Documenting the American South. Access: http://docsouth.unc.edu/index.html.

Tom Sommer, University of Nevada, Las Vegas,thomas.sommer@unlv.edu

If you’re interested in researching the American South, then the University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill has an extensive digital collection for you. Documenting the American South is a fascinating digital collection that is geared towards K–12 and college-level students and teachers. The collection provides its users a variety of sources ranging from texts, images, and other materials that originate from various libraries of the UNC. These materials provide a springboard into several aspects of the American South and the Tar Heel State.

The site’s main menu is located at the top of the homepage, offering links to several pages including: “Collections,” “Subjects,” and “Geographic.” The “Collections” page contains information regarding the primary sources for the literature, history, and culture of the American South. Each collection provides an index so that the user can easily locate different types of information pertaining to the topic. For example, the collection entitled “The Church in the Southern Black Community” lists autobiographies, biographies, and encyclopedias.

The “Subjects” page provides an index to a list of Library of Congress subject headings. Each item within Documenting the American South has been assigned a subject heading from this list. It is an expedient way to locate information within this collection.

The “Geographic” page is a wonderful resource for accessing materials related to specific states and North Carolina counties. Each link listed at the top of this page takes you to interactive U.S. and North Carolina county maps. Clicking on a location within one of these maps will take you to a list of links. These links provide access to various resources (i.e., illustrations, photographs, and oral history interviews) related to either a particular U.S. state or a county within North Carolina.

The Web site’s overall design is very easy to navigate. Whether you’re a first-time user or a pro, this site has been designed in such a way that you can locate material quickly.

Documenting the American South digital collection is informative and user-friendly, providing access to a rich resource for history of the American South. Students and faculty from a variety of disciplines will find this site useful.

The Environmental Illness Resource. Access: http://www.ei-resource.org/.

Patricia Green, Conestoga College,PGreen@conestogac.on.ca

The founder of the Environmental Illness Resource site, Matthew Hogg, describes it as an information resource and interactive community site for people suffering from a range of chronic illnesses, including chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity, and allergies.

Much of the content on the site is authored by Hogg and based on his research and readings. The articles are clear and well written but frequently lack references, making it difficult for a visitor to locate the original sources.

An advisory board added in 2006 includes two individuals with doctorates, one of whom is also a naturopathic doctor. However, it isn’t clear how much of a role this board has in reviewing content.

The Illness Overviews section is well authored. Again, additional references would be helpful for visitors who would like to locate original information sources. Visitors looking for illness overviews may be better served by the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus site.

“Illness Research” provides a nice tool for visitors who are not adept at searching journal literature. Citations and abstracts for articles are presented.

As with many consumer health sites, the opportunity to ask questions and share information can be valuable. The site provides a forum area arranged by topic of interest. The responses are clear, thorough, and thoughtful and, in most cases, authored by Hogg. This aspect of the site is beneficial to individuals seeking advice and support when dealing with a frustrating illness as long as the responses are not used as a replacement for medical advice.

The site contains ads running across the top of each page as well as pop up ads linked to various words, which can be distracting. There is an online shop, as well. The expert columns are a nice feature, supplying additional information and insight into these illnesses that may not be found elsewhere.

This site may be valuable to individuals seeking information regarding chronic illnesses. However, without additional referencing and content provision from authoritative sources, the site is best suited for consumer health research, rather than academic level research.

Union of Concerned Scientists. Access: http://www.ucsusa.org/.

Linda Maddux, Reed College,madduxl@reed.edu

Since its creation in 1969 by MIT faculty and students, Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has become an influential nonprofit partnership of scientists and citizens responsible for scientific research and influencing public policy. It should be noted that the organization has a definite bias, although the bias is made clear through the information on the site.

To learn more about the organization, its mission and its history, the “About Us” section includes the complete text of the 1968 founding document and a timeline of the group’s accomplishments. There is also a list of jobs and internships within the organization and links to financial information and annual reports. There is a complete list, with credentials, of the organization’s board members and its staff.

The “Action Center” is a useful collection of resources designed to help both established and new activists. Information about the UCS current activist efforts is available with a collection of their “success stories.”

Of real value to librarians is the content available for each of the areas of focus (“Scientific Integrity,” “Global W arming,” “Clean Vehicles,” “Clean Energy,” “Nuclear Power,” “Nuclear Weapons and Global Security,” “Food and Agriculture,” and “Invasive Species”). Organized by topic, the user should have no problem navigating the resources. For example, “Scientific Integrity” includes a summary of the organization’s position, examples of areas of need, potential solutions, an overview of recent successes of the UCS in this area, an analysis of the need, an overview of campaigns currently underway, and other resources for information. In addition, the staff for each program is available to lend a level of authority to the content.

A publications list is available, with many of the UCS reports being available for free. Other sections where resources and research is available include the “News Center” and the “Policy Center.” The “News Center” contains recent UCS press releases and published commentary on the issues. The “Policy Center” is a one-stop collection of policy updates, background and testimony on proposals, and collections of fact sheets and letters.

Students and faculty interested in science-related policy issues will find this site worthwhile.