General Interest
A number of institutions are actively engaged in creating thoughtful and comprehensive digital collections of important photographs, but this rather outstanding collection from The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico sets a new standard in such endeavors. Working with the College of Education's Technology & Education Center (TEC), they have created a collection that is both interactive and analytical in its scope. The heart of the collection is the photographs of John Collier Jr., who was hired by the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information (FSA/OWI) during World War II to take photographs of day-to-day life in America. After digitizing these images, staff members included them in the popular Flickr application, which allows a wide range of persons to make comments on each photo. Visitors can browse through these images by different theme, including "Farming", "Maine", "Navajo Nation", and "Schools". After this, visitors should click on over to the "Active Looking" area. Here they will become more proficient at analyzing and decoding images for information. "The Shooting Script" area allows visitors to compare historical photographs with those modern images in order to gain a greater perspective on who the audience for each image might be. Finally, visitors can also read a short biography of Collier on the site. [KMG]
http://www.frbsf.org/education/
If you're aching for high-quality resources about economics, home lending rates, and the world of economists, this site from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco will be just the tonic you require. Visitors should note that the primary sections of the site include "Student Activities", "Teacher Resources", and "Publications". In the "Student Activities" area visitors can chime in with questions for "Ask Dr. Econ", play the "Great Economists Treasure Hunt", and also visit "FedVille", which offers young people an introduction to the world of the Federal Reserve. Moving on, the "Teachers Resources" area contains curriculum materials, and a personal finance lesson plan and game. The site is rounded out by the "Popular Content" area, which includes an introduction to U.S. monetary policy, information about credit reports, and the Economic Letter, which includes short essays on current topics by economists. [KMG]
http://www.chicagohistory.org/greatchicagostories/
From great culinary moments (the birth of the hot dog) to the rise of the skyscraper, Chicago has been privy to a number of important historical events. This award-winning website created by the Chicago History Museum allows visitors to explore the city's diverse past through historical fiction stories and artifacts from their collections. On the site, visitors can click on sections that include "Interactive History Map", "Story Audio", and "Classroom Activities". In the "Interactive History Map" area, visitors can click on stories that discuss public housing, the birth of the hot dog, the planned community of Pullman, and the early trading post history of the city. After choosing a story, visitors will be immersed in the historical experience via audio materials, a map, and a set of questions which round out each story. Visitors can also just listen to the whole story, and then learn more about the site in the "About Great Chicago Stories" overview area. [KMG]
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/poetryeverywhere/
Poetry can truly be found anywhere, and that is the animating force behind the website and the series created by WGBH in Boston, along with other partners at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Poetry Foundation. On PBS, the Poetry Everywhere "moments" appear somewhat unexpectedly, but here visitors can make their way through these readings as they see fit. Visitors can check in on fifteen different poets reading their work, including Charles Simic reading "stone", Billy Collins reading "The Lanyard", and Lucille Clifton reading "won't you celebrate with me". Perhaps the real highlight of the site is the 12 animated films created by students working at docUWM, which is a documentary media center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. These short films illuminate poems like Robert Creeley's "The Language" and John Ashbery's "Paradoxes and Oxymorons". [KMG]
http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/
In a city known for creative expression and its free-thinkers, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) is a major cultural institution. The site is a veritable cornucopia of artistic endeavors, including film, performance art, installations, and lectures. Visitors planning a trip to either institution will want to click on the "Visit" section, and others with a more scholarly bent may wish to proceed directly to the "Collections & Resources" area. Clicking on this area's "Film Collection" subsection will reveal a host of resources, including the "Audio & Videocasts" area. This is a real find, as visitors can listen and watch contemporary artists and filmmakers discuss their work in detail. Of course, visitors would be remiss not to look in the "CineFiles" area. Here they can make their way through hundreds of film reviews, press kits, and film festival program notes from decades past. [KMG]
As the peer-reviewed journal of the United States' National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Environmental Health Perspectives serves to disseminate important environmental health information and research findings. Each issue includes book reviews of current publications, research papers, news briefs, and a children's environmental health section. Visitors to the site can read the current issue, search all of the back issues, and look for materials by topic or theme. On the homepage, visitors can take a look at their recently published pieces in the "Recent In-Press" area and then move on to the latest issue. Finally, the site also provides complete information on submitting scholarly work for peer-review and potential inclusion in a forthcoming issue of the journal. [KMG]
http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/library/tibet/expeditions.html
For well over one hundred years, The Arnold Arboretum has sent scientists to document and explore the various corners of Asia. In the early 1920s, the Arboretum sent an expedition that remained in the Hengduan Mountain region for three years. Upon their return, the expedition returned with all types of flora and fauna, including stuffed birds, seeds, and hundreds of photographic images. This online collection contains digitized materials from that notable expedition, and subsequent expeditions that have taken place in the 1990s and the 2000s. Visitors can dive right in by clicking on the "Search Expedition Collections" section where they can look at images of rock specimens, read reports from the expeditions, and browse interactive maps of the region. It's a tremendous collection, and one that will warrant several return visits. [KMG]
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/dilettanti/
Founded in a London dining club in 1734, the Society of Dilettanti consisted of British noblemen and gentlemen who had traveled in Italy and Greece seeking cultural enrichment and who appreciated and collected ancient Greek and Roman art. This exhibition at the Getty Villa features paintings, sculptures, drawings, and rare books related to these bon vivants. One of the group's frequent toasts, "Seria ludo (Serious Matters in a Playful Vein)" expresses the spirit of the Dilettanti. This spirit is also evident in the online slideshow, which includes humorous portraits of the Society's members. Portraits include founding Dilettanti Sir Francis Dashwood, depicted by first official painter George Knapton, as Saint Francis of West Wycombe Park (the name of Dashwood's country house, near the village of West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire), wearing a Franciscan monk's robes and haircut, holding a goblet, and bowing to a statue of Venus. [DS]
