march06c.indd I n t e r n e t R e v i e w s Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost Western Waters Digital Library. Access: http://www.westernwaters.org. Water resources have long been viewed as precious commodities in the Western United States. Representing the result of a two­year Institute of Museum and Library Services grant, the Western Waters Digital Library (WWDL) Web site features the col­ laborative effort of 12 university libraries in eight western states to provide key primary sources relating to the Columbia, Colorado, Platte, and Rio Grande Rivers. The WWDL homepage offers straight­ forward access to a wealth of digitized col­ lections. Visitors to the site can select quick searching options from the upper menu bar by choosing one of four categories: text, images, video, and audio. But new users will benefit most by choosing “Guide to the Collections,” which offers an overview of the profusion of available resources. Searchers can then select from five main collections: the Columbia, Colorado, Platte, and Rio Grande River Basins, as well as “Regional Resources.” Within each collection are specifi c digitized materials, such as “Cloud Seeding Docu­ ments” and “Early Las Vegas.” Historic maps and photographs are abundant, as well as digitized government documents, such as hydrology reports, flood damage summaries, and wildlife guides. Drop­down menus offer users the chance to browse by the following categories: “People,” “Places,” “Collections,” or “Subject.” Topics range from reclamation to fishing industries to water rights. 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 images and text of these primary sources are high quality, and the navigation tools are fairly straightforward. Users can search, view results, and then customize by setting preferences or go a step further to manipulate images for comparing and contrasting the materials. An online tutorial is available for detailed software and proce­ dural instructions. In addition to the wealth of digitized images and primary documents, students and researchers will appreciate the bibliographies of suggested readings and the list of links to other water resource organizations. The WWDL is a valuable resource for those studying such scientifi c fields as hydrol­ ogy and geology as well as environmental impact issues. But the digital material cov­ ers more, and thus will appeal to a wider audience. Legal documents, such as treaties and interstate compacts, as well as historical exploration sources, such as overland trail diaries, can also be found in this impressive resource collection. Visitors to this digital library will fi nd a well­organized, fascinating regional archive, including extras such as video and audio components; recommended for academic library users.—Barbara Hillson, George Mason University Libraries Google Earth. Access: http://earth.google. com. “Explore, Search and Discover”—that’s what the folks from Google say you can do with Google Earth, and that’s exactly what it allows you to do. With Google Earth you can view most locations on the earth’s surface from any angle and from any distance. It’s as if you’re flying through the air above the planet’s surface and, with the click of the mouse, you can zoom in and begin exploring. Google Earth allows you to add additional information to the images by selecting vari­ ous preferences. These additional layers of information include political boundaries; transportation 184C&RL News March 2006 http://earth.google mailto:cdrost@willamette.edu http:http://www.westernwaters.org arteries; postal code information; hotel, restaurant, school, retail outlet, and bank locations; and earthquake sites. Limited census data (such as family income and population) is also provided for selected American cities. Google Earth claims to provide 3­D satel­ lite imagery for the entire earth; however, most of the detailed information described above is primarily available for large North American urban centers. There does seem to be some information provided for a few places in Europe, Australia, and Asia. Google Earth requires more than a basic browser; a separate client must be down­ loaded to view the images. The Google Earth FAQ provides detailed information pertaining to minimum system requirements. Although these requirements are fairly standard, users must have access to a high­ speed network, otherwise the amount of time required to generate images becomes impossibly slow. In locations where the in­ systems tool is somewhat limited, Google Earth is extremely useful for gathering geographical background information on specific locations, vacation planning, and general exploratory and discovery endeav­ ors.—Jennifer McKinnell, McMaster University, mckinn@mcmaster.ca Center for Public Integrity. Access: http:// www.publicintegrity.org/. The subheading on this site’s banner, “In­ vestigative Journalism in the Public Interest,” describes perfectly the intent of its provider. The nonprofi t, nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity provides research and reporting on public policy issues related to the United States. It also offers similar coverage for is­ sues that affect the rest of the world through the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, an affiliated project that shares the center’s watchdog style of journalism. formation is available, Google Earth allows you to investigate communities that you might be planning to visit or live. In some instances, the level of detail provides a good feel for street layout, vegetation cov­ erage, building characteristics, and amenity locations. The data used to create the images in Google Earth come from a variety of different unnamed sources and seems to be woven together at different scales and resolutions. As a result, the images are sometimes out of date and difficult to read. In some areas the resolution is so finely detailed that individual buildings, streets, and trees can be seen clearly from as close as 400 feet above the earth’s surface. In most other areas of the world, the imagery starts to blur once you drop below 50,000 to 30,000 feet. The Google Earth client is available in three different versions for both PC and Mac: Google Earth (free), Google Earth Plus ($20), and Google Earth Pro ($400). Although its scholarly value as a geographic information From the homepage, users are offered ac­ cess to a variety of resources. Current lines of research, under the heading “Latest Reports,” are featured. Topics of current interest featured during the time of this review include the Abramoff scandal, a related inquiry into Tom Delay’s and other Congressmen’s acceptance of corporate money, and two related reports dealing with political patronage and personal fi ­ nancial records among state utility commissions. Links to information pages associated with each report, such as statistical tables, related reports, and listings of appropriate Congressional and government contact information are listed in a menu to the left of the text. In the column on the left, users will fi nd other “Featured Projects,” among which are ongoing reports related to Hurricane Katrina, Iraq/Afghanistan contracts, and a series of articles relating to the pharmaceutical indus­ try. Links to these and other projects are also available from “Projects” at the top of the page. “Research Tools” provides background (continued on page 191) March 2006 185 C&RL News http:www.publicintegrity.org mailto:mckinn@mcmaster.ca raised the profile of the library throughout the health campus. All of these efforts have strengthened the library’s role as the primary health information resource in Iowa and as a nationally recognized leader in innovation and service. Sayre was a respected and re­ vered colleague who took a special interest in acting as a mentor to new librarians. She held numerous offices within the Medical Library Association and was recently honored with an “Improving Our Workplace” award from the university, as well as a special citation from the governor honoring her “work for the state of Iowa.” (“Reviews” continued from page 185) sources for these topics of investigation. De­ pending on the topic, archives are available as far back as 1997. Site searching is available, allowing users to more easily locate topics of interest. Some projects provide more specialized search options; for example, the lobbying project allows searching by company, lobbyist, lob­ bying firm, or agency involved. The sitemap link provides a complete list of reports and resources. The center’s reporting strength lies in its continuing investigation of ongoing issues, with updates collected in a single thread. Topics discussed may evolve over a period of several years, yet this resource provides a single point for tracing the history of any given subject. This site is highly recommended for those interested in investigative journal­ ism and issues in contemporary poli­ tics.—Ford Schmidt, Willamette University, fschmidt@willamette.edu March 2006 191 C&RL News mailto:fschmidt@willamette.edu