C&RL News September 2010 444 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 I n t e r n e t R e v i e w sJoni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost Natural Resources Defense Council. Access: http://www.nrdc.org/. On first look, the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) homepage is so filled with text and rotating images that it’s hard to know where to begin. But after a moment, when your eyes have adjusted, the organizational scheme can be teased out. NRDC’s mission is “to safeguard the Earth, its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends.” To that end, NRDC has produced a hefty collection of materials to inform, motivate, and maintain awareness. The homepage highlights the journal- istic arm of the organization—from the rotating handful of top stories in the front- and-center spot to the blogs and “take ac- tion” teasers. The main navigation banner across the top clearly delineates the other categories of information: “News,” “Issues,” “Policy,” “Green Living,” “Green Business,” and more. The journalism pieces tend to be brief; the stories posted do not reach the depth of other, more mainstream journalistic instruments. In fact, much of the report- ing focuses on the actions of NRDC itself, such as filing a lawsuit to compel the U.S. government to list the whitebark pine as an endangered species. The most helpful sections for users of academic and research libraries are likely to be “Issues” and “Policy,” which includes the “Track Current Legislation” feature that allows one to select from a subset of environmental topics being addressed in Congress. Unfortunately, these sections do not offer RSS feeds, whereas the blogs and some other features do offer the option of subscribing electronically. The NRDC Web site’s content is un- abashedly slanted to reflect a particular position about environmental issues, and the icons soliciting membership and dona- tions emphasize this point. Undergraduate library users would be advised to consider documents from the “Policy” section, which includes testimony to Congress and legisla- tive analyses, when searching for sources for their research papers. Researchers might also find useful information from the Document Bank, which includes ar- ticles published in scientific journals or assembled by experts in the appropriate fields.—Lia Vella, Oregon Institute of Tech- nology, Lia.Vella@oit.edu The National Security Archive. Access: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/. This archive, housed and administered by George Washington University, is a collection of published, declassified docu- ments obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). More than 500,000 pages of documents are updated and available on the National Security Archive (NSA) site. Researchers can search the NSA Web site by relevant words, exact phrases, or any word(s) available. For researchers who need to review the FOIA, a separate Web page explains this important act in extensive detail. The majority of documents on the NSA site are collected into Electronic Briefing Books; some of the subject areas covered in the archive include the “Middle East and South Asia,” “Europe,” “Latin America,” “Nuclear History,” and “U.S. Intelligence.” Documents can be accessed through the homepage, the Documents link, or the Publications link. Also accessed through the Publications link are the 20 NSA microfiche collections (available for purchase through September 2010 445 C&RL News Chadwyck) and 20 book excerpts written by NSA staff and fellows. A macabre but important portion of the NSA site devotes itself to the subject of tor- ture; its Torture Archive contains more than 80,000 online, full-text, and indexed pages. Researchers can search by titles, creators, recipients, individuals, organizations, and dates. The Torture Archive is hosted by the Washington Research Libraries Consortium, whose members include George Washing- ton University, Georgetown University, and American University, and conveniently pro- vides researchers additional print and digital resources beyond the NSA archives. Other useful research links include the Online Net- work of Freedom of Information Advocates, the Parallel History Project on Cooperative Security, and the Cold War International History Project. For those history researchers in the Washington, D.C., area, NSA’s plentiful resources are readily available to them at George Washington University. But for those researchers not in the area, NSA’s vast, online accumulation of national secu- rity information is a treasure trove of vital information of U.S. security and intelligence history. The NSA site is a commendable and worthwhile resource. Highly recommended for all researchers of American foreign policy history, American intelligence history, and American security history.—Larry Cooper- man, Everglades University, lcooperman@ evergladesuniversity.edu National Writing Project. Access: http:// www.nwp.org/. The National Writing Project (NWP) is a rich professional development resource for kindergarten through college teachers and schools. Based on the model of “teachers teaching teachers,” one of NWP’s core beliefs is that “writing can and should be taught, not just assigned, at every grade level.” This site provides the resources to help teachers and schools achieve this goal. Through this Web site, users can locate an NWP site, which offer professional de- velopment opportunities for teachers in their areas as well as across the curriculum. Youth, parents, community members, and administrators can also take advantage of programs offered at an NWP site. While there is a wealth of information provided, the design and organization of the site makes it easy to navigate its resources. Some standard Web site features available include a search box, an RSS feed, as well as an interactive map to easily locate a NWP site in your area. Direct links are provided to a “Calendar,” “NWP Sites,” “National Pro- grams,” “Results,” and Resources. The calendar pulls together a variety of events, such as professional writing retreats, resource development retreats, seminars, NWP radio broadcasts, and more. Visitors to the site will also be able to find research reports, such as the one titled “New Report: Writing Project Professional Development Continues to Yield Gains in Student Writing Achievement.” There are additional reports on topics, such as teaching writing, teacher research/inquiry, standards assessment, being a writer, and fiction and poetry publishing resources. Users can also sign up for E-Voice, the bimonthly e-mail newsletter that provides news updates and links to articles of inter- est to writing teachers. Additionally, the “blogtalkradio” gives people a chance to listen to NWP broad- casts, such as “Through their writing you will know them: A glimpse into summer institutes around the country.” For those who would like to become involved or start their own NWP site, this resource provides all the necessary infor- mation, including information about the application process along with feasibility questions. NWP serves as a must-use resource for any educator or institution that strives to improve students writing or is look- ing for additional ways to incorporate writing across the curriculum.—Debbi Renfrow, Moreno Valley College, RCCD, debbi.renfrow@rcc.edu