While the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth isn’t until next year, we link to the Library of Congress and Smithsonian, which are already talking about related exhibits and events. Also, we point to the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission’s web site and the wealth of Lincoln information available there. Then, submit your nominations for the 2008 Cliopatria Awards, check out two election related articles, read up on the Zotero lawsuit, find out why “John Smith” is leaving academia, and hear about incorporating rare books into undergraduate classes. Finally, see three articles on history on the internet.

Lincoln Bicentennial

• Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibit: Getting Ready for Prime Time
  The Library of Congress blog announces the February 12th opening of the “With Malice Toward None” exhibit, to mark the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.
• Lincoln at the Smithsonian
  Also wanting in on the bicentennial celebration, the Smithsonian has planned a number of Lincoln-related exhibits and events. Hat tip.
• Lincoln Bicentennial 1809-2009
  And for bicentennial events around the country, check out the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission’s (ALBC) site.

What Else We’re Reading

• The 2008 Cliopatria Awards: Nominations
  Cliopatria, an HNN blog, is now accepting nominations for its Cliopatria awards, which “recognize the best history writing in the blogosphere” in the categories of Best Group Blog, Best Individual Blog, Best New Blog, Best Post, Best Series of Posts, and Best Writer. The winners will be announced at the AHA annual meeting in New York.
• Obama on Higher Ed
  After his historic win on Tuesday, how will Barack Obama affect higher education policies? Scott Jaschik at Inside Higher Ed takes a look.
• Thursday, Nov. 5, 1908
  From the Times Traveler Blog, on November 5th one hundred years ago Republicans lose seats in Congress.
• Statement from George Mason University on Center for History and New Media’s Zotero Software
  George Mason University released an official statement last Wednesday about the lawsuit filed by Thomson Reuters (makers of EndNote), over the Center for History and New Media’s Zotero application. Hat tip.
• I’m Leaving: "John Smith" on Academia
  Pseudonymous John Smith writes about leaving academia in Inside Higher Ed. "I fear that I have become the archetypical professor whom I did not want to become," he says. He believes the college life is too easy on students. "Higher education for too many undergraduates at too many liberal arts colleges has become a puffy sofa nestled with down pillows." Do professors and college administrators "unnecessarily coddle" students, leaving them unprepared for the work force? John Smith thinks so.
• Handle This Book!
  The New York Times profiles how some universities are incorporating the use of rare books into their courses, encouraging students to look (and even touch) at original texts. Hat tip.
• The Evolution of the Front Page
  A look at how the layout of the Los Angeles Times has changed since 1881.
• What Should Go in a Museum of Internet History?
  The Chronicle’s Wired Campus blog takes a look at the Internet History Archive, an ongoing project to “document, archive, and commemorate the contributions of the academic community to the development of the Internet.”
• Digitizing the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München
  The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) is currently funding a project for the digitization of the incunabula of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München (Bavarian State Library).

Contributors: David Darlington, Elisabeth Grant, and Robert B. Townsend

This post first appeared on AHA Today.