ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 2 4 / C&RL News ■ April 2004 I n t e r n e t R e v i e w s Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost, editors P u b lic H is to ry R e so u rce Center. A ccess: www.publichistory.org . Public history is a rapidly growing academic field; m ore than 100 A m erican and Canadian universities offer degrees in the discipline, and public historians w ork in countless museums, archives, and lo cal history associations. T he Public History R esource Center’s (PHRC) mis­ sion is to provide a “forum for research, schol­ arship, netw orkin g, and ed u cation in public history,” and their Web site serves this mission by providing a valuable online resource for stu­ dents, librarians, and public history professionals. PHRC’s W eb site, red esign ed in February 2003, is exem plary in design, delivery, and in­ tellectual content. This easy-to-navigate Web site includes general information about public history, a collection o f online publications by PHRC, and navigation aids and authority in­ form ation. The information section includes essays on the m eaning o f public history, descriptive es­ says o n various jo b s in the field, links to d e­ gree-offering programs, and dozens o f gradu­ ate and undergraduate syllabi for cou rses in p u blic history, oral history, archival studies, preservation, and other topics. It also offers a drop-down menu o f resources selectable across a range o f topics. T he pu blications section includes articles on archival and genealogical topics and “in the field” essays by practicing public historians. It includes a collection o f W eb site reviews orga­ n ized by su ch to p ics as the P rogressive Era, lab o r history, w o m e n ’s history, and African- A m erican history. Web sites are evaluated by such criteria as content/scope, authority/bias, and currency, and there is an impressive sec ­ tio n o u tlin in g PHRC’s W eb site ev a lu a tio n methodology. The site contains detailed information about PHRC, its m ission, the editorial staff and con ­ tributors, and how to access and use materials o n the site. It also inclu des a w ell-org anized site m ap and an ind ex that, as o f this writing, was still under construction. PHRC’s W eb site is a newly invigorated and rapidly growing site, driven by a dedication to the organization’s mission, an excellent edito­ rial board, and a group o f highly qualified con­ tribu tors. T h ro u g h g o o d W eb d esig n an d a pleasing aesthetic sensibility, PHRC’s Web site makes it a pleasure to delve deep into its rich and growing trove o f intellectual content.— G ene Hyde, Radford University, wehyde@radford.edu S o u th e rn O re g o n D ig it a l A r c h iv e s . A c­ cess: soda.sou.edu. T h e S o u th ern O re g o n D igital A rchives (SO D A ), funded b y a grant from the Institute o f Museum and Library Services, is a digitized co lle ctio n o f item s pertaining to the eco lo g y and native p e o p le s o f the Sou th ern O reg o n reg io n . S in ce Ju ly 2 0 0 1 , ov er 1 ,3 0 0 fed eral, state, and local docum ents held by the South­ ern O regon University Library have b e e n digi­ tized. Also included are unpublished documents that are not easily accessible to the public and m aterials o n lo a n from o th e r institu tions. SODA currently c on sists o f tw o data c o lle c ­ tions: the Southern O regon Bioregions Collec­ tion and the First N ations Tribal C ollection. B e c a u s e o f the d iversity o f th e area, the Southern Oregon Bioregions Collection is valu­ ab le to th ose interested in eco lo g y and envi­ ronmental issues. According to the SODA Web site, the region is hom e to thousands o f plant sp ecies, fou r m ountain ranges, and five river drainages. T he collection contains documents su ch as plant and anim al studies, w atershed assessments, environmental impact statements, and county land use studies. T h e First Nations Tribal C ollection is u se­ ful for the inform ation it con tain s regarding the history, language, culture, and folklore o f th e N ative A m erican s fro m this area. T h e SODA Project w orked with area tribes to iden­ tify appropriate materials for inclusion in the database. In addition to docu m ents from the B ureau o f Indian Affairs, other items include Joni R. Roberts is associate university librarian for public services and collection developm ent at W illam ette University, e-mail: jroberts@willamette.edu, and Carol A. Drost is associate university librarian for technical services at Willamette University, e-mail: cdrost@willamette.edu http://www.publichistory.oig mailto:iveloyde@mdford.edu