Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Ross Archive of African Images

Ross Archive of African Images
http://raai.library.yale.edu/

One can explore over 5,000 pictures of African art published before 1921 as part of the James J. Ross Archive of African Images (RAAI). This intoxicating tonic of wonderful items is the result of an eight year collaboration between Ross and Susan Vogel, the project's co-directors, as well as other research specialists. First-time visitors should read over the History section, which offers a narrative essay by Ross on his motivations and inspirations for creating such an archive. The archive aspires to include all the African art in books, periodicals, catalogs, newspapers, and other publications appearing in 1920 and earlier. This is an ambitious goal; visitors can check the Archive's progress via the Search link. One neat feature here is that visitors can use the Compare Images option to look at images side-by-side. Additionally, visitors ca n browse by author and also perform a complete publication search. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

Sophia Smith Collection: Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project

Sophia Smith Collection: Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project
http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/ssc/prh/prh-intro.html

Funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project includes accounts of individuals throughout the world who have made valued contributions to the field. The materials here are part of the Women's History Archives at Smith College and the series includes the voices and perspectives of advocates, communication specialists, lawyers, managers, physicians, researchers, and social workers from the period 1965 to 2005. First-time visitors should read the Project History essay and then take a closer look at the several dozen interviews offered here. Those profiled here include the "mother of Asian demography," Mercedes Concepcion, and Lee Minto, the president of Planned Parenthood of Seattle-King County from 1967 to 1993. Other people interviewed here include Dan iel E. Pellegrom, Nafis Sadik, and Sara Seims. It's a wonderful archive for persons interested in public health, women's studies, and a range of other crucial areas of academic study.[From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

William J. Clinton Presidential Library

William J. Clinton Presidential Library
http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/

Located in Little Rock, Arkansas, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library is the official repository for the documents and related materials that narrate the life and times of President Clinton. Visitors to the site will find six separate sections, including Research, Biographies, Museum, and Education. In the Biographies area, visitors can find essays on both President Clinton and his wife and former US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton, along with photo galleries and detailed research guides. The Research area contains a video gallery, a digital library, and finding aids for the papers contained within these collections. The video gallery is a great resource, as it contains several dozen important addresses, including the 1993 State of the Union Address and the Transportation Equity Act bill signing in 1998. The Education area con tains lesson plans for those who might visit the Library, along with information for families who may be hoping to enhance their young people's experiences as well. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

The Geography of Slavery in Virginia

The Geography of Slavery in Virginia
http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/gos/

Created by Tom Costa on behalf of the University of Virginia, the Geography of Slavery in Virginia presents full transcriptions and images of over 4,000 runaway and captured ads for slaves and servants placed in Virginia newspapers from 1736 to 1790. Additionally, the project offers a number of documents related to slaves, servants, and slaveholders, including court records, other newspapers notices, slaveholder correspondence, and assorted literature about slavery and indentured servitude. Photos of advertisements for escaped slaves, often situated beside other ads describing missing livestock, offer a chilling reminder of a time when humans were considered property. Users of the site can browse the advertisements by month or by location, or use the full-text search. The Essays area contains a rather fine piece which places Virginia slavery into the context of the larger colonial America and Atlantic picture. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Public Art Archive

Public Art Archive
http://www.publicartarchive.org/

The Public Art Archive was launched in 2009 as a free resource for comprehensive data and extensive information about thousands of public art installations across the United States. New users should visit the About area for information about the functionality of the site and its history. After a quick visit here, the Browse tab filters this information by artist, collection, location, materials, work type, placement and year. Those unacquainted with the world of public art would do well to start in several large cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and Miami. The clickable map interface makes it easy and quite enjoyable to look at different cities and regions quickly. Browsing around by year is interesting as well; the works are listed chronologically all the way back to the year 1802. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

Mapping for Results: The World Bank

Mapping for Results: The World Bank
http://maps.worldbank.org/

The effective visual representation of key demographic data through the use of dynamic maps is a powerful tool for policymakers, journalists, and others. The World Bank developed such a program in 2010 as part of the Mapping for Results website. So far, their team has analyzed over 2,500 World Bank-financed projects and geo-coded more than 30,000 locations spanning 144 countries. Visitors can look over the featured articles on the homepage to get a flavor of the projects here, which include stories like "Mapping for Results Goes Local" and "Mapping the Financial Sector in Africa." Visitors can use the interactive map to view projects by country or indicator, which include population density, malnutrition, and infant mortality. Visitors can also learn about the Methodology deployed throughout the maps, which will be useful to those persons looking to understand the inner workings of this complex underta king. Visitors can sign up to receive updates about the site via Twitter or RSS feed. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

