El Dorado County Library's What's New on the Internet for the Week of May 11th, 2009

What's Hot on the Internet This Week
Week of May 11th, 2009
The arrow indicates a recommended site and a points to a site with local information.

Public Takes Conservative Turn on Gun Control, Abortion:
Americans Now Divided Over Both Issues

This Website provides details about a recent opinion poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press: "Public attitudes on a pair of contentious national issues - gun control and abortion - have moved in a more conservative direction over the past year. In both cases, the changes have been driven in part by relatively large shifts among men, while opinions among women have not changed very much. For the first time in a Pew Research survey, nearly as many people believe it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns (45%) than to control gun ownership (49%). As recently as a year ago, 58% said it was more important to control gun ownership while 37% said it was more important to protect the right to own guns." Read the complete report to see how this change in basic attitudes has occured. (Subject(s): Public Opinion--United States)

2009 H1N1 (Swine) Flu Virus: "FDA is working to address human infection with the 2009 H1N1 flu virus as part of a team led by the Department of Health and Human Services. FDA is responding to this threat by: * working with other government agencies and manufacturers on a series of issues related to antiviral medications * growing the 2009 H1N1 flu virus and preparing to make vaccine seed lots, which may be used eventually to produce a safe and effective vaccine * helping to prepare reagents needed for vaccine production and coordinating closely with other public health agencies for clinical development and testing * accelerating access to new diagnostic tools for this 2009 H1N1 flu virus. To provide the latest information, FDA will update this Web page regularly." (Subject(s): Influenza)
All Cars Electric: This Website is "The complete resource for news, reviews, photos, specs and all other information about all electric car models and their eventual widespread adoption." Included is a blog with comments from industry sources as well as interested electric car enthusiasts and the site's readers. (Subject(s): Automobiles, Electric)
Amphibiaweb: "AmphibiaWeb is an online system that provides access to information on amphibian declines, conservation, natural history, and taxonomy." Currently, the site contains information, data and pictures on 6,486 amphibian species (May 8th, 2009). "AmphibiaWeb is an online system enabling anyone with a Web browser to search and retrieve information relating to amphibian biology and conservation. This site was inspired by the global declines of amphibians, the study of which has been hindered by the lack of multidisplinary studies and a lack of coordination in monitoring, in field studies, and in lab studies. We hope AmphibiaWeb will encourage a shared vision for the study of global amphibian declines and the conservation of remaining amphibians. " (Subject(s): Amphibians)
The Best of Everything: A Joan Crawford Encyclopedia: This Website contains a wealth of information, facts and pictures for the movie actress Joan Crawford. It has: "Joan Crawford from A to Z, with film pages, DVD news, bio, 1000s of photos, vintage ads, magazine articles, family and fan memories, recordings, and much more." For a more thorough examination of her films and her roles in them, visit The Films of Joan Crawford. (Subject(s): Crawford, Joan, 1905-1977)
The Official Home of Bing Crosby: "One of the first multi-media stars, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses. He is usually considered to be among the most popular musical acts in history." This unofficial site contains information, facts and details about the life of one of America's favorite singers and actors. (Subject(s): Crosby, Bing (Harry Lillis), 1903-1977)
Butter Through the Ages: "Butter – the everlasting delight of the gourmand, the faithful ally of the culinary arts, the constant symbol of good living. Through time and across the globe, butter has had a sacred quality. From the ancient Fertile Crescent to the present day, butter has symbolized the powerful, life giving and sacred, the good, the happy, the healthy and pure. It has sustained lives, cultures and civilizations for millennia." This site provides the history of the creamy dish as well as a set of recipes to alight your taste buds. (Subject(s): Butter--History & Butter--Recipes)
CalFlora: "Calflora is 1. a website you can use to learn about plants that grow wild in California (both native plants and weeds); and 2. a nonprofit organization responsible for the website. Calflora is run by some volunteers and one part-time paid engineer." "The database provides: * comprehensive habitat and distribution information for wild plants -- over 10,000 native and introduced species * 800,000 plant location observations * information on over 30,000 relationships between old and new plant names, according to several authorities * access to hundreds of thousands of photographs of California plants in the CalPhotos database (provided in collaboration with Biodiversity Sciences Technology at UC Berkeley) [and] * online tools that help users find, display, and download the information they need." (Subject(s): Wild Flowers--California)
California Public Records: This Website allows users to "Search California public records statewide for vital information such as death, birth and marriage certificates with official government websites. [You can also] Get property information, conduct a business search, verify professional licenses and many other public records available online." (Subject(s): Public Records--California)