mailto:jroberts@willamette.edu mailto:cdrost@willamette.edu C&RL News ■ A p ril 2004 / 225 treaties, congressional hearings, m onographs and journal articles, and specialized sources, such as tribal language dictionaries. Materials in both collections are browseable by title or author. Searching the databases d e­ faults to title, author, su b jec t, y e a r and k ey ­ w ord, but search op tions c an b e m odified to include almost any field in the database, as well as som e more sophisticated options. Advanced options may b e confusing for novice users, but th e d efau lt o p tio n s sh ou ld b e su fficien t for most o f those users. The overall design o f the site is w ell done and easy to navigate. Help screens are useful, although som e o f the explanatory language has too much jargon. The processes that w ent into the development o f the archives are well docu­ m ented, possibly b ecau se the project w as the prod u ct o f a grant. “T ech n ica l A sp ects” lists all o f the hardw are and softw are used in the d ev elo p m en t o f the project, as w ell as over­ view s o f th e p ro cesses involved. T h e credits page acknowledges designers, programmers, and others involved in the developm ent. T here is also an effort to ackn ow ledg e copyright and include all o f the docum entations and permis­ sions for resources contained and images used.— Linda M addux, R eed College, m adduxl@ imap.reed.edu J a m e s t o w n R e d is c o v e ry . Access: www. apva.org/jr.html. T h e A ss o cia tio n fo r P reserv atio n o f V ir­ ginia Antiquities has conducted archeological research in Jam esto w n Island, Virginia, since 1994. It maintains Jam esto w n Rediscovery as a sou rce o f inform ation about the project. The site is w ell organized, making it easy to find desired inform ation. A section on “Find­ ings” con tain s maps o f the two main excav a­ tion areas, w ith interactive links to inform a­ tion about significant discoveries and locations w ithin ea ch site. A nother section has links to tw o o n lin e exh ibits. O n e sh ow cases the his­ tory o f th e p ro je c t and m any o f th e artifacts recovered , w h ile the seco n d illustrates te c h ­ niques used by archeologists to perform their w ork. T h e site also con tain s a history o f the Jam estow n settlement with information on key figu res and ev en ts, in clu d in g a h isto rical timeline. Links to research sources include a refereed e-journ al, the “Jo u rn a l o f the Ja m e sto w n R e­ discovery C enter.” O n e link points to tech n i­ cal inform ation about ceram ics discovered at the site. O f particular interest to students are several interactive e x ercises illustrating how arch eolog ical research is perform ed. Finally, th e re is a lin k to in fo rm a tio n a b o u t th e Ja m e sto w n 200 7 C o n feren ce, a com parative historical and archaeological project conducted by a consortium o f institutions and sites. Much o f this inform ation is lim ited but m ay b e e x ­ pected to grow as the project proceeds. A number o f publications are available from the A sso ciation fo r P reserv atio n o f Virginia Antiquities via links to the onlin e store. Also in the pu blications sec tio n are a series o f in­ terim field reports for the years 1994 to 1999- T h ese can b e dow nloaded in PDF form at and c o n ta in d esc rip tio n s o f th e w o rk d o n e and major discoveries during each year. Contact in­ form ation includes links to the parent organi­ zation, the staff office, and the program direc­ tor. Finally, a link to a donations page offers a w ay for interested users to provide financial contributions to the project. Overall, the site is very nicely designed but lacks current information, even though it lists a cop y rig h t d ate o f 2 0 0 3 . F o r e x a m p le , th e in terim field re p o rts s to p at 199 9 and th e two online exhibitions are derived from dis­ plays h o ste d in 1 998 and 1 9 9 9 . T h e sin gle online issue o f the e-journal is dated January 2 0 0 1 . O n e w o n d ers if th e p ro je c t is still as active as it w as in the 1990s. D e s p ite th e la c k o f c u rren t m a te ria l, Jam estow n Rediscovery can b e useful to any­ o n e in t e r e s t e d in th e h is to r y o f e a r ly Ja m esto w n or early colo n ial artifacts and cul­ ture.— Mark A. Stoffan, Western North CarolinaLi­ brary Network,mstoffan@ıvncln.lib.unca.edu ■ Call for writers If y o u ’re interested in writing for Internet R ev iew s, p le a s e c o n ta c t ed ito rs J o n i R. Roberts, jroberts@w illam ette.edu, or Carol A. Drost, cd rost@ w illam ette.ed u . mailto:jroberts@willamette.edu mailto:cdrost@willamette.edu