Of course the cost of materials, for a student, was always a consideration. One more print? How many sheets left? That’s the other truly liberating thing about digital.

I’m not one of those who fears the death knell of history within the digital age, or sees a decline in the vigour of historical research resulting.

In the past, information was always available but accessible only to those who had the luxury of location (close to the archive), time (long hours of scouring the shelves) and money (the means to spend that kind of time).

There were relatively few kinds of history. There was that kind in the textbooks, and, er… that was about it.

Now those restrictions have been lifted and all that has changed. Information is available much more widely, and many more different interpretations and nuances of history may be gained.

In criticising Google or Wikipedia, it’s all too easy to forget that just fifteen years ago the readily available information was limited to the few reference books we might own – typically a much more limited and one-dimensional resource with few pointers to further reading.

I think the scale of the paradigm shift is easy to underestimate. It’s almost like comparing space travel with walking. There’ll always be more details to see on foot, but the Shuttle undeniably gives an infinitely wider view.