http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu/umbrella/

In 1978, Judith Hoffberg began publishing the art journal Umbrella. Over the next three decades, the journal would offer up reviews and news regarding artist books, mail art and photography tradebooks. The journal ceased print publication in 2005, but permission was granted to the Herron Art Library of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to digitize the entire print run. Visitors to the collection can browse by issue, or they can also perform a keyword search across the entire collection. For art historians and those with an interest in tracking the development of different artistic traditions in late 20th century America, this is a tremendous resource. [KMG]

http://www.orlandofiges.com/

Researchers are only now beginning to uncover important family archives that tell of life in Russia during the reign of Joseph Stalin. One team from the Memorial Society in St. Petersburg was able to successfully recover family archives that included letters, personal papers, memoirs, and photographs. Led by Orlando Figes, this team of researchers has created this website to offer the public a selection from these powerful documents. The materials on the site are divided into sections such as "Family Histories", "Interviews", "Sound", and "Photographs". The "Interviews" area contains dozens of interview transcripts, but the majority of them are offered only in Russian. Fortunately, visitors can click on the "English" tab to review extracts from four of the interviews in English. Moving on, the "Photographs" area contains photos culled from the various family histories. Finally, the "Family Histories" area contains brief profiles of each family's history and their experiences in Stalin's Russia. [KMG]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/

It can be hard to keep tabs on the activities of the federal government, so it's nice to know that Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post is available to offer some assistance. O'Keefe is responsible for this website, which provides up-to-date coverage of various governmental activities, such as economic stimulus legislation, efforts to develop high-speed passenger rail, and cabinet level appointments. On the site, visitors can sign in to ask O'Keefe questions, view recent and archived posts, and also offer their own comments on the different posts. The site also contains a selection of links to other Washington Post websites that report on the various goings-on within the United States government. [KMG]

http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/musicandthebrain/index.html

What is the relationship between the brain and music? That very question animates the Library of Congress' Music and the Brain series, and their website allows interested parties to listen in on some of the conversations, lectures, and symposia. Noted psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison chairs the initiative, and the programs bring together physicians, theorists, composers, and performers. Visitors can listen to some of these recent conversations via this website, and they can also sign up to receive new podcasts via iTunes. Currently, there are five different podcasts available. They include talks with Dr. Charles J. Limb ("Your Brain on Jazz"), Jessica Krash ("Dangerous Music"), and Dr. Aniruddh D. Patel on "The Music of Language and the Language of Music". [KMG]

http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/

The motto of the National Yiddish Book Center is "Rescuing Books, Inspiring Readers". It's quite appropriate, as they have digitized over 10,000 books and placed them online here. Of course, that's not all they have done, and visitors to the site can read about their new facilities, their leadership, and membership opportunities. First-time visitors can click on the "About the Center" section to learn about their work, and after that, mosey on over to "The Jewish Reader" to learn about books that might be of interest for a book group, complete with reviews and study questions for each selection. Moving on, visitors can click on the "Yiddish Books Online" area to look over a wide range of out-of-print Yiddish titles. One facet of the site that will be especially useful for educators is the "Explore and Learn" section. Here visitors can click on a list of topical headings (such as "Linguistics" or "Translation") to view online resources from the Center and other reliable sources, including the New York Public Library and their in-house magazine, Pakn Treger. [KMG]

http://library.princeton.edu/libraries/cotsen/exhibitions/index.html

Princeton University's virtual exhibit of past exhibits of children's book illustrations offers visuals and brief explanations geared towards children and adults. The easy-to-use website is divided into four virtual exhibits, that contain a portion of what the physical exhibits at the Cotsen Children's Library at Princeton University displayed. The four exhibits can be accessed by clicking on their links on the homepage. The "Water Babies" exhibit contains illustrations of swimming, and was meant as a respite for kids who couldn't escape the city's heat. Each illustration in the virtual exhibit is accompanied by a short synopsis of the book or publication it came from, and often a web link or reading suggestion for more information on the author, illustrator, or subject matter of the book.
The "Magic Lantern" virtual exhibit contains illustrations of magic lanterns, a type of projector widely available for home use, that were the precursors to film and television, and which enthralled children and adults alike. The "Creepy-Crawlies" exhibit highlighted the many illustrations of insects in children's books and natural history. The insects in children's books were most often portrayed as evil or villainous. But, if visitors can put those feelings aside, they will find many beautifully rendered drawings. The physical "Beatrix Potter" exhibit coincided with the publication of the Beatrix Potter Collection of Lloyd Cotsen in 2004, and the virtual exhibit contains illustrations by Potter, and others, with whom the visitor can use for comparison, to see Potter's unique style. [KMG]

http://academicearth.org/

Academic Earth provides videos of lectures by top scholars in "Subjects" that range from Astronomy to Entrepreneurship to Religion, from "Universities" as celebrated as MIT, Berkeley, Harvard, and Stanford. Visitors must register to view the lectures, but registration is free. There are over 1500 video lectures available, with more being added everyday. In addition to viewing the lectures available by subject or university, visitors can choose by "Instructors" or by "Playlists". When visitors click on "Playlists" at the top of the homepage, they will see a list of lectures by theme, by several different instructors, and a grade given to the lecture series. A good example is the 6-part lecture entitled "Understanding the Financial Crisis" by four different instructors. The series is given a grade overall, in this case, an A-, and when visitors click on "See all 6 lectures" at the bottom of the series' description, they will be taken to the page with the links to the individual lectures, as well as shown the grade given each individual lecture. Visitors can even keep a playlist of their favorite lectures or download the lectures. Visitors should definitely check out the Frequently Asked Questions page, accessible by the "FAQ" link at the bottom of the website. [KMG]

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

This web exhibition from the Getty Museum traces the influences of the Carracci family of Bologna, Italy, thought by some art historians to have revitalized painting in the late 16th century, after the passing of the great Renaissance artists. The Explore tool provided by the Museum allows visitors to see and read about all 43 paintings in the exhibition, including works by the Carracci themselves, brothers Annibale and Agostino, and their cousin Ludovico, as well as some of their followers and students, Guido Reni, Domenichino, and Francesco Albani. Works can be sorted by theme, artist, or lending museum using the tool. For example, sorting by portraiture creates a set of portraits: a young boy, possibly Antonio Carracci, who was Agostino Carracci's illegitimate son, shown with cherries and a lute; Giulio Mascheroni, a lute player; and two important religious leaders: Pope Gregory XV and Cardinal Roberto Ubaldino. [DS]