Web Resources – Page 2

Film & Television Literature Index

May 18, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

Are you looking for film or television reviews? Or maybe you’re convinced that some scholar, somewhere, must have written a critical analysis of Mad Men (spoiler alert: they have).

Look no further than Film & Television Literature Index (with Full Text!) for this information and so much more. Using the standard EBSCOhost interface, Film & Television Literature Index is a fantastic database for film and television research. In addition to reviews and critical papers, you’ll find articles on cinematography, production, screenwriting, and preservation/restoration.

Explore Film & Television Literature Index now (or learn more about it).

JSTOR Daily: For All the JSTOR Fans

April 14, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

We know there are die-hard JSTOR fans out there, and apparently, so does JSTOR. In an effort to merge current events with JSTOR-housed scholarship, everyone’s favorite archival scholarly database has created the JSTOR Daily, a magazine that publishes daily blog posts, weekly features, and a biweekly newsletter to “provide the backstory to complex issues of the day.”

It’s an interesting resource that could serve as a source of research ideas for students or even a teaching tool for faculty interested in finding links between news, current events, and academic scholarship. Take a look at some of their recent posts:

You can learn more about JSTOR Daily, subscribe to their biweekly newsletter, or follow them via RSS Feed, Facebook, or Twitter.

Happy Birthday Rosa Parks

February 18, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

Rosa Parks in November 1956
Photograph: Photographer not identified/Library of Congress

February is Black History Month, and while we all take time to recognize and reflect upon our nation’s history, present, and future, we can also make Black History Month come alive thanks to the Library of Congress. Today (February 4) would have been Rosa Parks’ 102nd birthday, and surely not by coincidence, an exhibit of her letters and photographs opens at the Library of Congress.

Selections from the 10,000 item collection will be available for public viewing on the first floor of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building from March 2 – 30, and then will be included in the current exhibition The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle For Freedom, which is open through September 12, 2015 on the second floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building. Both exhibits are open Monday – Saturday from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM.

Pictures of some of the items are available here from The Guardian (full article here) and just from these few pictures, the breadth of the collection is astonishing: there are images of poll tax receipts, a Presidential Medal of Honor, a pancake recipe, and even a letter complaining about not being allowed in the library. Rosa Parks’ act of refusing to give up her seat on the bus is well-known throughout our country – it is rightfully regarded as a seminal moment in not only the civil rights movement, but the whole of U.S. history. To be able to see her thoughts and words in her own handwriting provides a stark perspective of what led her to strike one of the first blows against Jim Crow. Looking at and reading these documents allows us to appreciate the immense significance and courage of her actions – not just on that day in December 1955, but in the ensuing decades until her passing in 2005.

If you can’t make it up to D.C. to view the exhibit, fear not – the Library of Congress will be posting some of the collection online later this year. And you can always check out some of the SMCM Library’s materials about Rosa Parks and the larger U.S. civil rights movement.

-Conrad Helms

LACMA’s Works of Art Online

May 14, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

Sous-Bois by Paul Cezanne, courtesy of the LACMA digital collection

Earlier this year the Los Angeles County Art Museum revamped their website to include a searchable collection of over 20,000 downloadable images of artwork in their collection that are in the public domain. These are high resolution images, folks! The quality is outstanding and the search interface is fantastic. In just 5 minutes I’ve manage to pull up Magritte’s The Treachery of Images (This is not a pipe), Renoir’s Two Girls Reading, and examples of 15th century Islamic calligraphy.

This is an excellent resource for art students, researchers, or simply art enthusiasts. Enjoy!

The Debut of the Digital Public Library of America

May 6, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

George Thomas Library – Medical Librarian
University of Utah

April 18, 2013, marked the debut of the DPLA, the Digital Public Library of America. You’ve never heard of the DPLA? You’re not alone. Lots of librarians have been reading and hearing about it since October 2010 when a group of 40 leaders from libraries, universities and foundations met to try to make the dream of a free, digital public library a reality.

The DPLA has ambitious goals to create “an open, distributed network of comprehensive online resources that would draw on the nation’s living heritage from libraries, universities, archives, and museums in order to educate, inform, and empower everyone in current and future generations.” Did they succeed?

The DPLA received important grant funding and formed important partnerships with organizations like the National Archives, the N.Y. Public Library, and the Smithsonian Institute to name a few. That means you can search the DPLA website to access digital collections at all of the partner institutions. Search by exhibit collection, place, timeline, or date.

Check out an exhibit on Activism in the USA or Parks and Public Spaces. Check out how many items are dated from the year you were born by using the timeline (11,750 from my birth year – see if you can find it).

Is the DPLA finished? Does it have “everything”? Even if we could figure out what “everything” is that wouldn’t be likely. And not everything accessible through searches in the DPLA is in the public domain so user still have to be sure they comply with copyright laws. But – it is the auspicious beginning of portal to a wide variety of important, historical, and really interesting books, historical records, images, and audiovisual materials. It might lead you to materials that can help you with that next project . . . or help you find a way to send a rainy afternoon. Check it out.

Russia, 100 years ago – in color

January 28, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

While we’re on the topic of history, I’d like to take a moment to tell you about one of my favorite historical image collections: the Prokudin-Gorskii exhibit at the Library of Congress.

Beginning in 1909, a Russian photographer named Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii was given, by Tsar Nicholas II, an “all-access” pass (in order to be permitted to enter otherwise restricted areas) and a railroad car outfitted with a darkroom so that he could travel throughout the Russian Empire and document it with color photos. For most of the next six years, he traveled extensively throughout Russia – ending up with well over 3,000 negatives. Some 2,600 of these negatives were purchased by the Library of Congress in 1948 from Prokudin-Gorskii’s heirs, and they are now available for viewing on the web.

These photos provide a striking glimpse into all aspects of life in Russia in the very early part of the 20th century. From the decadent opulence of the royal palaces and the stunning architecture of Russia’s cathedrals and churches to panoramic views of towns and portraits of rural farmworkers, these vivid color photographs provide a fascinating insight to Russian life 100 years ago.

These photographs were taken on the eve of World War I and very shortly before the Russian Revolution – they are images of a country that was about to be changed forever. The juxtaposition of these tranquil images and the chaos that was to immediately follow adds to the mystique of this collection – they depict a way of life that is long gone from the Western world.

In addition to the photos themselves, the exhibit website provides biographical information about the photographer; details about the techniques and equipment used to take the photos and the processes used to restore and digitize them (Prokudin designed his own camera); and provides historical information and context for the images. In addition, the images are organized by subject area (Architecture, People at Work, Ethnic Diversity, Transportation, etc).

I know that everyone has a lot of homework to do, but if you get a chance I highly recommend taking a few minutes to travel back in time and peruse this collection. You won’t regret it. If this exhibit piques your interest about Russia (or anything else!) then feel free to check out some of the Library’s databases or stop by and see us – we’re always glad to lend a hand to your research.

Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii, from the Library of Congress exhibit