ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ May 1998/371 I n t e r n e t R e v i e w s Sara Amato, editor F o u n d atio n C enter. A c c e s s : http:// fdncenter.org/. T he Foundation C enter’s m ission is to dissem inate grant information. In specific, the center offers assistance to grant research­ ers in identifying “appropriate funders and [in] developing targeted p rop osals.” This is accom p lish ed via five Foundation Center libraries located in Atlanta, Cleveland, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. and more than 200 Cooperating Collections across the country, w hich are located in all 50 states (as well as Puerto Rico) and are open to the public. The center estim ates that there are som e 37,500 grant sources avail­ able to individuals and organizations and seeks to act as a gateway to this content. Support sources include independent, co m ­ pany-sponsored, operating, and community- based foundations. Support itself can cover research, travel, co n feren ces, lectureships, internships, p erform ances, and/or ed u ca­ tion— just to name a few. To accom plish this, the cen ter has a vari­ ety o f resources it produces, many o f which are available through the Internet. Many o f the Foundation C enter’s most valuable re­ sources are grouped into the O nline Library, Training and Seminars, Grantm aker Infor­ mation, and Philanthropy News Digest s e c ­ tions available on the hom epage. The Online Library section contains items such as Links to Nonprofit Resources, an O nline O rienta­ tion to Grant Seeking, and a Proposal Writ­ ing Short Course. The Training and Sem i­ nars section contains a list o f Proposal Writ­ ing Seminars, w hich are fee-based seminars designed to cover the basics in various cit­ ies aro u n d th e U nited S ta tes, M eet th e Grantm akers, as well as other w orkshops that cover more advanced material, such as effective grant negotiation. The Grantm aker s e c tio n in c lu d e s G ra n tm a k e r W e b s ite s, w hich provide access to a fairly co m p reh en ­ sive list o f foundations by foundation type. Lastly, the Philanthropy News Digest pro­ vides current, newsworthy information on donors, IRS regulations/issues, and general inform ation o f interest to those in the busi­ ness o f providing foundation monies, as well as those seeking monies. The Foundation Center also produces a CD-ROM entitled FC Search, w hich includes “4 4,000 U.S. foundations and corporate giv­ ers, includes descriptions o f close to 200,000 associated grants, and lists over 183,000 trust­ ees, officers, and d o n o rs.” Additionally, it produces as a series o f print publications, w hich are su bject-sp ecific, regional and/or by foundation-type, and som e are designed to aid the grant writing process. Many o f the latter resources are available at the 200 p lu s C o o p e r a tin g C o lle c t io n s (http:// fdncenter.org/library/library. html#coop). — A m y T racy Wells, U niversity o f W isco n ­ s in -M a d iso n , a w el@ cs.w is c .e d u The Benton Foundation. Access.- http:// w w w .benton .org/ cp p hom e.htm l. The Benton Foundation was established in 1981 by Charles Benton, chairman o f Pub­ lic Media, Inc., as a legacy o f his father, U.S. Senator William Benton, ow ner o f the En­ cyclopedia Britannica. The foundation is co n ­ ce rn e d with th e use o f co m m u n icatio n s media on democracy and the public interest. O f particular interest to academ ic librar­ ians is the foundation’s extensive research on Universal Service and the T elecom m uni­ cations Act o f 1996. This far-reaching act touches a range o f academ ic fields, includ­ ing com m unications, political scien ce, busi­ ness, education, and law. T h e site featu res links to governm ent inform ation, such as full-text o f the Com ­ m unications Act via the Federal Comm uni­ cations Com m issions Web site, as well as exten siv e sum m aries and analysis by the foundation’s researchers. A virtual library fea­ tures the full text o f Benton position papers and other publications in areas ranging from the digital broadcasting debate to libraries and com m unities in the Digital Age. The most extensive subject area co n cern s uni­ versal service, with inform ation about the Sara Amato is automated systems librarian at Central Washington University; samato@tahoma.cwu.edu fdncenter.org/ fdncenter.org/library/library wisc.edu http://www.benton.org/cpphome.html mailto:samato@tahoma.cwu.edu 372 / C&RL News ■ May 1998 communities, government agencies, market forces, and other organizations that are shap­ ing the debate. Other useful items include the glossary o f telecommunications terms, which pro­ vides definitions of terms frequently appear­ ing in journals and policy papers but not in most standard dictionaries, such as E-rate and V-chip. In their analysis, the founda­ tion has assembled a comprehensive and frequently updated site, useful for b ack ­ ground information as well as the patron needing an up-to-the minute report.