Favorite Web Sites: History
The web sites featured this month have been critically evaluated
and selected by the IU Northwest librarians as well as a group of academic
and public librarians across the United States who compile a yearly Best
Free Reference Web Sites List for the American
Library Association. Here is a list of selection
criteria initially created by the MARS Best Free Websites Committee to choose these sites. The Library hopes our readers will
find these web sites useful for locating reliable, accurate and
authoritative information on the Internet.
AMDOCS is part of the University of Kansas' digital library,
CARRIE: A Full Text Electronic Library. It contains links to the
full text of over 400 primary source documents relating to the study
of American history which have been digitized by a variety of
academic institutions. The documents, which cover the 15th century
through the 21st century, are easily accessible from a
straightforward chronological listing of the events that inspired
them. Because these documents have been created by many different
institutions as part of separate digital projects, users will find
considerable variation in the type of accompanying materials
available for each and should take particular note of any copyright
or other use restrictions noted. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
The American Civil War Homepage seeks to provide a comprehensive
directory of hypertext links about the Civil War period (1861-1865).
Intended for general audiences, this Internet directory covers the
war from the major military, political, and social perspectives.
Links arranged in broad categories take the user to sites that
supply narrative overviews, bibliographies, photographs, and primary
source documents. Updating is frequent, but the large number of
listings does result in some dead links. The contact information is
current and responsive to feedback. For both beginners and serious
Civil War researchers, this site is a logical starting point. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
American Memory is an ongoing resource of digital images, audio
and media clips embracing all aspects of American history and
culture. This extensive collection provides access to over 7 million
digital reproductions of primary sources from over 100 important
historical collections from the Library of Congress and other
participating museums and institutions. In addition to the digital
resources, the site includes The Learning Page, a teacher's guide to
assist in instructional support and learning, and Today in History
which gives a brief historical account of an important event in
American history occurring on that day. This excellent, frequently
updated site is highly recommended for librarians, researchers,
teachers, and students seeking to incorporate digital images into
their presentations and class assignments. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
Originally created in 2000 by PBS as the online companion to its
miniseries, "The American Presidency," this site was acquired by the
Miller Center in 2001 and revised and re-deployed in 2003. The site
consists of two sections. The Presidency in History section presents
biographies and timelines for each president, first lady, cabinet
member, and staff along with a list of key events and an image
gallery for each president. The Presidency in Action section
includes an organizational chart of administrative units and office
holders, along with essays and bibliographies on key areas of
presidential responsibility such as economic and domestic policy,
national security, and legislative affairs. This is an excellent
resource about the American presidency for high school teachers and
students, undergraduate students, and the general public. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
As noted in the Introduction to this site, “American Women's
History provides citations to print and Internet reference sources,
as well as to selected large primary source collections. The guide
also provides information about the tools researchers can use to
find additional books, articles, dissertations, and primary
sources.? What makes this site especially useful is the ease of
navigation and intuitive layout. The guide has the depth to be
useful to experienced scholars while at the same time being easy to
use for the novice researcher. The links to primary sources on the
Internet, categorized into seventy-five sub-fields, make this a
goldmine for students studying American women’s history. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
This site's mission is to be a "portal created for students,
history educators, and general history enthusiasts" and consists of
annotated lists of recommended history sites that are divided by
topic and rated by the site's creators for "usefulness and
accuracy." Broad periods such as Prehistory, Medieval, and 20th
Century history are listed and further subdivided into manageable
topics and periods. Best of History Websites also identifies sites
that are particularly useful for lesson plans, research and
multimedia. Although coverage of the period between the Middle Ages
and the modern/20th century is not particularly strong, overall this
frequently updated site lives up to its name and its mission. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
This is an extensive and well-organized site featuring
"high-quality historical resources for teachers and students for
free and without advertising," a feat accomplished through
partnerships with a variety of museums and archives. In addition to
primary-source material, including multimedia, the site, which is
presented in the form of a digital textbook, features resources such
as an interactive timeline of U.S. History from 1590-present,
subject guides, handouts, and lesson plans. Users are also invited
to direct questions to the "Hyperhistorian," Steven Mintz, John and
Rebecca Moores Professor of History at the University of Houston.
The archives of these queries and answers are accessible as well.
