oct05c2.indd I n t e r n e t R e v i e w s Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost FindArticles. Access: http://www.fi ndarticles. com/. I have always enjoyed finding a tool in my garage that hasn’t been used in a long time. The other day I was reminded of this while helping a student with an unusual topic. Most academic librarians forget that there are a num­ ber of free article sites in addition to databases from vendors such as EBSCO or Proquest. One of the more valuable free sites is FindArticles from LookSmart. Originating in 2001 as a partnership be­ tween LookSmart, which provided the search infrastructure, and the Gale Group, which provided the published editorial content, FindArticles has managed to steadily increase in size. From just over 300 titles in 2001, it now contains articles from more than 900 maga­ zines and journals that date back to 1998. Publications and subjects are organized by major categories, such as “Arts & Entertain­ ment,” “Automotive, Business & Finance,” “Computers & Technology,” “Health & Fit­ ness,” “Home & Garden,” “News & Society,” “Reference & Education,” and “Sports.” Users can also browse by journal titles, which in­ clude everything from the Academy of Market­ ing Science Review to Thrasher Magazine. Over the years, the search interface and retrieval capabilities have been improved. Results may be sorted by relevance, date, and length; this really helps to sort out the bothersome press releases one typically fi nds in a free resource. Not all changes to the site have been for the better, though. A linked list of terms used to appear at the top of articles, and that was a helpful feature for users. All of the articles are in text format, so there are no PDF files or graphics available. Ads appear within delineated areas of searching; Joni R. Roberts is associate university librarian for public ser vices and collec tion development at Willamette University, e-mail: jroberts@willamette. edu, and Carol A. Drost is associate university librarian for technical services at Willamette University, e-mail: cdrost@willamette.edu the advertising is not overbearing, but after a while users may feel a new appreciation for subscription databases. For the majority of users in academic librar­ ies, FindArticles is probably not the fi rst place to begin their search. The collection’s strength is its trade­based journals, which can make it an ideal resource for students looking for specific topics that the other larger databases may not cover, especially in business and education. With its broad scope, FindArticles is a great alternative to the major subscription databases, particularly for those hard­to­an­ swer questions. And unlike the other tools, it’s a lot cheaper.—Bill G. Kelm, Willamette University, bkelm@willamette.edu AmericanPresident.org. Access: http:// americanpresident.org/. The Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia maintains “the most com­ prehensive non­partisan resource available on the history and function of the American presidency.” An editorial board made up of leading scholars in political science and his­ tory oversees the site. A number of consulting editors have also examined specialized content within their fields of expertise. The result is a quality site offering a wealth of up­to­date information. The site is organized into two main areas, “Presidency in History” and “Presidency in Action.” Included under the former heading is biographical material on each of the 43 presidents together with their First Ladies, cabinet members, staffs, and key events of their administrations. “Presidency in Action” is divided into domestic policy, economic policy, legislative affairs, national security, presidential politics, government administration, and White House administration. The pages are laid out topically making it quite simple to locate rel­ evant material even without resorting to the site’s search function. Changing online exhibits cover various aspects of the presidency. A highlight at the October 2005 679 C&RL News http:americanpresident.org http:AmericanPresident.org mailto:bkelm@willamette.edu mailto:cdrost@willamette.edu http:http://www.fi time of this review was the “Jimmy Carter Oral History Project,” featuring interviews with more than 50 key members of Carter’s administration. Selected transcripts are available through the Web site and plans are underway to offer some of the interviews as streaming media. A second exhibit on the resignation of Richard Nixon links to another site at the Miller Center. It was difficult to access as the main link erroneously pointed to an e­mail form while a subsidiary link led to a timed redirect. Aside from two minor typographical errors and blank biography pages for several minor presidential assistants, these were the only problems noted. Detailed information on various White House offices are among the strengths of the site as this information is hard to find in one place. The researcher can quickly scan the listed departments, pick one of interest, and access relevant material, including a brief description of the office’s purpose and func­ tion and key personnel positions. Most of this information is not readily available on the official White House Web site. Most pages include links for printing and e­mailing content. All pages include standard­ ized links to a search function, a contact form for requesting additional information, and updates on new material. Many articles have bibliographical references for those desiring more detailed information. The site is an excellent resource for anyone seeking information about the American presi­ dency. It will be especially useful as a reference source for college students and librarians.— Mark A. Stoffan, Western North Carolina Library Network, mstoffan@wncln.lib.unca.edu NYPL Digital. Access: http://www.nypl. org/digital/. NYPL Digital is the gateway to digital information representing the extraordinary collections of the New York Public Library. Through this rich and extensive site, visitors gain access to collections of historic maps, photographs, illustrated books, illuminated manuscripts, sound files, and more. NYPL Digital’s homepage connects visitors to several large, searchable image databases such as “In Motion: The African­American Migration Experience” and the “Mid­Manhattan Picture Collection” in addition to a number of online exhibitions, Web sites, finding aids, and eBooks. Federated searching is not available at this time so single searches across all the collections is not possible. The site’s home page links directly to the new award­winning NYPL Digital Gallery, an image database hosting 337,000 images from both primary sources and a variety of printed resources from the library’s collections. Images in the NYPL Digital Gallery can be searched by broad topical categories or browsed by names or subjects or individual library centers and divisions. Library collections continue to be added to the NYPL Digital Gallery with the goal of eventually exceeding more than a half­million images. Under “Your Digital Library,” users can ac­ cess a list of digitized collections with a short description of each. Visitors can then link to a list of “Searchable Collections,” “Online Exhibi­ tions,” or “Collections by Subject.” “News & Projects” is a list of short articles concerning new digitization projects from the library. An FAQ has also been provided that gives users helpful information on searching capabilities and procedures for reproducing images. The “New and Noteworthy” section of the homepage appears to be more of the same in­ formation already provided under “News and Projects”—internal and external articles about the library’s new digital collections. The library clearly has plenty to boast about, however, and providing more than one way to promote its new digital collections is understandable. Given the richness and breadth of the New York Public Library collections, this site is a genuine pleasure to wander through. It contains good, helpful information about the collections, as well as useful guides for navi­ gating the sight itself. For those of us unable to physically experience the vast collections of the library, NYPL Digital is a true gift. The site is beautifully designed, simple to navigate, and encourages long, uninterrupted perusals. —Sarah Goodwin Thiel, University of Kansas, sgthiel@ku.edu C&RL News October 2005 680 mailto:sgthiel@ku.edu http://www.nypl mailto:mstoffan@wncln.lib.unca.edu