http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/

Thinking of Joseph Stalin smiling is perhaps an odd thought to many, but that facial expression did in fact occur from time to time on his stormy visage. It's something the folks at the International Institute of Social History probably thought about as they created this remarkably interesting online collection of 145 political posters drawn from their holdings. The collection includes works from the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba, and they depict everything from idyllic agricultural communes to Mao, Stalin, and Castro smiling. Visitors can look at 79 posters from China, 33 from the Soviet Union, and 33 from Cuba. Additionally, users can learn about the poster's designers, the conservation of the posters, and where to purchase postcard reproductions of these works. [KMG]

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/index.php

While many of former United States presidents have their own libraries, The American Presidency Project attempts to bring together documents from all of the presidents. Started in 1999 as a collaborative project between Gerhard Peters, John T. Woolley, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, the Project's site contains over 75,000 documents related to the study of the presidency. First-time visitors can start at the "Documents" area which contains sections such as "Public Papers of the Presidents", "Saturday Radio Addresses", and "Fireside Chats". Moving on, the "Elections" area contains presidential election data from 1828 to the present day. The "Media" area is a real treat as it contains speeches and video clips from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush. The site concludes with three very useful search options that will assist users looking for specific material from this archive. [KMG]

http://www.lwionline.org/

For those not familiar with its nuances and requirements, legal writing can be a taxing affair at first. Fortunately, the Legal Writing Institute's homepage is a good place to start learning more about the basics of legal writing. First-time visitors can begin by looking over the "About" section, which offers up a host of materials about the Institute, including a most useful FAQ guide and information about their listservs. After that, visitors will want to move to the "Resources" section. Here they will find a collection of syllabi, resources on plagiarism, and an "Idea Bank" which will be quite a boon to legal writing instructors. The site is rounded out by an "Employment Listings" area and information about the Institute's conferences. [KMG]

http://www.archfoundation.org/aaf/aaf/index.htm

Those who have scoured the web for architecture sites may have come across the homepage of the American Architectural Foundation (AAF), but those who haven't will find this site to be quite a find. Founded in 1943, the AAF "seeks to educate individuals and community leaders about the power of architecture to improve lives and transform the places where we live, learn, work, and play." Visitors to the site can take advantage of a number of online resources, including their online publications. These publications include findings from their design study charrettes and their investigations into creating effective learning spaces for students in the 21st century. Within the "Videos" section of the site, visitors can look at short films made to complement some of their publications. The site is rounded out by the "News & Events" area where visitors can learn about their well-regarded conferences, which include the National Summit on School Design. [KMG]

http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/reflecting_antiquity/

The art of the Romans has served as fertile ground for many generations of artisans. Exploring their forms and subjects has been a worthy endeavor, and many careers have been made of interpreting their work, much as the Romans drew on the work of Grecian artisans for centuries. This fascinating online exhibit from the J. Paul Getty Museum looks at the ways in which Roman glass was used as inspiration for glassmakers across Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Created to complement an ongoing exhibit at the Getty Villa, this exhibit allows visitors the opportunity to learn about mosaic glass making techniques, cameo glass, and the glorious world of iridescence. Each section of the exhibit includes a brief narrative paragraph, along with high-quality examples of each glass-making technique. Additional features include videos of the various glass objects as they are being created and a place where visitors can post their own comments. [KMG]

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html

Son: "What happened today back in 1980 Dad?" Dad: "I don't know son, why don't you look online at the "Today in History" site?" That conversation is perhaps not so far-fetched when readers learn about this very fine and edifying website. Developed as part of The Library of Congress's American Memory project, the site contains informative information about what happened on, say, October 21. Visitors who visit the site on any given date will find archival documents and brief commentaries on the Kennedy-Nixon Debates (one of which took place on October 21), the premiere of "Hello, Dolly!" (January 16), as well as the 363 other days of the year. The site is quite a treat, and each "Today" contains links to various archival documents that have been offered up online as part of the American Memory project and other Library of Congress digitization initiatives. [KMG]

http://www.awm.gov.au/diaries/index.asp

The Australian War Memorial site has worked diligently over the past several years to add to their rather nice online collections, and this particular addition is quite a find. It consists of excerpts from diaries from those who served Australia during the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and in the South East Asian conflicts. The homepage for these diaries includes a brief introduction to the collection and a description of the general contents of these different digitized documents. Visitors can browse through selections from the diaries at their leisure and they can also print them out for detailed consideration. Finally, the site also provides a link to the Memorial's Research Centre in case visitors would like to send along questions or comments. [KMG]

http://www.nmai.si.edu/listening/

Presented by the National Museum of the American Indian, this Web exhibit focuses on ceremonial and everyday objects created and used by 11 Native communities that have lived in the Pacific Northwest: Coast Salish, Gitxsan, Haida, Heiltsuk, Kwakwaka'wakw, Makah, Nisga'a, Nuu-chah-nulth, Nuxalk, Tlingit, and Tsimshian. The Credits section of the site provides complete information about how information and materials were gathered from each community. For each community, visitors to the site can read commentary by community curators and view objects that were used for a variety of purposes. The theme of the Coast Salish gallery is "Everything is connected", and curator Marilyn G. Jones notes, "The items weren't made for art, they were made for use." Examples include baskets and mats, canoes, and weaving items such as whorls (parts of a spindle, used for spinning fiber into thread by hand), which, despite Jones' disclaimer, are exquisitely decorated. On the other hand, the Tlingit gallery starts with the statement "These are our treasures" and includes art - sculptures of a Raven and a pipe in the shape of an eagle; body ornaments - for hair, bracelets and earrings; and a treasure chest. [DS]