the National Jukebox at the Library of Congress represents one of the largest online collections of early-twentieth-century acoustical sound recordings. Since its initial launch in 2011, the National Jukebox has grown to include more than 16,000 recordings from the Victor, Columbia, and Harmony labels, made up of contributions from organizations…

It is difficult to overstate the power of visual images, particularly historical primary source photos, to provide a window into the past. Here, the authors outline how educators can utilize historic photos to provide students with a deeper understanding of the past. When students do not see their heritage and culture represented in images, the…

Recent years have seen an explosion of the number of institutions involved in or beginning to think about web archiving. Many National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) members, as well as other universities, historical societies, and state and local governments, have recognized the need for and importance of preserving a variety of web content…

This article presents reports from the 2011 Missouri Library Association Annual Conference held on October 5-7, 2011. The first report, entitled "Online Information Literacy Instruction: Challenges and Strategies," was presented by Kristine Stewart and Kyle Denlinger, University of Missouri-Columbia. Stewart and Denlinger talk about…

English teachers continually seek ways to offer students quality texts to support the development of individual voices within the context of a dynamic, democratic culture. This article discusses how blog use, promoting choices, and presenting students with literature that changed a nation show them how to find their voices in a democratic…

In 2005 and 2006 the National Library of Australia (NLA) carried out two whole-domain web harvests which complement the selective web archiving approach taken by PANDORA. Web harvests of this size pose significant challenges to their use. Despite these challenges, such harvests present fascinating research opportunities. The NLA has provided…

This article starts with the view that most poets believe that poetry should be understandable and accessible to everyone. The article then introduces the poetry and ideas of Ted Kooser, a famous poet born in Iowa. Following the stories of Ted Kooser, the article introduces what a poet laureate is, how long they serve, how they are chosen, how…

Australia does not have a conventional prime ministerial library to honour its longest serving prime minister, Sir Robert Menzies. This paper outlines the alternative memorials established by the Menzies Foundation including the creation of the Menzies Virtual Museum website. (Contains 8 notes.)

Virtual library? Electronic library? Digital library? Online information network? These all apply to the growing number of Web-based resource collections managed by consortiums of state library entities. Some, like "INFOhio" and "KYVL" ("Kentucky Virtual Library"), have been available for a few years, but others are just starting. Searching for…

The New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) is coming back from Hurricane Katrina--thanks to the State Library of Louisiana, NOPL in mid-September set up a temporary web site (nutrias.org). Unfortunately like many libraries in the Gulf region, it sustained significant damage and retained hope for renewal. This article reports the extent of damage…

The American Civil War, the War between the States, War of the Rebellion, the Second American Revolution, and the War of Southern Independence are all names for the bloodiest conflict in American history. That war of many names has inspired authors to write thousands of books and articles. With the advent of the Internet came a plethora of Web…

The number of state virtual libraries is rapidly expanding. These virtual libraries might include collections of subscription databases; state weblinks and resources; digital collections of primary source documents; and a state union catalog or links to school, public, and academic library catalogs. Most of these virtual libraries include an…

Expanded newborn screening programs and subsequent detection of rare genetic disorders challenge parents and their medical providers to learn about the treatment and management of these disorders. Many people seek medical information on the Internet but may encounter requests for registration or fees, or find that resources are out of date,…

The National Archives of Australia holds the papers of many of "Australia's Prime Ministers," including Bruce, Lyons, Curtin, Chifley, Holt, Whitlam, Fraser, Hawke, Keating and Howard. From 2000 it undertook a four-year Prime Ministers' Papers Project to locate the records of all 25 men who have held the position of Prime Minister of…

Includes annual reports from 12 federal agencies and libraries that discuss security, budgets, legislation, digital projects, preservation, government role, information management, personnel changes, collections, databases, financial issues, services, administration, Web sites, access to information, customer service, statistics, international…