ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 42 / C&RL News ■ January 2003 I n t e r n e t R e v i e w s Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost, ed itors Virtually Missouri. A ccess: http://www. virTuallymissouri.org/. Coordinated by the Missouri Digitization Planning Project (MDPP), Virtually Missouri is a portal to dozens o f digital collections and exhibits created by Missouri archives, librar­ ies, museums, galleries, and historical societ­ ies. With more than 60 digitized historical, cul­ tural, scientific, and artistic co llection s and exhibits, Virtually Missouri is a valuable archi­ val resource for researchers and students. Virtually Missouri provides access to a num­ ber o f o nline co llection s o f primary source m a t e r i a l , often with J P E G o r GIF rep re­ sen tatio n s o f original docum ents. T h e D red Scott Web site d ocu ­ m ents Sc o tt’s legal battle for freedom that en ded in the landmark 1857 U.S. Suprem e Court “Dred Sc o tt” d ecision, and includes JPE G representations o f the legal records o f his 18 4 6 -1 8 5 7 court cases. “The Decision to Drop the Atomic B om b,” from the Truman Presidential Museum and Li­ brary, is a comprehensive documentary history o f the policies and d ecisions that led to the atomic bombings o f Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Along with contextual readings, the Web site features hundreds o f pages o f Truman’s dia­ ries, letters, memos, White House minutes, and other official documentation. O ther Truman Museum documentary collections are devoted to the United State’s recognition of Israel, the Berlin Airlift, and Truman’s decision to desegregate the armed forces. Springfield-Greene County Public Library has several excellent Ozark historical and cultural re­ sources, including the Max Hunter Folksong Col­ lection of 1,600 Ozark folk songs complete with transcriptions and audio files— an essential re­ source for any academic folklore program. Other collections and exhibits document Kansas City’s jazz heritage, the history and flora of the Missouri Botanical gardens, Native American artifacts, Civil War letters, and Gregorian chants, to cite a few examples in this rich and varied site. Access to the collections and exhibits is pro­ vided through an alphabetical list o f entries containing a brief description, representative graphic, and URL for ea ch individual co llec­ tion. Collections and exhibits are also search­ able by keyword, subject area, collection name, and project name. In addition to being an online archival re­ pository, Virtually Missouri also serves as MDPP’s information clearinghouse for partici­ pating agencies. The Web site includes guide­ lines and standards for creating metadata, scan­ ning images, dealing with copyright issues, and posting collections to the site. Funded by the Library Services and Technology Act, MDPP’s Virtually Missouri is a noteworthy example o f a successful, interagency digitization initiative. As such, it serves as both a m odel and a re­ so urce for librarians and archivists w ho are considering developing online access to indi­ vidual or collaborative digitization projects. — Gene Hyde, Lyon College, ghyde@lycn.edu W orld R eso u rces In stitu te . A ccess: http://www.wri.org/. The World Resources Institute (WRI) is an environmental think tank that “goes beyond research to find practical ways to protect the earth and improve peoples lives.” WRI is the publisher of the standard reference book World R esources; this and other titles are available in PDF format on the Web site. The initial page has a four-column layout, which seem s a bit much at first glance. Stick­ ing to the m ajor headings on the left o f the page will get the user to the bulk o f the infor­ mation. These choices include “About W RI,” “G lobal T op ics,” “Earthtrends: the Environ­ m ental Inform ation P ortal,” “N ew sroom ,” “Publications and Multimedia,” and “Taking Action." Clicking on a subtopic leads to information about specific projects WRI is involved in, or publications that resulted from the project, and Joni R. Roberts is associate university librarian for public services and collection development at Willamette 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 mailto:ghyde@lycn.edu http://www.wri.org/ mailto:jroberts@willamette.edu mailto:cdrost@willamette.edu C&RL News ■ January 2003 / 43 links to contact names related to it. “Publica­ tions and Multimedia” lists all 2002 publica­ tions, with instructions for ordering print cop­ ies and offers a PDF op tion for full text, an excellent feature. “Taking Action” tells what WRI is doing and how individuals can help. WRI’s headquarters, for instance, are comprised o f “green” office space with environmentally friendly design, facilities, and technology. “Earthtrends” includes various categories such as “Coastal and Marine Ecosystem s” or “Forests and Grasslands” and each category contains the follow ing options: “Searchable Databases,” “Data Tables,” “Country Profiles,” “Maps,” and “Features.” Searching the database is a bit complicated; the user must go through several screens, and just be fo re the data is displayed, the user is asked to register. This might be less frustrating if it w ere placed earlier in the process. Also, fewer choices in the menu would make for less clutter and faster decision making on the part of the user, but, nonetheless, this section pro­ vides a wealth o f environmental statistics from around the world. All in all, WRI is an excellent site with vital information for anyone researching the state of the world’s environment or social problems. —Lisa K. Miller, P aradise Valley Community College Library, liskaren.miller@pvmail.maricopa.edu Literature, Arts, and Medicine Data­ base. Access: http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/ lit-med/lit-med-db/. The Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database is a comprehensive resource for teaching and schol­ arship in the medical humanities. This annotated bibliography of prose, poetry, art, film, and video is an excellent tool for exploring how the humani­ ties disciplines can engage and illuminate the study and practice o f medicine. The database is a multi-institutional project with clo s e ties to the New York University (NYU) Sch o o l o f M edicine. T he editors in­ clude faculty in medical schools and literature programs throughout North America who have experience with teaching and scholarship in the medical humanities. Annotations are written exclusively by the editors and by individuals working under their supervision. A nnotations include a b rie f summary o f each work and commentary on its themes and potential usefulness in teaching. Some 139 key­ words are used to index the entries, including m edically relevant top ics su ch as AIDS, caregivers, depression, doctor-patient relation­ ship, euthanasia, family relationships, gay/les­ bian/bisexual issues, m edical mistakes, and psychotherapy. Indexing is generous, with more than a dozen terms applied to m ost entries. The annotations are well written and concise, and serve well as a jumping-off point for fur­ ther research, as it would be difficult to fully address the themes in a few paragraphs. A link to the Medical Humanities homepage at NYU provides such resources, including archives of the literature and medicine discussion list and syllabi from numerous institutions. Sections o f the database specific to art, lit­ erature, and film and video may be searched separately and have their own unique features. The literature section includes additional in­ dexes by genre, era, and special categories of authors, such as physician authors. Links are provided from many annotated entries to online texts and audio files in which authors read from their work; lists o f available online versions can also be found in the “Reading Room” and “Listening Room” from the main page. Nearly all o f the art annotations also in­ clude links to reproductions o f the art works at external sites, generally museum sites that provide additional reso u rces on the works and artists. A “M eet the Artist” ind ex leads to on line sites for the artists rep resen ted in the database. C onnections with literature can be found in indexes to annotated art books and to anno­ tated fiction or poetry centered on works o f art. The film and video section is well devel­ oped, with 121 annotations, but has minimal online content at this writing— excerpts from one film and one theatrical performance. The homepage gives an excellent overview o f the status o f the d atabase, w hich is up­ dated quarterly with dates o f most recent and upcoming revisions, clear paths to new mate­ rial, and total number o f annotations in each category. The site design is impressive; search options and results are clear and intuitive. The Literature, Arts and Medicine Database would be an essential resource for any institution with programs in the health sciences, but would also be valuable more generally, as a specialized re­ source in literature and art collections.— Lori Robare, University o f Oregon, lrobare@oregon. uoregon.edu■ http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/