CalPhotos: "CalPhotos is a collection of 205,128 photos of plants, animals, fossils, people, and landscapes from around the world. A variety of organizations and individuals have contributed photographs to CalPhotos. Please be aware that these various contributors maintain copyright and follow the usage guidelines provided with each image. " (Subject(s): Photographs--California)
Canada Year Book (CYB) Historical Collection: "Discover Canada's social and economic past through the people, events and facts that have shaped this vast country. Now the wealth of historical data in Statistics Canada's annual Canada Year Book is available free on the Internet in the Canada Year Book Historical Collection. It covers the first century of Canada's history, from 1867 to 1967, with historical text, tables, charts and maps, supplemented by interconnected learning resources for students and teachers." (Subject(s): Canada--History)
The Car Connection: "Get the inside scoop on new cars: car reviews, car photos, test drive results, technical specs and more. Comprehensive car reviews from auto experts. Get expert opinions from new car test drives. Find cool cars and get inside exclusives on hot concept cars, spy shots with auto show blogging coverage and daily automotive industry news." (Subject(s): Automobiles--Purchasing)
Cells Alive: This Website provides teachers, students and visitors access to "An interactive flash animation comparing animal and plant cell organelles." Their site "serve[s] as a valuable complement to lectures by highlighting specific concepts and improving subject retention. Flash Animations help internalize the complex steps of mitosis or meiosis and video clips add the extra punch that makes a student presentation excel." (Subject(s): Biology)
Digital Karnak: "The colossal site of Karnak is one of the largest temple complexes in the world, with an incredibly rich architectural, ritual, religious, economic, social and political history. The Amun-Ra precinct, which includes an astonishing number of individual temples, shrines and processional ways, stands as a micro-cosmos of ancient Egypt. We invite you to experience Karnak – to learn about an ancient site that still resonates today because of its monumental pylons, towering columns, stunning reliefs and architectural marvels. Enter the temple precinct and discover its rich religious, political and architectural history. The Digital Karnak Project was designed and built at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) under the direction of Dr. Diane Favro (director of the ETC) and Dr. Willeke Wendrich (editor-in-chief of the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology)." (Subject(s): Egypt--Antiquities & Egypt--Civilization--To 332 B.C.)
Environment | National Geographic: This site is presented by National Geographic to discuss aspects of the environment through "Science, Global Warming, Natural Disasters, Ecosystems, Green Living." It contains daily news updates on events and discoveries in the world pertaining to the issue. It has info on biofuels, air pollution, the effects of global warming, fuel cells, ozone depletion, tsunamis, volcanoes and for a variety of other topics. (Subject(s): Environment, Global Warming & Science)
Fish and Wildlife Service - Introduction to Bats: "Bats may be the most misunderstood animals in the United States, although as consumers of enormous numbers of insects, they rank among the most beneficial. Almost all United States bats, and 70 percent of the bat species worldwide, feed almost exclusively on insects and are thus extremely beneficial. In fact, bats are the only major predators of night-flying insects. One bat can eat between 600 and 1,000 mosquitoes and other insect pests in just one hour." This Website may help correct the common misconception for bats. For pictures of these remarkable mammals, visit this site from Bat Conservation International (BCI) entitled the BCI Photo Library. (Subject(s): Bats)
Food and Nutrition Information Center: This site has recently been updated by its producers United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of their National Agricultural Library: "The Food and Nutrition Information Center - a leader in food and human nutrition information dissemination since 1971. Provides credible, accurate, and practical resources for nutrition and health professionals, educators, government personnel and consumers. Learn more about FNIC's redesigned Web site." (Subject(s): Food & Nutrition)
From Papyrus to Digital: UCI’s Thesaurus of Ancient Greek Texts: This online exhibit has been produced by The UC Irvine Libraries: "The ancient Greeks produced an immense volume of writing recording the birth and early development of Western literature, science, drama, philosophy and other areas of human endeavor. The Homeric epics, the philosophical writings of Plato and Aristotle, Greek drama, the New Testament, the writings of the Eastern Church Fathers, and the Justinian legal corpus are only a few examples of this extraordinary heritage.... This exhibit first traces the transmission of Greek texts over the past 3,000 years via the array of media, from fragile papyri and stone inscriptions, to medieval manuscripts and printed books, that have been used to distribute and preserve them. Rare books from the 16th to the 21st centuries illustrate the range of printing techniques, translations, scholarly apparatus, and artistic interpretation that have been applied to ancient texts through the centuries." (Subject(s): Writing--History)
Green Car Reports: This Website provides visitors with "The source for info about Green Cars. Get reviews, specs, ratings and pictures for new and used green, electric, smart & hybrid vehicles. Read about Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, Chevy Volt, biodiesel cars, ethanol cars and much more." (Subject(s): Automobiles--Statistics & Environment)

