https://www.policyarchive.org/

Policy institutions around the United States spend a staggering $1.5 billion on research each year. Many of them do an excellent job in terms of putting their policy papers, working papers, factsheets, and so on online for use by the public and scholars. Of course, it can be very difficult to locate some of them, and that's where the Policy Archive steps in. Sponsored by the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) and the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Library, the Policy Archive site brings together thousands of full text documents, reports, videos, and multimedia material generated by these various think tanks and institutions. First-time visitors can take a look at the "Featured Collections" on the right-hand side of the page, and then move on over to the topic quick links, which include everything from agriculture to technology. Additionally, policy institutions and the like can learn how to submit their own work to the archive. Visitors can also sign up to receive email newsletters about the latest research in the topic areas that are of interest to them. [KMG]

http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/History/subcollections/HistCrusadesAbout.html

The Crusades lasted several hundred years, and some historians have argued that certain expeditions from the 15th to 17th centuries might also be treated as part of this broader interest in recapturing part of the Holy Land for the Christians. In 1969, the University of Wisconsin Press began publishing a thorough and comprehensive study of the Crusades. After twenty years, the series ran to six volumes, all of which are included in this digital collection created by the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections project. Volumes include "The Later Crusades", "The art and architecture of the crusader states", and "The impact of the Crusades on Europe", and visitors can browse through the entire collection here, and they can also change the viewing size of each document for a more detailed inspection. [KMG]

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forpolicymakers/index.html

Many people may be aware of NASA's fine educational resources online, but some may not be aware that they also maintain a fine website specifically designed for policymakers and others working in related fields. Upon entering the site, visitors will notice a series of well-designed icons on the right-hand side of the page. These icons, which include "Moon and Mars" and "Technology", can be utilized to delve into information on recent and forthcoming research projects in these various areas. At the center of the page, visitors will find recent news updates, along with direct links to budget information, transcripts of public meetings, Congressional testimony, US National Space Policy documentation, and so on. Finally, visitors can also look into the "NASA Leadership" area to learn more about the current administration team at the agency. [KMG]

http://www.archaeology.org/assos/tour/

Located on the Aegean Sea in Turkey, the ancient city of Assos was quite a bustling metropolis thousands of years ago. It also happens to be the site where the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) had one of their very first excavations. Today, the site is overseen by archaeologist Nurettin Arslan of the University of Canakkale. This interactive online feature takes visitors inside their work, and it's a revealing portrait of this sometimes overlooked site. Visitors can start their tour by looking at an aerial image of the site, and they can then proceed to look over the other nine sections of the excavation. Along the way, visitors will be able to view photographs of a temple built to the goddess of Athena in the sixth century BCE and take in a 360 degree view from the acropolis at Assos. Additionally, the site also includes three other 360 degree views, including those of the area's primary theater and the monumental west gate. [KMG]

http://www.evidence-based-medicine.co.uk/default.html

The Hayward Medical Communications group has developed this very useful set of web-based resources for medical professionals and others who might be interested in learning about the world of evidence based medicine (EBM). First-time visitors can click on over to one of the three primary sections on the left-hand side of the homepage: "What is…?", "Gavel", and "Clinical issues in HIV/AIDS". The "What is…?" area is a good place to start, as it contains over two dozen documents that answer important questions like "What is critical appraisal?", "What is clinical audit?", and "What is quality of life?", to name only a few. All of these documents explain basic EBM-related questions in clear and accessible prose. Moving on, the "Clinical issues in HIV/AIDS" area contains links to this particular bulletin, which features practical, up-to-date, and cogent research by key figures working in the field. [KMG]

http://www.cast.uark.edu/other/nps/nadb/

The National Park Service and its many partners have created over 350,000 reports on archaeological investigations over the past decades. Scholars and others will be delighted to learn about this database, which provides bibliographic information on all of these documents. While the database does not contain the full-text version, each record contains information about where to locate the document in question. After filling in some of the required fields (such as "worktype or "keyword"), visitors can look at either a standard or an expanded result for their search query. The standard result formats each citation or record in the style of the American Antiquity journal, and the expanded result also includes the location of the exact report and the name of the lead agency that sponsored the report. [KMG]

http://anscigallery.nal.usda.gov/

The National Agricultural Library, along with the USDA and the American Society of Animal Science are collaborators on this website of animal science images. The images, animations, and videos, which also have accompanying text, are intended for classroom and educational outreach. Additionally, the site also encourages the public to submit their own images relevant to animal science, and it also fully explains the process of selection, the criteria the image must meet to be suitable for classroom and educational outreach, and the copyright and use information for each submission. On the left side of the page are the categories of animals and topics included on the website. Some of the links include "Dairy Cattle", "Companion Animals", "Horses", "Poultry", "Genetics", "Reproduction", and "Nutrition". Although some of the categories have fewer images than others, such as Companion Animals, others such as "Nutrition" and "Horses" have over 100 images. For categories that do have images, the visitor can choose to view subcategories, or just view all the images in the category. Once you've chosen an image to view, you will initially see a thumbnail and a description of the image. If you click on "Image Details" at the bottom of each description, you will be privy to details such as the date created, image rights, how many times downloaded, and how many times viewed. Conveniently, you can download the image in different file and dimensional sizes to suit your needs. [KMG]

http://dww.ed.gov/

The U.S. Dept. of Education sponsors this Doing What Works website, which focuses on pedagogy in order to assist this nation's teachers in finding what are likely to be effective methods of teaching. To see the areas of study that are covered on the website, look to the top left side of the page. You'll find "Early Childhood Education", "English Language Learners", "Math and Science", and "Psychology of Learning". Topics to be added to the site are also listed under "See What's Coming!" To always be up-to-date on new material the site has added, simply click on "Subscribe for Updates" on the right hand side of the page. By clicking on the "What Works Clearinghouse", found at the top right corner, visitors will be taken to the real heart of the site. By clicking on one of the topics of study, visitors can watch, listen, and read a short animated video overview of the topic that includes current research. If videos aren't your thing, you can just head straight to the other options, which are "Review the Research Base", "Understand the Essentials", "Find Recommended Practices", and "Access Planning Templates". It should be noted that the Department of Education makes sure to point out that it is not endorsing any of the commercial products that might be used in any of the teaching approaches. [KMG]