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Basically, the "materials" for this project are going to be things that help you to remember specials events in your life. Photographs, journals, and letters are a few good ideas. As you leaf through a photo album or an old journal, chances are that you'll find yourself thinking, "Now that's a story I've got to put in!"

To help you get over that first horrible case of writer's block, here are some places you might start: What is the story of your birth? Remember how your mother used to tell you about the seventy-two hours she spent in labor to bring you into the world? Or maybe your father once told you what he thought the first time he saw you. These can turn into attention-grabbing beginnings. What is your earliest memory? Rather than starting with your birth, you might want to start with the first face, house, toy, or song that you remember. Why did you decide to write your personal history? Maybe you decided to start this project after reading your grandmother's journal or after spending an exhausting decade trying to find out exactly who your great-great grandfather was. That story could make an interesting introduction. What was the most important, happiest, or best day of your life? Think over your life and pick one particular day that stands out to you.

You might also consider having family members or friends contribute some memories of their own. For example, when writing about your childhood, you might want to ask your siblings to write down what they remember about growing up in your home. Maybe they remember things you've forgotten-like that unfortunate incident with the grape juice and Mom's favorite shirt-or simply remember things differently. While this is first and foremost your history, it can be interesting to share a story from someone else's viewpoint. When talking about your wedding day, it would be fun to have your spouse's version of the story as well as your own.

Listed below are online collections from Northwestern University Library. In some cases the collections may be restricted to the Northwestern Community . Collections are approved for digitization by the Digital Library Committee. Questions about digital library projects may be directed to M. Claire Stewart, Head of Digital Collections at Northwestern University Library. 16th - 20th Century Maps of Africa Africana Poster Collection Archival collections Chemical History in Chicago Chicago Homer DVaction Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian: Photographic Images Digital Text History and Politics Out Loud (HPOL) League of Nations: Statistical and Disarmament Documents The Paris Codex Siege of Paris Vesalius: On the Fabric of the Human Body Video Encyclopedia of the 20th Century World War II Poster Collection

The Newberry Library is an independent research library concentrating in the humanities with an active educational and cultural presence in Chicago. Free and open to the public, it houses an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, maps, music, manuscripts, and other printed material. The Newberry offers exhibits based on its outstanding collections, musical and theatrical performances, lectures and discussions with today's leading humanists, seminars, and teacher programs. Anyone who is at least 16 years old and who is conducting research on a topic covered by the collections may become a reader. Please see Library Users for more information on obtaining a reader's card.

The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) is a research tool that enables a user to find unique and rare digitized materials held at the University of Florida (UF) and partner institutions. With UFDC, remote and local reserarchers can learn about holdings in a physical collection and receive open access to the online full content of the resource. This is a constantly growing collection of resources. The UFDC offers at least thirty collections grouped into several major headings including: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Science and Technology; Maps; Florida; and World. In addition, the UFDC links to external collections through the Publication of Archival Library Museum Materials.