How to Make Compost

This "how-to" guide has been produced as part of the eHow Website. It was written by Willi Galloway, eHow Expert in Home & Garden: "No garden is complete without a compost pile! Compost is a soil conditioner, mulch and fertilizer all wrapped into one. It feeds the soil microorganisms that help plants stay healthy, adds nutrients to the soil, and helps clay soil drain better and sandy soil retain water. Plus, composting reduces your contribution to the waste stream by recycling yard and kitchen waste into the world's best soil amendment. Here's how to build a pile that breaks down fast and never smells bad." For even more information on gardening and on how to prepare your soil for your new plants, visit this site from the Master Composter (Subject(s): Compost & Gardening)

Images from the History of Medicine (IHM): "Images from the History of Medicine (IHM) provides access to nearly 70,000 images in the collections of the History of Medicine Division (HMD) of the U.S National Library of Medicine (NLM). The collection includes portraits, photographs, caricatures, genre scenes, posters, and graphic art illustrating the social and historical aspects of medicine dated from the 15th to 21st century... The purpose of the IHM database is to assist users in finding and viewing visual material for private study, scholarship, and research." (Subject(s): Medicine--Illustrations, Drawings, etc.)
Indianapolis 500: This is the official homepage for the famous Memorial Day Race where you can find "Tickets, news, multimedia, statistics, community, shopping and more from the world's largest and most famous automobile race." Included is information on the cars and drivers, daily reports from the track, news on the qualifying field and pictures and videos of happenings at the track. (Subject(s): Automobile Racing & Indianapolis 500)
KidsGardening!: "Kids gardening explores gardening resources for family, teachers and beginner or experienced gardeners." "We use gardening as a vehicle for encouraging children to make good food choices, augmenting classroom studies with experiential learning, building a love of nature, stimulating social interaction, facilitating cultural exchange, and more." (Subject(s): Gardening)
The Lost Museum of P.T. Barnum: "In 1841 the showman Phineas Taylor Barnum opened his American Museum in New York City. Dominating lower Broadway at Park Row, in no time Barnum's American Museum became the "most visited place in America." For more than twenty years, for six days a week, fifteen hours a day, city slickers and country folk alike flocked to the five-story building to marvel at and mock its myriad of changing attractions. A cornucopia of exhibitions offered visitors, in no particular order, information and entertainment, scientific knowledge and trumped-up fantasy, moral lessons and cruel voyeurism, the sacred and the profane. Shortly after twelve noon on Thursday, July 13, 1865, in one of the most spectacular fires in New York's history, Barnum's American Museum was destroyed." This is a pictorial "re-imagining" of what the Museum looked like when open. (Subject(s): Barnum, P.T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891)
PBS: Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: "In 1851, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton embarked on a collaboration that evolved into one of the most productive working partnerships in U.S. history. As uncompromising women’s rights leaders, they revolutionized the political and social condition of women in American society. Stanton was the leading voice and philosopher of the women’s rights and suffrage movements while Anthony was the powerhouse who commandeered the legions of women who struggled to win the ballot for American women." This site traces the history of the 2 women and explores the beginning of the actions to secure women the right to vote. (Subject(s): Women--History)
Oregon Maps: "Maps are some of the most information-rich documents that we use to communicate to each other. They visually represent not only the physical terrain, but also our impact upon it. This online selection of maps from the Oregon State University and University of Oregon libraries' collections are but a small sample of what is available in either library. Please contact your local librarian for more information regarding these treasured Oregon collections." (Subject(s): Oregon--Maps)
Pakistan - Council on Foreign Relations: "The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries." This Web index brings together many papers and articles written for the CFR on Pakistan. Titles for some of its recent publications include "Building Trust Among Anti-Taliban Allies" and "Pakistan's 'Existential Threat' Comes From Within." (Subject(s): Pakistan--News)
Portals to the World from the Library of Congress: "Portals to the World contain selective links providing authoritative, in-depth information about the nations and other areas of the world. They are arranged by country or area with the links for each sorted into a wide range of broad categories. The links were selected by Area Specialists and other Library staff using Library of Congress selection criteria. When completed, the project will include all the nations of the world." (Subject(s): Searching--Best Subject Indexes)
Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900): "This is a digital archive of primary sources on copyright from the invention of the printing press (c. 1450) to the Berne Convention (1886) and beyond. The UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded the initial phase focusing on key materials from Renaissance Italy (Venice, Rome), France, the German speaking countries, Britain and the United States. For each of these geographical zones/jurisdictions, a national editor has taken responsibility for selecting, sourcing, transcribing, translating and commenting documents. These include privileges, statutes, judicial decisions, contracts and materials relating to legislative history, but also contemporary letters, essays, treatises and artifacts." (Subject(s): Copyright--History)
