ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Internet Reviews

Sara Amato is automated systems librarian at Central Washington University; samato@tahoma.cwu.edu

Sara Amato, editor

Fourth World Documentation Project (FWDP). Access:http:// www.halcyon.com/ FWDP/fwdp.html.

This award-winning site was organized in 1992, by the Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS), an independent, nonprofit research and education organization established in 1979 by the Conference of Tribal Governments Center to foster understanding of indigenous peoples through the publication and distribution of literature. The FWDP’s noteworthy Board of Directors and Founding Advisory Board reflect the diversity of indigenous peoples. The mission of the project is to “document and make available … important documents relating to the social, political, strategic, economic, and human rights situations faced by Fourth World nations.”

FWDP provides an online library of more than 500 texts, including documents from the World Council of Indigenous Peoples, the National Congress of American Indians, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, the Conference of Tribal Governments, the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Peoples (UNWGIP), tribal governments, indigenous organizations, and treaties.

The search facility is particularly useful. A sample search of the site immediately revealed a score of documents about the Lakota and none about the Pima. The search can be limited to all or part of the database and Boolean operators can be used. A button bar also provides links to information about the FWDP, background on the CWIS, how to submit materials, how to order CWIS publications, and links to other indigenous resources.

Coverage of geographic areas is not equal in this site. For example, among the U.S. documents, there are a disproportionate number of documents relating to North-west tribes. There is nothing on the Zapatista movement in Mexico, while there are many documents about the indigenous peoples of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. This may be remedied over time as new materials are added; there is a page inviting indigenous governments and organizations to submit documents.

There are some real treats in this site including texts of 19th-century treaties, the Constitution of the Hawai’ian Nation, and the Fourth World Journal, a quarterly e-journal. This site should be bookmarked by all Web users with research interests in political science, international studies, and indigenous rights.—Mary Jane Cedar Face, Southern Oregon State College; Cedatface@ wpo.sosc.osshe.edu

Annual Reviews Sociology On-line. Access:http://www.annurev.org/soc/home.htm. Founded as a nonprofit scientific publisher dedicated to providing critical reviews of current research literature, Annual Reviews has distinguished itself as a vital resource within scientific and academic communities. Annual Reviews Sociology, now in its 22nd year, is one of a series of 26 publications produced by Annual Reviews. Other titles range from political science to life and physical sciences in biology and astronomy.

As the first publication within the Annual Reviews family to have an Internet site, Annual Reviews Sociology On-line is essentially a mechanism to provide visitors with the ability to purchase full-text articles from the print version of Annual Reviews Sociology. Given only the ability to view an abstract, visitors may purchase the full text of an article for $5.

Articles in Annual Reviews Sociology are grouped in general classifications, such as social process, urban and rural sociology, and historical sociology. Articles tend to be less quantitative than articles published in the American Sociological Review. A commitment to provide analysis of timely issues is evident in recent articles concerning environmental sociology, white-collar crime, and family violence. Annual Reviews Sociology contributors are generally sociologists and other social scientists from related disciplines.

Somewhat misleading is a statement on the homepage saying that full-text articles are available from 1993 to 1996.

What this actually means is that the full text of articles from 1993 to 1996 may be searched by keyword or concept but only the abstract of an article will be yielded. The entire database offers abstracts to articles from 1984 to 1996.

Overall, this site has a relatively clean and welcoming appearance, wisely choosing to avoid the current trend of garish themes in Web page design. Targeted specifically for academics and researchers in the sociology community, Annual Reviews Sociology Online will serve as a valuable resource for those desiring to keep abreast of current research literature in sociology.—Dennis Krieb, St. Charles County Community College; dkrieb@ scccc.stchas.edu

The Globewide Network Academy (GNA). Access:http://www.gnacademy.org. You can now get a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young, take accounting at Cornell, or work toward your MBA at Auburn without leaving home. These and hundreds of other academic institutions throughout the world are offering distance education courses and degree programs at a variety of levels in the widest possible range of subject areas.

GNA is a clearinghouse of information relating to this growing trend in education. It is a volunteer collaborative effort formed to meet the information needs of this new population of students, educators, and academic support providers. The Web site offers dynamic information resources and online communication forums as it seeks to link this community.

The main feature of the site is an extensive catalog of distance learning programs and courses offered throughout the world. The database contains listings, descriptions, and links to more than 9,000 courses and 500 degree programs offered by nearly 400 institutions. The catalog can be searched by keyword and browsed by subject and institution. Each listing provides a brief description of the course or program and hyperlinks directly to the institution for detailed program and registration information. The creators have provided several helpful interactive features that aid in the organization, maintenance, and accuracy of the resource including the ability to register new distance education programs and to securely edit and update catalog information.

For the distance educator, the GNA site provides a “Teachers Lounge” and the “World Lecture Hall.” In these areas users can access a wide variety of useful materials and links including online course materials, textbooks, lectures, and courseware. Perhaps the most impressive component of the lounge area is the “Hypernews” discussion. “Hypernews” is run on GNA-developed software allowing users to post messages and documents while providing a place for instructors to post course materials and texts. Incorporating elements of traditional listserv and usenet discussion groups, “Hypernews” captures, sorts, and displays discussion message threads in a unique, useful, and organized presentation. At this writing, discussion topics ranged from “Implementing a Virtual Classroom” to “Composition in Cyberspace” to “Cybercheating.”

The overall presentation of the site is functional but less polished and attractive than it might be. Future plans include an improved user interface and cleaner classification of courses. The organization is calling for volunteer librarians to aid in classification and to field e-mail reference questions.

This site can be a valuable resource to librarians in two significant ways. First, it is a comprehensive, current resource listing and guide to distance education programs and courses that outperforms similar print reference sources in its ability to collect data and deliver current information. Second, it serves as an online tool through which we have an opportunity to offer and share library services. As librarians faced with yet another challenge brought about by technology, we cannot fail to appreciate the largely successful efforts of an organization whose slogan is “helping distance learners find what they are looking for.”—Mark A. Smith, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, fsmithm@bigvax.alfred.edu ■