diff --git a/NOTIFICATION_SYSTEM.md b/NOTIFICATION_SYSTEM.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..461f2f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/NOTIFICATION_SYSTEM.md
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# User Notification System
+
+## Overview
+A toast-style notification system has been added to the Digital Humanities Dashboard to provide real-time feedback to users.
+
+## Features
+
+### 1. **Multiple Notification Types**
+- **Info** (blue): General information messages
+- **Success** (green): Successful actions or confirmations
+- **Warning** (amber/yellow): Important warnings or alerts
+- **Error** (red): Error messages
+
+### 2. **Auto-dismiss**
+- Notifications automatically disappear after a configurable duration (default: 5 seconds)
+- Can be set to 0 for persistent notifications
+
+### 3. **Manual Dismiss**
+- Users can close notifications manually by clicking the X button
+
+### 4. **Smooth Animations**
+- Slide-in animation when notifications appear
+- Slide-out animation when dismissing
+- Positioned in top-right corner for non-intrusive user experience
+
+## Implementation Details
+
+### Components Added:
+1. **NotificationContext**: React Context for managing notification state
+2. **NotificationProvider**: Provider component that wraps the app
+3. **NotificationContainer**: Container for rendering all active notifications
+4. **Notification**: Individual notification component with styling and animations
+
+### Usage in Dashboard:
+- **Welcome message**: Shows when the dashboard first loads
+- **Tab change notifications**: Provides feedback when switching between analysis views
+
+## How to Use
+
+To add a notification anywhere in the app, use the `addNotification` function from the context:
+
+```javascript
+const { addNotification } = useNotification();
+
+// Examples:
+addNotification('Your message here', 'success', 3000);
+addNotification('Warning message', 'warning', 5000);
+addNotification('Error occurred', 'error', 4000);
+addNotification('Information', 'info', 3000);
+```
+
+### Parameters:
+- `message` (string): The notification text
+- `type` (string): One of 'info', 'success', 'warning', or 'error' (default: 'info')
+- `duration` (number): Time in milliseconds before auto-dismiss (default: 5000, set to 0 for persistent)
+
+## Visual Design
+- Uses Tailwind CSS for styling
+- Integrates FontAwesome icons for visual indicators
+- Matches the existing dashboard design language
+- Responsive and works on all screen sizes
diff --git a/dh_car.html b/dh_car.html
index 4642706..20ecc02 100644
--- a/dh_car.html
+++ b/dh_car.html
@@ -28,13 +28,17 @@
         body { background-color: #f8fafc; }
         .animate-fade-in { animation: fadeIn 0.5s ease-in; }
         @keyframes fadeIn { from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(10px); } to { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); } }
+        .animate-slide-in { animation: slideIn 0.3s ease-out; }
+        @keyframes slideIn { from { opacity: 0; transform: translateX(100%); } to { opacity: 1; transform: translateX(0); } }
+        .animate-slide-out { animation: slideOut 0.3s ease-in; }
+        @keyframes slideOut { from { opacity: 1; transform: translateX(0); } to { opacity: 0; transform: translateX(100%); } }
     </style>
 </head>
 <body>
     <div id="root"></div>
 
     <script type="text/babel">
-        const { useState } = React;
+        const { useState, useEffect, createContext, useContext, useCallback, useRef } = React;
         
         // Safe destructuring of Recharts components
         const { 
@@ -42,6 +46,126 @@
             LineChart, Line, AreaChart, Area 
         } = window.Recharts;
 
