http://brie.berkeley.edu/~briewww/index.html

Created in 1982, The Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE) is an interdisciplinary research project that focuses on “…international economic competition and the development and application of advanced technologies”. Moving between the worlds of the private sector to interactions with fellow scholars and policymakers, BRIE has created a number of thought-provoking documents for the web-browsing public and placed them on this site. Visitors who require a bit more background material may want to first visit the “About BRIE” area which includes information on their objectives and research mission. After taking a look at the materials there, interested parties should proceed to the “Publications” area, which contains a very nice working papers area. Here visitors can download such intriguing titles as “Transforming Politics in a Digital Era” and “Boom Boxes: Shipping Containers and Terrorists”. [KMG]

http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Straight/

Many aspects of history can be examined through the use of visual materials, and certainly the emerging relationship between the United States and Korea is no exception. Drawing on a collection of photographs and sketches executed by Willard Dickerman Straight in 1904 and 1905, this comprehensive exhibit from Cornell University uses these materials to create “a visual and contextual narrative of Korea at a most critical juncture in its more recent, modern history”. First-time visitors will want to peruse the Flash-enabled timeline offered here to get a sense of the emerging relationship between these two nations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Interestingly enough, Straight himself was a graduate of Cornell, and he also helped found The New Republic magazine. Additional information about Straight can be found in the biographical essay offered here, and offers a bit of helpful background before delving into the photographic database. [KMG]

http://www.imls.gov/publications/TechDig05/index.htm

Professionals working in the fields of information and library science, along with museology, might frequently find themselves asking: “What are other institutions doing in terms of technology and digitization projects?” They need wonder no longer, as the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has completed an update to their 2001 survey on the subject. The survey was conducted among five primary groups which included public libraries, academic libraries, archives, and museums. They followed up their data collection phase with telephone discussions with key participants within the primary groups in order to craft this report. As presented here, the report is broken down into a number of sections, including a very helpful area of key findings as well as a methodology section. Some of these findings include the observation that digitization activities have increased for all groups, though many of these groups do not solicit user feedback to determine what their specific digitization needs might be. Overall, this is a tremendously useful document, and one that will be of particular interest to those who set or study policies at these types of organizations. [KMG]

http://amphibiaweb.org/

In a previous time, it was a bit more tedious and difficult to keep track of the world’s species, and international collaboration was less than instantaneous. This recent endeavor, presented by the Digital Library Project at Berkeley and a host of supporting organizations, aims to provide the general public and scientists with a place to retrieve information related to amphibian biology and conservation. Currently, AmphibiaWeb contains material on 1265 species, along with 1173 distribution maps, 3449 literature references, 140 sound files, and 7188 photographs. With all this information, it helps to have a well thought out search engine, and a finding aid is available here as well. The database can be searched by genus, species, vernacular name, family, order, country, reason for population decline, and so on. The more casual visitor will also want to visit the more general “About Amphibians” section, then glide on over to the “Calls and Video” area. Here, one can look and listen to a number of creatures, including the call of the Aplastodiscus leucopygius, a type of Brazilian tree frog which sounds a bit like the warning signal emitted by a service vehicle backing into a dock. [KMG]

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/

The history of human civilizations is rife with disastrous epidemics and plagues, a fact that is sometimes lost on modern-day pundits and commentators. Fortunately, the National Archives hasn’t forgotten about one of history’s more recent tragedies, namely the influenza epidemic of 1918. They recently created this engaging and fascinating collection of documents and photographs that offer a first-hand perspective on this epidemic. All told, the collection offered here contains several dozen primary source materials, including a directive from the Navy in order to educate sailors about the health risks of the disease and a photograph of Seattle police officers clad in protective face masks. One special feature of the site is that visitors can also order copies of the documents, if they are so inclined. Overall, this is a well-designed site that offers a glimpse of the American perspective on this rampant epidemic which eventually killed 20 million people across the world. [KMG]

http://www.teachnet.org/

Based in New York, the Teachers Network is an alliance of education professionals dedicated to disseminating best-practices throughout the world of public school education. On the homepage, visitors can click through a selection of lesson plans, essays by current teachers on their own experiences, and also read a list of grants available to those working in a number of disciplines, including social studies, language arts, and the sciences. The “How To” area is one that will be most helpful to new teachers, as it provides resources on managing a classroom, working with students’ families, and teaching literacy. The lesson plans area includes a nice search feature which allows users to search by subject and grade level, along with offering them the option to view the most popular teacher-created lesson plans. Some of these favorites include “What Makes a Good Friend?” and “Breads Around the World”. For educators and those with an interest in researching the realm of curriculum and instruction, this website is a real find. [KMG]