Time.com: Celebrating Black History
http://www.time.com/time/reports/blackhistory/
Time.com celebrates Black History Month with this notable Web page that takes viewers on a journey into the lives of noteworthy African American news makers of the mid to late twentieth century. The site contains a moderate profile of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as a reading room equipped with articles from Time Magazine's cover stories on black culture and extraordinary achievers in education, business, sports, and entertainment. Viewers may also read transcripts of Time.com's exclusive online conversations with people such as Toni Morrison, Angela Davis, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Although the site appears to have been recently updated, it is not without its flaws. Viewers must scroll to the bottom of the Web page to access the various links because the side icons lead to dead and unavailable pages. Nevertheless, this collection of information gathered on African Americans in the media provides for an informative and interesting read. [MG]
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Two African American Resource Sites
Javanoir: Guide to African American Resources on the Internet
http://www.javanoir.net/guide/index.html
African American Newspapers
http://www.aasm.com/pubs.html
Both of the above listed Web sites offer useful information concerning African American news and culture. Javanoir is a newly invented site offering hundreds of links to various subject categories, spanning from Arts & Entertainment, to Books & Literature, to Education & Research, and much more. Viewers have the option of accessing the predefined subject headings or searching topics by keyword. The second site, African American Newspapers, provides a connection to over 200 listings of African American US newspapers and publications sorted by State. On the whole, both sites provide valuable resource links for those looking to delve into African American history and culture. [MG]
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Extending the Cooperative: OCLC Annual report 2000-2001
http://www.oclc.org/about/annualreport/2001.pdf
Smartly entitled "Extending the Cooperative," OCLC's annual report and fiscal disclosure statement for 2000-2001 again presents the dynamic efforts and impressive accomplishments of one of the world's premiere online content and service providers to libraries and other information networks. In particular, OCLC has spent a great deal of the past year extending its user base, in large part through the implementation of a new Oracle-based platform, which allows for increased access in Web environments. Currently available through more than 40,000 member libraries in 82 countries, OCLC's services enrich the lives of millions of patrons, users, and librarians daily. Just one figure alone well serves to illustrate the reach and wealth of OCLC's resources, as the report discloses that in 2001 the 45 millionth unique item, or cataloging, record was added to WorldCat, a service that provides users with electronic access to the Library of Congress Union Catalogue. Working with libraries both large and small, public and private, OCLC has greatly improved upon an already admirable ability to provide bibliograhic information while broadening its services to include other content as well, including online documents and other full text electronic resources. Clearly, 2000-2001 saw great changes for OCLC and its world of users. [WH]
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Highway Statistics Series [.pdf, .xls]
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/ohimstat.htm
This publication, prepared by the Office of Highway Policy Information, Federal Highway Administration, is the 56th edition of an annual series that brings together a collection of selected statistical tabulations, relating to highway transportation in three major areas: highway use --the ownership and operation of motor vehicles; highway finance -- the receipts and expenditures of highways by public agencies; and highway plant -- the extent, characteristics, and performance of public highways, roads, and streets throughout the nation. In addition, the report reveals the 2000 analyzed statistics of general interest on motor fuel, motor vehicles, driver licensing, highway-user taxation, state highway finance, highway mileage, and federal aid for highways. This document can be viewed in html, pdf., or excel format. [MG]
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Women in Military Service
http://www.womensmemorial.org/index.html
American women have participated in and made significant contributions to the defense of this nation during both war and peace times. Their contributions, however, have gone largely unacknowledged and unrewarded. The history of women serving in defense of our nation began more than 220 years ago with women who served in the American Revolution and continues with those who serve today. The Women's Memorial Web site is dedicated to recognizing the achievements of women who have served in the military and also honors other women who have served in direct support of the US armed forces, particularly during times of war or conflict. The site offers historical data on valiant women who served in America's military as well as educational resources for teachers and students. It also provides information on how to plan a trip to the Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, where the women who have served in this country's armed forces are individually and collectively honored. [MG]
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ERS: World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, 2002 [.pdf]
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/waobr/view.asp?f=wasde-bb
This full-text monthly report by the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture provides the most current USDA forecasts of US and world supply-use balances of major grains, soybeans, cotton, and US supply and use of sugar and livestock products. Reports are available as far back as 1995 and are accessible in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. [MG]
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ClassBrain: State Reports
http://classbrain.com/cb_sr/cb_srhm.htm
This amazingly impressive site by ClassBrain, Inc. provides valuable educational resources for students, parents, and teachers. The site is equipped with various learning activities and games for students ranging from grade levels Pre-K to 12. In addition, this site contains information on world countries and US states. Both the country and state reports are arranged in alphabetical order and provide data on history, statistics, maps, geographical information, government, economy, and much more. This site is a breath of fresh air for those parents and teachers discouraged by the plethora of untactful Internet sites currently accessible to children. [MG]
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