ShortEnd Magazine | Thoughts on Independent Film: "Launched in April 2007 as a weekly online publication, SM serves to tell stories from the independent and student film communities with an eye toward sharing thoughts and critique about trends within the scene. While SM blatantly embraces subjectivity from its contributors and interviewees, all opinions and ideas shared are solely those of their authors and do not define the parameters of the publication's stance. We welcome dialogue and devil's advocacy of all type in reference to cinema and the production process." (Subject(s): Film, Independent)
The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings: "The Arhoolie Foundation's Strachwitz Frontera Collection of commercially produced Mexican and Mexican-American recordings (the Frontera Collection) is the largest repository of Mexican and Mexican-American vernacular recordings in existence. With funding from Los Tigres del Norte Foundation the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center has sponsored the digitization of the first section of the collection by the Arhoolie Foundation. These performances were recorded primarily in the United States and Mexico and issued on 78 rpm phonograph recordings during the first half of the twentieth century. This vast digitized collection of approximately 30,000 recordings is now available to researchers and the general public." (NOTE: You will need to download and install RealPlayer to play and listen to the recordings available.) (Subject(s): )
Supreme Court Nominations: "On July 1st, 2005, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her resignation from the United States Supreme Court. Described as a swing vote on many contentious Supreme Court issues, her replacement has been the subject of much discussion and conjecture. The July 19th announcement of John G. Roberts, Jr. to replace Justice O'Connor, the President's nomination of Roberts to replace Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, and subsequent nominations of Harriet E. Miers and Samuel A. Alito has heightened the interest in the nominations process, the constitutional advice and consent role of the United States Senate, and the importance of the Judicial Branch." Once again, with the announced resignation of Justice Kennedy, the President and the Congress will begin the nomination and approval process to select a new Justice. So how does the process work? Find out here! For other info, visit this from the Georgetown University Law Library Supreme Court Nominations Research Guide. (Subject(s): Supreme Court)
TheaterMania: This site provides theater ticket and show information for all the major venues, New York, Boston, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago amongst others. You can also find reviews of many of the performances here as well as a list of what plays are opening and closing. (Subject(s): Theater)
Vegetable Gardening Online: "Are you considering vegetable gardening? Would like to feed your family delicious fresh vegetables and save money at the same time? Here are some ideas to help you get started. Everyone can grow some or all of their vegetables in their own back yard or in containers on a patio, porch, or deck. Special indoor vegetable growing systems are available also, where you can grow fresh herbs and vegetables on your kitchen counter. There is plenty of help available to get you started on what can be a very enjoyable and fulfilling experience. What do you need to get started when you are thinking about planting a vegetable garden?" Well, that question is answered here. (Subject(s): Gardening)
The Visual Dictionary: "Visual Dictionary, to learn by way of image with thematic, clear and precise pages, with concise and rigorous texts, multilingual, the InfoVisual will become an academic resource. Different from an encyclopedia or from a traditional online dictionaries, thesauri and glossaries because the images replace the words." Words are defined in three languages: English, French and Spanish. (Subject(s): English Language--Dictionaries, French Language--Dictionaries & Spanish Language--Dictionaries)
The White House on Twitter: "Hey there! Whitehouse is using Twitter. Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Join today to start receiving whitehouse's updates." (Subject(s): Twitter)
CIA - World Leaders: "The CIA publishes and updates the online directory of Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments regularly. The directory is intended to be used primarily as a reference aid and includes as many governments of the world as is considered practical, some of them not officially recognized by the United States. Governments are listed in alphabetical order according to the most commonly used version of each country's name. The spelling of the personal names in this directory follows transliteration systems generally agreed upon by US Government agencies, except in the cases in which officials have stated a preference for alternate spellings of their names." (Subject(s): )

Asia's Next Challenge: Securing the Region's Water Future

An Asia Society Task Force Report April 2009: "The global demand for freshwater is soaring as supply is becoming more uncertain. Today, one out of six people—more than a billion—do not have adequate access to safe water. The United Nations projects that by 2025, half of the countries worldwide will face water stress or outright shortages. By 2050, as many as three out of four people around the globe could be affected by water scarcity. Water-related problems are particularly acute in Asia. Although Asia is home to more than half of the world’s population, it has less freshwater—3,920 cubic meters per person per year—than any continent other than Antarctica. Almost two-thirds of global population growth is occurring in Asia, where the population is expected to increase by nearly 500 million people within the next 10 years. Asia’s rural population will remain almost the same between now and 2025, but the urban population is likely to increase by a staggering 60%... Through this report, the Asia Society’s Leadership Group on Water Security aims to raise awareness of the importance of water as a means of security at multiple levels in Asia." (Subject(s): Water--Asia)


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