When I read, I have a tendency to mark up my books with notes and to write down key passages and thoughts in a notebook (and this blog on occassion). In the notebook, I try to draw connections – in time, space, etc – because everything is, after all, connected in some way. I’ve recently been thinking about making some sort of database that would allow me to collect and relate all this information in an easy to retrieve and browse format. Luckily for me, someone else has already done something similar and made it available for all to see and use.
I learned of the Timeline Index from the post Timeline Index – People, Periods, Places, Events from Jim McGee. Much like my notebook, the index is a collection of links to sites about various subjects. The advantage of being on the web, of course, is that each entry can be categorized – in this case using the 5 W’s of who, what, when, where, which – and searched. The index is collaborative and depends not on some central figure but everyone who uses it to keep it updated and interesting.
I can hardly wait to dig into the site and see what they’ve got and what still needs to be added. I’m also going to add it to the list of sites I recommend to kids for doing school research.
no straight lines 