sept07c.indd


I n t e r n e t  R e v i e w s  Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost 

The International Energy Agency. Access: 
http://www.iea.org/. 
The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 

Web site provides information about the 
organization, its member countries, and in­
ternational energy policy and security issues. 
The site highlights new publications, news 
stories, and IEA events. Navigation tabs lead 
to information about the organization and in­
formation by topic or country. Both the Web 
site and IEA documents are fully searchable 
via the site’s search engine. 

The site’s “Topic” page has a menu, in­
cluding such broad areas as climate change, 
energy security, and renewable energy. Each 
of these topics may be explored through 
publications and papers, databases, statistics, 
and news stories. Of particular note are the 
Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Poli­
cies databases, with their searchable access 
to policy information for IEA member nations. 
On the “Countries” page, individual OECD 
member and selected nonmember countries 
may be chosen from dropdown menus or by 
using rollover maps. Statistics for each country 
include basic economic indicators and energy 
statistics with additional links to graphs, pub­
lications, and related sites. 

“Publications and Papers” is the doorway 
to both IEA publications available for purchase 
and those available as free downloads. For ex­
ample, 2006 and forthcoming 2007 editions of 
IEA’s annual publication World Energy Outlook 
are available as sales publications with 2005 
and earlier available as free downloads. IEA is 
creating an online archive of pre­1995 publica­
tions and making them available for free. 

In addition to these publications, IEA pub­
lishes a series of monthly newsletters, which 
focus on energy technology, oil, gas, and elec­

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 

tricity. Current issues may be viewed without 
subscription, but users may also subscribe 
and receive them via e­mail. Online services 
require subscriptions, with the exception of 
the Oil Market Report, IEA’s online market 
analysis publication; nonsubscribers may ac­
cess current issues with a two­week embargo, 
archived issues, and the excellent Annual 
Statistical Supplement. 

While some IEA reports and data are only 
available for purchase, with a bit of digging, 
users can access good basic statistics, policy 
information, and topical fact sheets relating 
to international energy issues. For the most 
current data however, users will need to 
have their credit cards handy.—Ann Flower, 
Monterey Institute of International Studies, 
afl ower@miis.edu 

League of Women Voters. Access: http:// 
www.lwv.org/. 
The League of Women Voters Web site provides 

information on the nonpartisan political organi­
zation, as well as information on public policy 
issues. It is a site dedicated to voter education and 
advocacy. The league of Women Voters includes 
hundreds of local chapters nationwide and in 
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Hong Kong. 

The site is geared towards the average citizen 
or league member. There is information about 
the league—the history, its mission and core 
values, annual reports, membership and dona­
tion, a listing of local chapters, and news and 
events. In addition, the section on “Projects” 
presents a myriad of information on different 
league initiatives, such as their project on judicial 
independence. Within this page, there are links 
to podcasts, events, resources, press releases, 
and past events­ all dealing with this particular 
league initiative. 

Another section of the Web site deals with 
issues, such as the league’s stance on social poli­
cies, including equal rights, education, health 
care, child care, and violence prevention. These 
pages contain the league’s position statement on 
each issue, the league’s history of involvement 

C&RL News September 2007  534 

http:www.lwv.org
mailto:ower@miis.edu
mailto:cdrost@willamette.edu
http:http://www.iea.org


with this issue, and additional resources, which 
include the league’s letters of support or opposi­
tion addressed to members of Congress. 

“Library” contains an archive of newsletters, 
media, photographs, and presidential debates. 
“Take Action” features several of the league’s 
priority issues and provides the citizen with the 
resources and information needed to advocate 
for these issues. The members’ section contains 
tools and documents to assist league leaders 
and members. Many of the pages in this section 
require a member login. 

On the advanced search page, users can 
search by typing in keywords or selecting one 
of the 30 topics listed on the page. Limits include 
publication date and post date. 

The Web site is lacking RSS feeds. The addi­
tion of RSS feeds would be helpful to members 
who would like to keep up with the latest news 
and changes to the site. 

The site is organized in a logical manner. 
It is an attractive site displaying various kinds 
of information in a visually coherent interface. 
Not only is the site an important tool for 
league members and potential members, 
but it is also a rich resource for students and 
anyone interested in civic action. The League 
of Women Voters Web site is highly recom­
mended for any citizen interested in the league 
or advocacy.—Colleen Lougen, SUNY New Paltz, 
lougenc@newpaltz.edu 

The Pacific Northwest Olympic Peninsula 
Community Museum. Access: http:// 
content.lib.washington.edu/cmpweb 
/index.html. 
The Olympic Peninsula, located in the north­

west corner of Washington State, is a remote and 
isolated region of stunning beauty and abundant 
natural resources. Bordered by mountains and 
water, the area is home to rainforests and old 
growth cedar, salmon runs, and Orca whale 
feeding grounds, as well as several indigenous 
tribes, including the Hoh, Quinault, Quileute, 
Makah, and Clallam. 

In an effort to document, preserve, and share 
the distinctive history and cultural heritage of the 
region, local communities and organizations part­
nered with the University of Washington to create 

a Web­based museum. Launched in October 2006, 
the site contains more than 12,000 photographs, 
maps, pamphlets, archival videos, oral history audio 
casts, and other artifacts. Funded by an Institute 
of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant, the 
site is currently made up of nine online exhibits 
that represent different aspects of life in the region, 
including tourism and recreation, early residents, 
tribal customs, immigration, diverse populations, 
and natural resources. Educational material to be 
used in a classroom setting is also available. As a 
learning tool, this digital museum will be of interest 
to teachers and students of Pacific Northwest his­
tory, as well as area visitors and residents. 

The site is unique not only for the subject 
matter, but also because of the collaboration 
between a large urban research university that 
provided technological expertise and the small 
rural groups that provided content and artifact 
preparation and preservation. A third partner 
in the project, Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, as­
sisted with copyright and intellectual property 
issues. 

The archive is generally well designed, 
organized, and easy to navigate. Built on a 
ContentDM platform, metadata from the col­
lection is searchable through OCLC’s WorldCat 
and the Web. The entire collection and each 
exhibit can be browsed by category or searched 
by keyword. Reflecting the diversity of the 
contributors, each exhibit has its own look and 
feel. All sections contain short essays and im­
ages, but visitors will find some exhibits more 
fully developed and containing more content 
than others. Although curriculum packets are 
promised for all topic areas, currently only three 
appear. Similarly, while the audio and video 
clips are fast and easy to download, there seem 
to be a limited number currently available. It is 
not clear from the Web site when new materials 
might be added. Despite these shortcomings, 
the community museum contains a number of 
features and artifacts that make it well worth 
a visit.—Linda Frederiksen, Washington State 
University-Vancouver, frederik@vancouver. 
wsu.edu 

September 2007  535 C&RL News 

mailto:lougenc@newpaltz.edu