General Interest
In 1887, a man named Richard Sears placed an ad in the Chicago Daily news that read: "WANTED: Watchmaker with reference who can furnish tools. State age, experience, and salary required". A young Hoosier named Alvah C. Roebuck responded and six short years later, the corporate firm of Sears, Roebuck and Co. came into existence. The company became well known for its famed mail-order catalogues (discontinued in 1993), and the fair and expedient services it provided to thousands of rural families. This site brings some of the Sears corporate history to life through narrative historical essays on the company's development, a fine history of its legendary "Big-Book" catalog, and individual store histories as well. For those with an interest in the Sears Modern Homes (sold by Sears from 1908-1940), there is also a great section on these structures, which although not innovative in their designs were part of a broader effort to extend home ownership to the general public. The site is rounded out by a selection of annual company reports and facts about the history of the company. [KMG]
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html
Prokudin-Gorskii Collection
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/prokhtml/prokcompos.html
FSA/OWI Color Transparencies
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/fsacabt.html
British Cartoon Prints
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/cpbrhtml/cpbrabt.html
The Library of Congress (LC) recently announced the availability of early color photographs and prints in its online catalog, including the Prokudin-Gorskii Collection, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Color Transparencies, and British Cartoon Prints. Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii photographed the Russian Empire between 1905 and 1915, using an early color process, producing about 1,900 glass plate negatives, all of which have been digitized by LC. The FSA/OWI Color Transparencies collection includes about 1,600 color transparencies, taken between 1933 and 1949, showing work and home life, culture, and the war industry in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands, such as a view of a woman working on an airplane motor at the North American Aviation plant in California in 1942. Also available are about 500 British satirical prints dating from ca. 1621 - 1853, including, for example, "The horse America throwing his master" a print that shows a bucking horse throwing its rider, King George III. [DS]
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/ihas/html/dunham/index.html;jsessionid=oe2y7htdc1
Recently, the Library of Congress created the "I Hear American Singing" digital project in order to allow visitors the ability "to experience the diversity of American performing arts". One of its first online digital collections pays tribute to Katherine Dunham, who was born in Chicago in 1909 and is best known for incorporating Caribbean, African, and South American movement styles and themes into her ballets. Dunham is also well known for her anthropological explorations of dance, a lifelong passion that began with her studies at the University of Chicago in the late 1920s. While some digitized collections claim to be "multimedia" in their holdings, this particular collection truly lives up to this appellation. The very fine video clips contained within the archive allow visitors to watch interviews with Dunham, learn about her fieldwork, and watch excerpts from some of her many ballets, including Barrelhouse, L'Ag'Ya, and Shango. Users of this collection will also appreciate the introductory essays composed by Vicky J. Risner, who is the dance specialist for the music division of the Library of Congress. [KMG]
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/
Hosted by Julie Andrews, and directed by Michael Kantor, this five-part series from PBS offers numerous insights into the wide world of the Great White Way throughout its long and fabled past, all the way up to the present day. Visitors may want to start by reading some of the fine essays in the "Hello, Broadway!" section where they can read about the relationship between Broadway and Hollywood, the role of political satire on Broadway, and the incorporation of rock music into Broadway productions. In the "Memorable Musicals" section, visitors can learn about important groundbreaking and influential musicals, including La Cage aux Folles and Hair. The Broadway Trivia game should not be missed, as visitors can answer a host of questions (accompanied by snippets of various musical numbers) as they try to navigate their way through Times Square to the theater of their choice. Of course, to get that first-hand experience about the life and times of some of Broadway's most storied legends, visitors will want to go to the "Stars over Broadway" section. Here they can listen to famed illustrator talk about the late Zero Mostel and watch theater historian Dwight Bowers talk about that master of the musical, Jerome Kern. [KMG]
http://www.afsp.org/index-1.htm
With headquarters in New York, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) was established in 1987 in order to create a coherent and combined effort to fund research that would assist in the prevention of suicide. During the past 17 years, the organization has created an extensive network of research grant programs, workshops for those seeking to form survivor support groups, and a suicide data bank. The AFSP website contains information on some of its outreach programs, such as the National Survivors of Suicide Day and also its service announcements. There is a great deal of pragmatic information here as well, including a FAQ section which provides answers to pressing questions such as "What is the biggest cause of suicide among college students?". The site is rounded out by a topically organized list of important online resources, such as statistics about suicide, clinical information, and prevention and screening materials. [KMG]
http://www.internationaladoptionnews.com/
Adopting children from other countries around the world can be a rewarding, albeit challenging, opportunity, and some people may feel a bit overwhelmed by starting the process. This website is designed to deal with international adoption issues, and is produced by Dr. Ellen Fitzenrider, who herself is a single mom of a young girl adopted from Vietnam. The site itself is divided into sections that offer articles on international adoption, creating a multicultural family, and an area where visitors can have online discussions and submit questions. In the multicultural family section, visitors can learn how many families are adopting transracially, along with providing information about groups and organizations that provide both community and support for families adopting internationally. The site is rounded out by a resource area that contains detailed information on obtaining financial assistance for adoption and international adoption newsgroups. [KMG]
http://www.zoo.org/multimedia/index.html
The Woodland Park Zoo, located in Seattle, was one of the first zoos in the United States to move animals out of traditional barred enclosures into more naturalistic habitats. Now the zoo has created this multimedia area where the young and old can view some of these animals in these habitats, and learn more about them interactively. The interactive features area is a good place to start, as visitors can watch a video of a komodo dragon baby hatching, view an interactive map to learn about the decline of the Sumatran tiger, and explore the world of the jaguar. The video archive offers some short video clips of animals "in action", including a kea bird, some Ossabaw pigs, and a snow leopard. The "Miscellaneous Goodies" area is a real treat as visitors can view the "Bear Cam" (which features, yes, that's right: live bears), send a friend an electronic postcard of an endangered animal, and experience the life cycle of a butterfly. [KMG]
