Silly question, I know. i have my research questions and themes all sorted but have no idea how to network. I'm a (very shy) history student, so meeting other historians who know about my area and can guide me to the right material is very important.

Question is how do i get in touch? Just email them? My supervisor has not said anything about this so i am guessing he wants me to figure it out on my own. Anyone going through, or has gone through, the same thing?

Well I always found conferences are very helpful. You don't need to be speaking at it. You can go along and if the people you want to speak to are talking you can use their papers as a way to break the ice, ask them a question after the panel. It can be a simple one but something to connect with them is always good.
If u dont fancy that just yet you can start by emailing them in advance of their speaking at a conference.
I would reccommend the conference approach though, its what most people are there for.
Its ok don't worry about it!

thanks for that liminalplace- this site really is a godsend! I'm going to research in London in July, until then i am running around like a headless chiicken trying to figure exactly WHAT sources to look at- hence the need to contact other academics. Its really tough, don't want to procrastinate but there is so much stuff to think about- i've spent the past two weeks just thinking rather than doing. Does anybody else feel like this?

I feel that way all the time. Soemtimes its quite nice to stick our heads in the sand and destress by trying to forget about it.
I think if you are doing some research your best bet is to find out who the academics in your field are.Try and get on the mailing lists of some of the sites in your field. I am on a few in my field where a community of academics keep in touch with conference invites, paper calls and ask research questions they are needing advice on. U should try and see what there are in your field. Ask your supervisor on that one!

I actually went on a half day networking course the other week. If you're going to a conference, decide in advance who you want to talk to and then clue up on some of their recent work so you can ask them about it at the conference. You could even email them in advance and say that if they've got a few minutes at the conference, can we have a discussion about X. Anyone worth knowing should respond well to that. It may also be that as the conference progresses, someone stands out as a person you'd like to have a discussion with. In which case see if you can engage with them. If that person is a bigwig and is permanently surrounded by their fanclub, one way to get to speak to them is to stand next to them when breaking to go to the buffet or getting tea/coffee as at that point they're most likely to be free of the hangers on. As an in, you could take about how nice the sausage rolls are and start from there.

Also take time to get to know your PhD peers at the conference as that could work to your advantage at a later date.

There was lots of other bits of advice which came up which i can't remember right now but is in a handout i have somewhere, but these are a few pointers. Enjoy.

i find it hard to ask a question during the session, but less to approach the person afterwards: "i didn't get a chance to say this during the session, but i was just wondering if you could tell me...?" that also gives me the opportunity to introduce myself by name. and yes, fellow PhDers: they are (some of them, anyway) the future top people in the field. best to get to know them now before they are famous. networking is, economically speaking, a long-term investment. you cannot know beforehand which connections will eventually pay out. while it is important to have some "strong" connections (i.e. friends), do also consider the "strength of weak ties" (coined by Granovetter). the theory and some evidence implies that it is a large network of people you know just a little, rather than strong ties to a few close friends, that will eventually make a positive difference for your career. (sorry if this sounds instrumental/rationa and all)

thanks for the tips and suggestions guys, i really appreciate it

It can be as simple as telling some one that you really enjoyed their paper, that it was informative on point x y and z or whatever. Presenters DO want to know that they did a good job and connected with their audience, no matter their status in their profession. A kind word from you in the audience, with a comment or question on a particular point of the paper will no doubt facilitate some conversation. Even if you cannot think of a single point to address in particular, simply saying, Thank you, that was a very interesting paper and I felt like I really learnt a lot by hearing it, will open the door to a conversation more than likely.

PS
meant to add I really liked Shani's comments on the value of the network--that is a valuable insight!