Internet Reviews

Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost

Joni R. Roberts is associate university librarian for public services and collection development at Willamette University, email: jroberts@willamette.edu, and Carol A. Drost is associate university librarian for technical services at Willamette University, email: cdrost@willamette.edu

Alaska’s Digital Archives. Access: http://vilda.alaska.edu/.

Alaska’s Digital Archives supports the instructional and research needs of Alaskans and others interested in Alaskan history and culture. The database provides online access to a wide range of historic resources from institutions across the state. Thousands of items, in a variety of formats, including photographs, film and media, maps, texts, and oral histories, can be searched through a simple or advanced mechanism that allows users to peruse a broad range of topics covering multiple centuries and locations.

Alaska’s Digital Archives is a consortium of several different Alaskan institutions. It is a single, straightforward, and easy-to-use resource for institutions across this state to share their historical resources. The University of Alaska Fairbanks and Anchorage campuses, and the Alaska State Archives and Library are major contributors, along with a growing number of libraries, museums, and archives. Unique primary resources are accessible through the creation of medium- to high-quality digital files and descriptive metadata records. Users can search across all collections and can limit their search to particular institutions. Search results allow users to take a close look at photographs or listen to oral histories and learn about rich cultural traditions that have been followed and revered for hundreds of years.

Navigational tabs across the top of each screen provide consistency and ease of navigation for visitors. From the home tab users can access the individual pages of participating institutions and browse or search the digital items contributed by each. The homepage also links to “Alaska Native History and Cultures” and “Movement to Statehood.” Each provides rich and comprehensive information, images, and texts, as well as a timeline. The FAQ tab is also helpful, reminding users of searching capabilities, how to find rights and conditions of use information for each participating institution, and troubleshooting information.

Alaska’s Digital Archives brings historic resources from the collections of several libraries, museums, and archives together into one easily searchable location. This rich tool allows learners of all ages to browse historic photos, read letters, listen to actual voices, and get a close-up, comprehensive, and personal look at Alaskan history.—Sarah Goodwin Thiel, University of Kansas Libraries, sgthiel@ku.edu

Clinton Digital Library. Access: https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/.

The purpose of Clinton Digital Library is to provide open access to digitized documents and artifacts held at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. As with 13 other officially sanctioned repositories in the nationwide network of presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration, the resources made available to teachers, students, and researchers include a vast array of information related to the 42nd President of the United States, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and other White House staff.

Visitors to the easily navigable site have several options for locating items of interest. In the Digital Library Exhibits section, for example, four online displays contain information about the 40th anniversary of the desegregation of Central High, public diplomacy in Northern Ireland, education reform, and popular music in the White House. A link to documents produced by White House staff during the Clinton administration can be found in the “Browse Documents” section of the website, as well as through a “Browse Collections” dropdown menu. Other digitized materials sets include audiovisual interviews and radio broadcasts, along with more than 200 declassified or previously restricted documents, and archived White House websites.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Collection is the largest of this group. It is here that documents on a wide range of foreign and domestic topics, such as Margaret Thatcher, Haitian and Cuban migrants, health care, talk radio, and more are organized and made available. An FAQ section on FOIA requests is provided, as are a number of general and specific finding aids that can be used to more fully explore individual collections. Although presidential libraries are primarily a showcase of accomplishments, documents related to Clinton-era scandals, such as Whitewater, can also be found through a basic keyword search.

While the digital library currently contains more than 700,000 pages of text and other artifacts, it should be noted this amount is less than 1% of the total physical collection. As more material is digitized, often in response to a FOIA request, it will be made available for public and remote access. For students, scholars, and those interested in the workings of the White House from 1993 to 2001, the Clinton Digital Library is an essential but incomplete resource.—Linda Frederiksen, Washington State University-Vancouver, lfrederiksen@wsu.edu

YaleGlobal Online. Access: https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/.

YaleGlobal Online is a publication of the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University that publishes original articles by Yale faculty, world leaders, and top specialists that illuminate some aspect of globalization, defined as the “close interdependence and interconnectedness of the world.” Articles are aimed at an educated but nonexpert global audience. The site also republishes articles deemed important from other publications, adding brief introductory commentary to each selection. It is free and open to the public.

YaleGlobal was started in 2001 as a project of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Since 2013, it has been published by the MacMillan Center, which has existed under various names as a research and education center for international affairs and area studies at Yale since the 1960s. The site includes an archive of materials going back to YaleGlobal’s beginning.

This resource is easily searchable by keyword. Users can also browse the site by “Topics” and “Regions.” The articles have been divided into topics such as “Economy,” “Gender,” “Health,” “Security and Terrorism,” and “Trade,” along with regions, including Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. The articles are displayed in reverse chronological order, and are separated between “Recently in Yale Global” and “In the News.” Each month, the site generally publishes approximately nine original articles and selects another three dozen or more from other sources. Recent articles are about topics such as climate change, black markets, and nuclear weapons.

In addition to articles, the site also contains a number of special reports on subjects such as “Global Economic Crisis,” “The WikiLeaks Saga,” and “World of Surveillance.” There are also archived collections of academic papers, book reviews, and multimedia resources, including podcasts, videos, and webisodes of the online show “The MacMillan Report.” Finally, there is an extensive list of additional resources, such as contributing publications and other academic centers or institutions.

Overall, YaleGlobal Online offers a rich collection of resources on a wide range of timely international topics. It is a valuable and highly recommended tool for researchers and students in international affairs and political science, and for anyone interested in global news and analysis.—Brian T. Sullivan, Alfred University, sullivan@alfred.edu