phrase, and she also needs to know how to locate and interpret the notes of printed commentaries on that phrase and its parallels. Students need a variety of skills to use effectively the various types of resources now available. In this paper I focus on digital tools and consider the shape of digital literacy for a modern classics student.

I offer my own proposal of what an information-literate classics major needs to know, and I look forward to comments and suggestions from my peers in the field. This paper grows out of my work on a new research guide for classics students, and I hope the CAMWS audience's feedback will be a vital aid as I plan that larger project. I will briefly consider the following types of digital resources:

• Bibliographic databases: resources such as L'Année Philologique and TOCS-IN are essential starting points for student research.
• Electronic archives of journal articles (JSTOR, Project Muse) make important material conveniently available and permit students to search the contents of included material. Students should learn how to locate material in these archives.
• Various databases of Greek and Latin literature online or on CD-ROM (Perseus, the TLG and PHI databases, the Bibliotheca Teubneriana Latina) allow students to search and browse Greek and Latin literature. Students should learn effective searching techniques and how to use special tools designed for these databases (Diogenes for the TLG and PHI discs).
• Students should know how and where to locate maps and images of the ancient world online.
• Students should know how to use Unicode fonts to display Greek on the Web and to type Greek on their computers.
• Students should learn how to produce HTML files to present their work online.

No audiovisual equipment is needed for this presentation.