Thursday, October 24, 2013

"A Strike Against Starvation and Terror"

"A Strike Against Starvation and Terror"
https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/coal-strike/background-coal-strike

This site compiles historic films, images, and text related to the coal miners' strike that took place in Kentucky's Bell and Harlan Counties during 1931 and 1932. Created by the Appalachian Studies Program at the University of Kentucky, this educational resource profiles the cultural and economic milieu surrounding this event. First-time visitors would do well to read the introduction to a recent book on the subject, "Harlan Miners Speak," authored by John Hennen. Moving on, visitors can dive into the Archives and the Archival Exercise area for an archive of the work of newspaper reporter Herndon J. Evans, who was on the scene i n the coalfields of eastern Kentucky during the time. Other sections include Local Elite, Miners, National Media, and New York Writers. This serves as a wonderful model for others seeking to create a similarly rich learning experience. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

Bacterial Identification Virtual Lab

Bacterial Identification Virtual Lab
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/vlabs/bacterial_id/index.html

Created by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the Virtual Bacterial Identification Lab provides interested parties with a great way to learn about the science and techniques used to identify different types of bacteria based on their DNA sequences. Visitors can enter the lab and get started by preparing samples from a patient, copying the desired pieces of the DNA, and then sequencing and analyzing the DNA. The entire experience is quite interactive: visitors can record their observations in the Notebook area and also learn about the various samples, which were obtained from stool, lymph nodes, urine, and blood. Finally, there's the Reference area, which contains a glossary of terms, a list of tools in the lab, and an encyclopedia of selected bacteria and other pathogens. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Native American Manuscript Collections

Native American Manuscript Collections
http://digital.libraries.ou.edu/whc/nam/

Based at the University of Oklahoma's Western History Collection, the Native American Manuscript Collections contain over 200 documents relating to Native Americans in Oklahoma, Indian Territory, and the southwestern United States. On the homepage, visitors can browse the manuscripts, which are listed by nation. The Creek Nation area is quite fascinating, as there are over 35 documents here including handwritten journals, trading company ledgers, and letters from farmers like James M. Latty and other Creeks. After this introduction, visitors can browse around through the works of other nations, including the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

New York State Archives: Native American Digital Collection

New York State Archives: Native American Digital Collection
http://iarchives.nysed.gov/PubImageWeb/listCollections.jsp?id=337

The New York State Archives contains a vast cornucopia of materials related to the history of Native American groups in the Empire State and surrounding areas. On this site, visitors can take advantage of maps, artifacts, photographs, and publications that document communities such as the Iroquois Six Nations, the Long Island Algonkians, the Shinnecocks, and the Poospatucks. The materials here are divided into areas that include Maps, Visual Resources, Treaties and Land Use, and Census Records. First-time visitors should take a look at the Artifacts area to explore annotated photos of items such as cradleboards, moccasins, and elaborate pouches. The Treaties and Land Use area is quite compelling, as it features thirteen documents that provide insights into the relationships between various nations and the federal and New York state governments. The Maps area should not be missed as it contains representations of various reservations in the 18th and 19th century rendered with great detail. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/

Created by the University Libraries of the University of Washington, this remarkable digital archive presents a vast collection of materials related to the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures. Along with these primary source items, the site also contains essays written by anthropologists, historians, and teachers about particular tribes and cross-cultural topics. Additionally, the site contains bibliographies and links to related text and images and lesson plans for K-12 educators. The database contains over 2,300 original photographs, 1,500 pages from the Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior from 1851 to 1908, and six Indian treaties negotiated in 1855. Visitors can try out a Sample Search and then go ahead and get started with their own quest for knowledge and edification. Additionally, visitors can use the Browse Images and Browse Documents tabs to explore this massive collection. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]

First Nations Collection

First Nations Collection
http://soda.sou.edu/tribal.html

The First Nations Tribal Collection of the Southern Oregon Digital Archives contains books, articles, and documents related to the history of the native peoples of the area, including the Coos, Hupa, Karuka, Klamath, and more. Many of the items here are in the public domain, and they include tribal language dictionaries, Bureau of Indian Affairs publications, and publications from the Bureau of American Ethnology. Visitors can look through the materials via the Author List or use the Title heading to look around. Documents on the site include a wealth of treaties regarding fishing practices and limitations along with documents detailing the particulars of different religious ceremonies. The site is rounded out by the inclusion of a comprehensive search engine. [From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/]