+        // --- NOTIFICATION SYSTEM ---
+
+        const SLIDE_OUT_DURATION = 300; // milliseconds - matches CSS animation
+        const NotificationContext = createContext();
+
+        const useNotification = () => {
+            const context = useContext(NotificationContext);
+            if (!context) {
+                throw new Error('useNotification must be used within NotificationProvider');
+            }
+            return context;
+        };
+
+        const NotificationProvider = ({ children }) => {
+            const [notifications, setNotifications] = useState([]);
+            const counterRef = useRef(0);
+            const timeoutsRef = useRef({});
+            const removeNotificationRef = useRef();
+
+            const removeNotification = useCallback((id) => {
+                setNotifications(prev => prev.filter(notif => notif.id !== id));
+                if (timeoutsRef.current[id]) {
+                    clearTimeout(timeoutsRef.current[id]);
+                    delete timeoutsRef.current[id];
+                }
+            }, []);
+
+            // Keep ref updated to avoid stale closures in setTimeout
+            removeNotificationRef.current = removeNotification;
+
+            const addNotification = useCallback((message, type = 'info', duration = 5000) => {
+                const id = counterRef.current;
+                counterRef.current += 1;
+                setNotifications(prev => [...prev, { id, message, type, duration }]);
+                
+                if (duration > 0) {
+                    timeoutsRef.current[id] = setTimeout(() => {
+                        removeNotificationRef.current(id);
+                    }, duration);
+                }
+            }, []);
+
+            // Cleanup all timeouts on unmount
+            useEffect(() => {
+                return () => {
+                    Object.values(timeoutsRef.current).forEach(clearTimeout);
+                };
+            }, []);
+
+            return (
+                <NotificationContext.Provider value={{ addNotification, removeNotification }}>
+                    {children}
+                    <NotificationContainer notifications={notifications} removeNotification={removeNotification} />
+                </NotificationContext.Provider>
+            );
+        };
+
+        const NotificationContainer = ({ notifications, removeNotification }) => {
+            return (
+                <div className="fixed top-4 right-4 z-50 space-y-2 max-w-md">
+                    {notifications.map(notif => (
+                        <Notification key={notif.id} {...notif} onClose={() => removeNotification(notif.id)} />
+                    ))}
+                </div>
+            );
+        };
+
+        // Notification style constants (moved outside to avoid recreation on each render)
+        const NOTIFICATION_TYPE_STYLES = {
+            info: 'bg-blue-50 border-blue-200 text-blue-800',
+            success: 'bg-green-50 border-green-200 text-green-800',
+            warning: 'bg-amber-50 border-amber-200 text-amber-800',
+            error: 'bg-red-50 border-red-200 text-red-800'
+        };
+
+        const NOTIFICATION_ICON_STYLES = {
+            info: 'fa-circle-info text-blue-500',
+            success: 'fa-circle-check text-green-500',
+            warning: 'fa-triangle-exclamation text-amber-500',
+            error: 'fa-circle-xmark text-red-500'
+        };
+
+        const Notification = ({ message, type, onClose }) => {
+            const [isLeaving, setIsLeaving] = useState(false);
+            const closeTimeoutRef = useRef(null);
+
+            useEffect(() => {
+                return () => {
+                    if (closeTimeoutRef.current) {
+                        clearTimeout(closeTimeoutRef.current);
+                    }
+                };
+            }, []);
+
+            const handleClose = () => {
+                setIsLeaving(true);
+                closeTimeoutRef.current = setTimeout(onClose, SLIDE_OUT_DURATION);
+            };
+
+            const animationClass = isLeaving ? 'animate-slide-out' : 'animate-slide-in';
+            const colorClass = NOTIFICATION_TYPE_STYLES[type] || NOTIFICATION_TYPE_STYLES.info;
+            const notificationClasses = `${colorClass} ${animationClass} border rounded-lg shadow-lg p-4 flex items-start gap-3 min-w-[300px]`;
+            const iconClasses = `fa-solid ${NOTIFICATION_ICON_STYLES[type] || NOTIFICATION_ICON_STYLES.info} text-xl mt-0.5`;
+
+            return (
+                <div className={notificationClasses}>
+                    <i className={iconClasses}></i>
+                    <div className="flex-1">
+                        <p className="text-sm font-medium">{message}</p>
+                    </div>
+                    <button 
+                        onClick={handleClose}
+                        className="text-slate-400 hover:text-slate-600 transition-colors"
+                    >
+                        <i className="fa-solid fa-xmark"></i>
+                    </button>
+                </div>
+            );
+        };
+
         // --- DATASETS ---
 
         const genderData = [
@@ -71,6 +195,18 @@
 
         const Dashboard = () => {
             const [activeTab, setActiveTab] = useState('gender');
+            const { addNotification } = useNotification();
+
+            // Show a welcome notification on mount
+            useEffect(() => {
+                addNotification('Welcome to the Digital Humanities Dashboard!', 'success', 4000);
+            }, [addNotification]);
+
+            // Helper function to show notifications on tab change
+            const handleTabChange = useCallback((tab, message) => {
+                setActiveTab(tab);
+                addNotification(message, 'info', 3000);
+            }, [addNotification]);
 
             return (
                 <div className="min-h-screen bg-slate-50 font-sans text-slate-800 p-6 max-w-7xl mx-auto">
@@ -88,21 +224,21 @@ <h2 className="text-xl text-slate-500">The Literary Landscape of C.A.R. (1980s
                     {/* NAVIGATION */}
                     <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-4 mb-8">
                         <button 
-                            onClick={() => setActiveTab('gender')}
+                            onClick={() => handleTabChange('gender', 'Viewing Gender Representation analysis')}
                             className={`px-4 py-2 rounded-lg flex items-center gap-2 font-medium transition-colors ${activeTab === 'gender' ? 'bg-indigo-600 text-white' : 'bg-white border border-slate-200 hover:bg-slate-50'}`}
                         >
                             <i className="fa-solid fa-users"></i>
                             Gender Representation
                         </button>
                         <button 
-                            onClick={() => setActiveTab('timeline')}
+                            onClick={() => handleTabChange('timeline', 'Viewing Chronology of Flux')}
                             className={`px-4 py-2 rounded-lg flex items-center gap-2 font-medium transition-colors ${activeTab === 'timeline' ? 'bg-indigo-600 text-white' : 'bg-white border border-slate-200 hover:bg-slate-50'}`}
                         >
                             <i className="fa-solid fa-arrow-trend-up"></i>
                             Chronology of Flux
                         </button>
                         <button 
-                            onClick={() => setActiveTab('barriers')}
+                            onClick={() => handleTabChange('barriers', 'Viewing Structural Barriers analysis')}
                             className={`px-4 py-2 rounded-lg flex items-center gap-2 font-medium transition-colors ${activeTab === 'barriers' ? 'bg-indigo-600 text-white' : 'bg-white border border-slate-200 hover:bg-slate-50'}`}
                         >
                             <i className="fa-solid fa-triangle-exclamation"></i>
@@ -258,7 +394,11 @@ <h4 className="font-bold text-green-800 mb-4 text-lg">The Solution: Cultural Sov
         };
 
         const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root'));
-        root.render(<Dashboard />);
+        root.render(
+            <NotificationProvider>
+                <Dashboard />
+            </NotificationProvider>
+        );
     </script>
 </body>
 </html>
\ No newline at end of file