This site will be especially useful for high school and
post-secondary level history instructors and students. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
Documenting the American South is a large-scale digital
publishing initiative that features primary resources in history for
the study of the history, literature, and culture of the American
South. It is an indispensable resource for study of the Civil War
and the Antebellum South, African-American history, and Southern
literature. It includes public domain full-text books, pamphlets,
personal correspondence, slave narratives, diaries, and oral
histories. Documenting the American South remains an essential
electronic research tool for anyone seeking original and scholarly
documentation about this region. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
This online counterpart to the print Encyclopedia of Chicago,
published in 2004 by the University of Chicago Press, is a major
reference resource for the history of the city of Chicago. The site
takes advantage of the features of web publishing to enhance the
presentation of this vast body of information. For instance, the
extensive Entries index features thousands of clickable links to
such topics as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago Architecture,
Al Capone and the White Sox. The web site also includes essays,
maps, city plans, and topical galleries. Navigation is easy and fun.
Contributors include many high profile Chicago area scholars.
Ultimately, this electronic treasure is invaluable for anyone
interested in Chicago or Midwest history. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
Designed for teachers and students at the high school and college
levels, History Matters is a gateway site to web-based materials
about U.S. History. A search engine, as well as broad topical links,
provide access to primary documents, images, audio files, and
secondary articles that connect the user to people and places
throughout U.S. History. Students can also find links to quality
resources for guidance on research standards, citing material,
analyzing primary sources, and evaluating web sites. Teaching
resources include syllabi, strategies from successful history
teachers, and sample assignments using web resources. History
Matters is an excellent resource for students seeking a
clearinghouse for information about U.S. History, and teachers
looking for ways to enhance their teaching. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
"HyperHistory is an expanding scientific project presenting 3,000
years of world history with an interactive combination of
synchronoptic [simultaneously presented and viewable] lifelines,
timelines, and maps." The unique construction of the site allows
history to be "viewed" rather than read, although the option of
browsing and searching brief text biographies (1010 total) is
available. The collection of timelines can be viewed by time period,
event (including a new chronology of the 2001-02 terrorist attacks),
and person; names on the timeline are color-coded to indicate area
of primary influence (science, arts, religion, politics). There is
also an extensive collection of event and time period-related maps.
The site is complemented by linked text of a "comprehensive world
history" that features bibliographies and web links for further
research. A valuable site, especially for K-12 and undergraduate
use. (Summary used with permission of the
MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
Datastream Advance 4.0 Available on Selected IU Northwest Library
Reference Department Computers
For the past several months, the IU Northwest Library has subscribed to
Datastream Advance 4.0 a powerful business and economics
database. This online resource features economic and financial data
focusing on main economic indicators, equities, bonds as well as
exchange and interest rates from various financial sources.
Datastream makes it possible to access and view this data in
overview, chart ,graph or spreadsheet format using Microsoft Excel,
Word and PowerPoint software. Primarily intended for students taking
specific economics and business courses, Datastream Advance
4.0 can be accessed from three designated computer
workstations in the Reference Department.
EBSCOHost Adds McClatchy-Tribune and Library
Information Science and Technology Abstracts to Its Inspire
Database Lineup
Library Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA)
and McClatchy-Tribune Newspaper Collection have
recently been included in the Inspire database.
LISTA indexes more than 600 periodicals along with
books, research reports and proceedings pertaining to the library
and information science field. Subjects covered include
librarianship, classification, cataloging, online information
retrieval and information management. Coverage dates back to the
mid-1960's. This database along with Library Literature,
ERIC and Professional Development Collection
provides a myriad of information for librarians and teachers.
McClatchy-Tribune Collection provides a 90 day
archive of nearly 300 newspapers from the McClatchy-Tribune
Information Services. The Chicago Tribune, The Times (Munster,
IN) and the Indianapolis Star are included in
this database which is updated daily.
The IU Northwest campus community can access LISTA and
McClatchy-Tribune Collection on
or off campus
computers by going to the
IU Northwest Library Electronic
Information Page and clicking on the Library Databases
link. At the next web page, choose Inspire Databases. At the
next screen, click on EBSCOHost Web. At the EBSCOHost main
menu, scroll down the database list and choose Library
Information Science and Technology Abstracts or
McClatchy-Tribune Collection to search these online
resources.
, Library News Web Editor
|
