http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/feature/feature.htm

Several thousands of years ago in the lower Mississippi River Delta, Native Americans began constructing mounds to bury the dead. For the next fifteen centuries, these various groups would build what may be called the first dense urban settlements in what would later become the United States. Today some of these former settlements and earthworks are overseen by the National Park Service, which has seen fit to create this website to provide information to the general public. Here visitors can review information about these settlements, view a timeline of related events, and learn about the complex nature of trade within and among these communities. The site also has a “Delta Voices” section, which contains some brief quotations from early explorers who traversed the area, along with comments from Native Americans and perspectives from contemporary archaeologists and scholars. [KMG]

http://redstudio.moma.org/

By collaborating with high school students, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) put together Red Studio, a Web site designed to connect teens with modern art and today's working artists. Currently, Red Studio features an interview with Shahzia Sikander, an artist born in Pakistan in 1969, who was educated, and now lives here in the US. Conducted by six students, interview questions range from what it's like for a young woman with a Muslim family to pursue a career as an artist, if she's ever felt she has to censor her art, to what type of music she likes. Red Studio visitors can view the interview as a Flash presentation with sound, or read the complete transcript. There is also an earlier interview with Vito Acconci, who is asked if he is an artist or an architect, and why he always wears black. Another teen-orientated part of the site is polls, so that kids can find out what other kids think about the purpose of art, and what they like to do after school. [DS]

http://www.aarp.org/

The American Association of Retired Persons has been advocating on behalf of adults over the age of 50 for decades, and their website provides a host of important information about their efforts and public outreach programs. From their homepage, visitors can access sections that include “Issues and Elections”, “Health”, and “Learning and Technology”. After taking a look at a few (or all) of these areas, visitors would do well to continue scrolling down the site’s homepage to the policy and research area. Here they can read and download reports on the future of Social Security and Medicaid. The publications area also contains important content, including advice on financial planning and access to their in-house magazine. Keeping in touch with the times, the AARP website also has an issues blog that helps keep concerned visitors up to date with issues of interest to older persons. [KMG]

http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/JAZ/Pages/home.html

Over the past several years, the Louisiana Digital Library has assembled a number of online collections that draw on the many archives and institutions from around the state. One such noteworthy collection is the Louisiana State Museum Jazz Collection, which has been assembled here with the kind assistance of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Drawing on the rich musical and cultural heritage of traditional New Orleans jazz, the collection contains close to 700 photographs taken over the past nine decades. Some of the photographic highlights include early portraits of noted trumpeter Al Hirt and a rare photograph of Louis Armstrong’s childhood bedroom. Visitors will want to use the basic keyword search to find specific materials, or they may also elect to browse the images by title. Perhaps the real highlights of the site are the 386 audio files that contain some of the very important (and very obscure) recordings from this golden age of jazz. Visitors will be delighted to listen to the 1919 Rag as performed by Kid Ory and the “hot” version of Alexander’s Ragtime Band, as rendered by Bessie Smith, accompanied by Fletcher Henderson’s Hot 6. [KMG]

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/heavenlycraft/

In the century after Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type, books and other printed materials began to flourish, and in doing so, many artisans began to decorate such items with marvelous woodcuts. Three centuries after their publication, Lessing J. Rosenwald (the retired chairman of Sears, Roebuck, and Company) acquired many of these masterworks at a sale sponsored by their then owner, C.W. Dyson Perrins. Eventually, Rosenwald willed these works to the Library of Congress, and they have just recently created this online exhibit to complement a current exhibit in Washington, DC. In the introduction to the exhibit, visitors can read about Rosenwald and Perrins, and also learn a bit about how a woodcut is created. The exhibit itself is divided into one section that deals with works from the 15th century, and another that deals with the 16th century. Some of the highlights featured here include images from a 1506 commentary on the Passion of Christ as executed by the Swiss artist, Urs Graf. Another set of gems are the lovely woodcuts from Jacob Wolff’s 1501 edition of Aesop’s life and fables. [KMG]

http://www.cdpheritage.org/westerntrails/index.html

Based on a collaboration of very diverse institutions (including the University of Wyoming and the Omaha Public Library), the Western Trails digital database provides access to thousands of primary documents associated with various aspects of Western US history. Visitors to the website may want to dive right in and view some of the “trail” themed collections, such as the Native American Trails or the Railroad Trails. Within each of these sections, visitors will be able to read a brief essay about each theme, complete with accompanying maps, images, and other primary sources. Next to each essay are links to some of the discrete exhibits created by participating institutions, such as those on the emigrant trails of Wyoming or the Mormon trails in the San Luis Valley. What is perhaps most impressive about the site is the very well-thought out search engine which allows users to search each independently created database by creator, title, keyword, or through a host of advanced options. The site is rounded out by a selection of resources for educators to use in conjunction with the digitized materials presented here. [KMG]