Research and Education
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/earlyamericas/
The Jay I. Kislak Collection at the Library of Congress contains over 3000 rare maps, documents, paintings, and other artifacts that span hundreds of years. Recently, the Library of Congress created this very engaging online exhibition in order to provide the general public with access to a selection of these documents. As the site notes, the collection "provides insight into indigenous cultures, the drama of the encounters between Native Americans and European explorers and settlers, and the pivotal changes caused by the meeting of the American and European worlds." The online materials are divided into three sections: "Pre-Contact America", "Explorations and Encounters", and "Aftermath of the Encounter". Some of the objects included throughout these sections include a Mayan jaguar sculpture and a hand-colored engraving detailing the route of Sir France Drake from the late 16th century. Finally, the "Interactives" area includes a complete version of the classic work "The Buccaneers of America" and the famed 1507 and 1516 world maps by Martin Waldseemüller. [KMG]
http://www.johnadamslibrary.org/
By all accounts, John Adams was a man who was obsessed with reading and the collecting of books. He pored over books for hours at a time and he also made thousands of handwritten notes on many of them. Upon his death, at the age of 86, he deeded his personal library to the town of Quincy, Massachusetts. In 1894, the entire collection made its way to the Boston Public Library, where it has resided ever since. This exemplary online collection allows users to pore over his books at their leisure, and for anyone who has found themselves entranced by the written word, this site will surely become a favorite. Visitors can start by looking over an interactive timeline of Adams' library and book collecting practices and then move on to the "Collection Highlights" area. Here, visitors can look over his "Top 40", which contains his most heavily annotated books and some of the many rare volumes he purchased. The site is rounded out by the "Did You Know?" area, which offers up a few intriguing facts and figures related to the collection. [KMG]
Published by Congressional Quarterly, Governing magazine is billed as "the resource for states and localities." It is certainly a nice resource, and public officials, administrators, and anyone with even a passing interest in the world of governance will want to bookmark this site. For the most recent news from the world of public affairs, visitors will want to browse on over to the "Today's News" section on the homepage. The sections offered here include "In the States", "The Local Scene", and "Politics". Visitors can also sign up for email updates, if they are so inclined. Along with selected articles and musings from the print edition, the "Online Specials" area brings together resources created especially for the site. One indispensable resource is the "Governing Sourcebook", which contains topical data for counties, cities and states which covers economic development, management, public safety, and so on. Finally, the "Daily Digit" feature provides insights into statistics that deal with everything from the decline in the death rate from heart disease in Minnesota to the population increase in Newark in recent years. [KMG]
Published by the Brown Center on American Education at the Brookings Institution, this report asks the question: "How well are American students learning?" Released in December 2007, this most recent edition of the report examines the latest test score data on math and reaching achievement. The report also offers analyses of enrollment patterns in private and public schools as well as an international comparison of national math scores. Tom Loveless, the director of the Brown Center, authored the report and it covers a great deal of ground and provides in-depth analysis of these topics. Visitors should also note that the Brookings site also contains a press release, a presentation by Loveless and video clips from the launch event for the report. [KMG]
http://www.social-geography.net/
The open-access journal "Social Geography" is primarily concerned with "the interrelation of society, practice and space and its implications for every day-life, social and environmental policy or economic practice." The journal was started in 2005, and visitors with an interest in human geography or sociology will appreciate their offerings. Users can start by reading through the "General Information" section, then looking over their submission guidelines. After that, visitors will want to click on over to the "Online Library SG" area, where they can read final papers and also search all of the submitted papers by title and author. Additionally, visitors can sign up to receive email alerts and RSS feeds. [KMG]
http://sedac.ciesin.org/povmap/
For policymakers and academics alike, having access to information about the global distribution of poverty is crucial. Based at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, The Poverty Mapping Project at The Center for International Earth Science Information Network is a very fine resource for anyone interested in this subject. Understandably, the site provides access to dozens of maps which document the geographic and biophysical conditions of where the poor live. In the "Maps" section, visitors can look over 300 poverty maps offered at a number of spatial scales. Visitors will also want to peruse their nice publication, "Where the Poor Are: An Atlas of Poverty", which includes information about how some of this data has been used in poverty interventions. Persons looking for data for their own research will want to consider downloading the subnational and national poverty data sets that are made available here. Overall, it's a well-designed site and one which can be used in a variety of settings. [KMG]
http://minority-health.pitt.edu/
Created in collaboration with the Center for Minority Health and the University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh, the Minority Health Archive is an online archive of print and electronic media related to the health of African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. The archive contains over six hundred documents, including editorials, newspaper articles, research papers, fact sheets, course syllabi, and government publications. Visitors can browse the archive by subject or year, and there's also a "Latest Additions" section as well. While visitors don't need to register to access documents on the site, they will need to register if they wish to post materials to the archive. [KMG]
http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/index_en.htm
As a part of the European Commission, the European Judicial Network is primarily concerned with providing information about community law, European law, and various aspects of civil and commercial law. The homepage is well-organized, and visitors can start by clicking on the topic page sections, which cover everything from bringing a case to court to alternative dispute resolutions. On the right-side of the homepage, visitors can click on the flags of member states to learn more about each nation's legal system. The site will certainly be of interest to those with a legal background, but the main stated objective of the site is "to make life easier for people facing litigation of whatever kind where there is a transnational element." Not surprisingly, all of this information is available in the twenty official languages of the European Union. [KMG]
