march05c.indd I n t e r n e t R e v i e w s Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost The Center for American Progress. Access: http://www.americanprogress.org. Those doing research in current events in the context of political science have no doubt noticed the presence of think tanks and research institutes on the Web. These are often great places to go to become familiar with the discus­ sions surrounding a given topic. Conclusive in nature, they should not be treated as objective sources of factual content, but rather as sources for pro or con analysis and commentary. This describes the Center for American Progress, whose site is designed more to inform the public of the current administration’s political misdeeds than to provide objective, thoroughly cited research on American politics. The Center for American Progress describes itself as a “nonpartisan research and educa­ tional institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all.” Openly critical of conservative politics, the center’s site offers continually updated con­ tent written by its staff of columnists, headed by former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta, along with former White House staffers Robert O. Boorstin and Sarah Rosen Wartell. It also provides talking points, a calendar of events at its Washington, D.C., headquarters, a list of experts on various issues, and an archive of political cartoons and past columns. Interlinked with its sister organizations, the American Progress Action Fund and the student­oriented Web site/publication Campus­ Progress.org, this site is fairly easy to navigate, if somewhat poorly labeled. A left­side menu provides site navigation to pages such as “Me­ dia” (a list of “Experts, Daily Responses, Fact Sheets, and One­Pagers”),”About Us,” “Progress Report,” and “Talking Points.” A simple text box Joni R. Roberts is associate university librarian for public ser vices and collec tion 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 (advanced searching is available) provides ef­ fective keyword searching, and e­mail updates “on the reality behind the news” are available. A comprehensive privacy policy and reuse policy are also provided, as well as contact information. What will academic researchers on either side of the reference desk find at this site? Given the amount of expert contribution, it is surprising that little of the content diverges from the ‘watchdog’ tone of the site. One will find a good deal of information concerning current White House and federal agency press releases, albeit in the form of liberally biased commentary. Since the site is dedicated to current issues in political science, it is easy to find content treating anything in the news, with a clear position on the political debate in question. —Jeremy Donald, Trinity Uni­ versity, jdonald@trinity.edu National Toxicology Program. Access: http://ntp­server.niehs.nih.gov. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) is an interagency program established within the Department of Health and Human Ser­ vices and located at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Its mission is to evaluate agents of public health concern by develop­ ing and applying tools of modern toxicology and molecular biology. Its Web site provides an extensive overview of its activities, re­ ports, and research. It also provides links to various other agencies engaged in related and/or complementary activities. The site is composed of four main sections: “Research,” “Public Health,” “Alternative Methods,” and “About the NTP.” The site provides some general informa­ tion about the history of the NTP, press re­ leases outlining ongoing NTP activities, and fact sheets summarizing topics of public inter­ March 2005 235 C&RL News http:http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov mailto:jdonald@trinity.edu mailto:cdrost@willamette.edu http:Progress.org http:http://www.americanprogress.org est. However, its primary focus is to provide access to information about the agency’s re­ search. In order to make best use of the site’s content, users require some prior knowledge of biochemistry, molecular biology, and/or toxicology. Within the academic setting, it is likely that much of the content would only be appreciated by upper­year and graduate students, or faculty and researchers working in a field related to toxicology. The site’s greatest assets are its depth of research content, its underlying database and, although still under construction, its search capabilities. This database includes, among other things, the NTP technical report summaries, long and short studies, toxicity reports, and public health documents. The search capabilities are still under construction, but they do allow the user to limit searches to specific categories of research or type of document. To date, the advanced search fea­ tures are somewhat limited, but do include CAS registry number searches. The site designers clearly indicate it is the goal of the NTP site to make available indi­ vidual animal data from its studies. The dis­ claimer goes on to state the site programmers are continuing to work on search strategies for the database and that, over time, the search features should become more user­friendly. Everything within the Web site’s database appears to have been last modified within the past six months, although these dates seem to apply to the modification of the HTML pages and not necessarily the research content. Overall, this is a well­organized site with the potential to provide good access to the National Toxicology Program’s research publications. —Jennifer McKinnell, McMaster University, mckinn@mcmaster.ca OneWorld.net. Access: http://www. oneworld.net/. OneWorld.net is dedicated to providing news and information on world poverty and human rights issues. The information on the site is gathered from over 1,600 organizations (partners) all over the world including the International Children’s Foundation, Cross­ Cultural Solutions, Amnesty International USA, and Information for Action. OneWorld is funded through donations and sponsorships that do not compromise the editorial integrity of the organization. The homepage offers links to news stories, opinion and analysis articles, links to in­depth topic and country guides, and stories about ac­ tive efforts to promote economic development and human rights, primarily located at the sites of member organizations. Additional authored articles may be written by a member of the OneWorld International Foundation Team. “Topic Guides” provide brief discussions on a variety of topics, including migration, gender, and water scarcity, in the context of global hu­ man rights and sustainable development. The guides are edited by individual volunteers or member organizations for the OneWorld net­ work. While the list of topic guides is short, the topics are current and relevant and the guides are well written. The organization is continually seeking volunteer editors to expand this feature. “Country Guides” discuss sustainable develop­ ment and human rights issues for many at­risk and developing countries in the world. Users should also take notice of the “In Depth” section where all news stories and OneWorld content is categorized by subject category or region. The main topics include development, economy, environment, health, human rights, information and media, poli­ tics, and war and peace. The full coverage can be browsed or searched. The content is available in twelve languages, and you can limit your search to any one language. OneWorld.net provides current information on world topics and is updated daily. On rare occa­ sions the site was inaccessible or slow to load. This site is useful for academic research as well as for individuals who maintain current awareness on global human rights and poverty issues, those who want to become actively involved in these areas, and readers interested in current events and world topics. OneWorld. net can be used as a news and reference tool in many subjects, including economics, govern­ ment, and sociology. —Kristen Wolf, McLennan Community College, kwolf@mclennan.edu 236C&RL News March 2005 mailto:kwolf@mclennan.edu http:OneWorld.net http:OneWorld.net http:oneworld.net http://www http:OneWorld.net mailto:mckinn@mcmaster.ca