— B ritt F a g e r h e i m , U n iv e r s ity o f W a s h in g t o n ; b fa g e r @ u . w ash i ngto n . ed u C D C W orld W ide W eb S ite R e v ie w . A ccess: http: / / www. cd c.gov. The Centers for D isease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) homepage is attractive, compact, and its simplicity belies its wide- ranging information. Six radio buttons cen ­ tered on the homepage divide it into sec­ tions. Four colorful rectangles near the bot­ tom right provide clickable shortcuts to the MMWR, jEID, CDC prevention guidelines, and the CDC Foundation. Clearly identify­ ing the M orbid ity a n d M ortality W eekly Re­ p o r t and the J o u r n a l o f E m erg in g In fectio u s D iseases would help laypeople. On the up­ per right another rectangle labeled “Spot­ l i g h t ” ( 1 a m p i c o n ) , c h a n g e s regularly to h ig h ­ light topics like “STD Prevention Guidelines” or “Emerging Infectious Diseases.” Three rectangles at the bottom center mark the “Search Engine," “Subscriptions,” and “Other Sites.” An icon identifies the CDC as part of the Department of Health and Human Ser­ vices. Other areas provide address and tele­ phone information, warnings about infor­ mation use, and an e-mail feedback address. The enormous amount of well-organized information appeals to laypeople and pro­ fessionals. “About the CDC” clearly outlines its pledge and contains a breakdown of its centers and employees, a fascinating history and online tour (Global Health Odyssey), special teachers’ lesson plans, and tables of the agency’s monetary justification by Con­ gress. Non-frames, text, or lower-resolution versions are offered throughout the site and icons are attractive and sometimes animated. “Media News” features a banner box list­ ing separate telephone and fax numbers for the public or the media. It contains reports recently quoted in the news, newsletters, archives back to 1995, fact sheets, a timeline, and slide sets. Downloading options avail­ able include Adobe PDF, ASCII, HTML, and Postscript format. File sizes are clearly indi­ cated and paper subscriptions (e.g., E m erg ­ ing In fe c tio u s D iseases) are available. De­ spite the seriousness of its subject, there is considerable imagination, appeal, and some humor employed in the presentation of ma­ terials. A co lor cartoon called “Dogs on Cruises”1 shows two dogs discussing the potability of their cruise cabin's toilet bowl water!2 The “Travelers’ Health” section contains literally lifesaving information on current disease outbreaks, vaccination requirements, links to other health agencies, and a clickable travel map. “Health Information” skillfully fulfills the CDC's mandate to prevent dis­ ease, covering general and w om en’s health risks, teen pregnancy, injuries, disabilities, and prevention. The CDC’s general search engine for its entire site is easy to use and indispensable for so much information. “Publications, Software and Other Prod­ ucts” includes hazardous waste information, publications o f the CDC’s National Centers (chronic disease, HIV, infectious diseases, injury prevention, safety, and public health), and free, downloadable software o f public domain microcomputer programs for han­ dling public health data. The National Cen­ ter for Health Statistics section features the Statistical Export and Tabulation System (SETS) Designer Kit, and the Public Health Training Network offers satellite video con­ feren ces, print-based self-study courses, multimedia series, and videotapes— most fee-based. “Scientific Data, Surveillance, Health Sta­ tistics and Laboratory Information” appeals particularly to the research community. Its own search engine, WONDER, which “pro­ vides query access to about 40 text-based and numeric databases for any disease and demographic group, text search facilities and document retrieval for . . . Morbidity and C&RL News ■ May 1998/373 Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from 1982 to the present and CDC Prevention G uide­ lin es.” The system requires either tem po­ rary or perm anent registration options, with user ID ’s and passwords, and limits access according to registration level. It provides a som ew hat m ind-boggling num ber o f search limitations for several databases, including FARS (fatal accident reporting), SEER (Sur­ veillance, Epidem iology and End Results), CDP (Chronic D isease Prevention), and IRIS (Injury Research Information Service). Data use restrictions are clearly listed and user support is available. A huge resource list to other sources is also included, sorted by pro­ tocol (ftp, gopher, http, mailto, telnet, etc.). Training, em ploym ent, and funding o p ­ portunities round out the site. They include fellow ships, research, training, grants, resi­ dencies, and conferences. The CDC has de­ v elop ed a co m p lex and seem ingly in e x ­ haustible site o f information that su ccess­ fully and artfully achieves its mission and goals.— E la in e H o ffm a n , S tate U niversity o f N e w Y ork, S t o n y B r o o k ; e b o f f m a n @ c c m a il.s u n y s b .e d u Notes 1. David Farley, University o f Chicago, DOCTOR FUN (January 28, 1994). 2. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/programs/ sanit/ vsp/ im ages/ im ages.htm lin k in g to h ttp :/ / su n site.u n c.ed u :80/D ave/D r-Fun/ df940Vdf940128.jpg. ■ (P r e s e r v a tio n … c o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 3 6 8) and copyright. They also include case stud­ ies from different types o f institutions. Copies are available for $10 each from Alicia Riley-W alden, SOLINET, 1438 West Peachtree Street N.W., Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 3 0 3 0 9 -2 9 5 5 ; p h o n e: (8 0 0 ) 9 9 9 -8 5 5 8 ; fax: ( 4 0 4 ) 8 9 2 - 7 8 7 9 ; e - m a il : a l i c i a _ r i l e y - w alden@ solinet.net. Orders must be prepaid by check, made payable to SOLINET. CT h e ow rorngr UeRL c fort tih eo E unro p ean Commission on Preservation and A ccess’ Virtual Exhibition appeared in the February 1998 column. The correct URL is http:// www.knaw.nl/ecpa/expo.htm.The editors regret the error. mail.su http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/programs/ http://sunsite.unc.edu mailto:alicia_riley-walden@solinet.net mailto:alicia_riley-walden@solinet.net http://www.knaw.nl/ecpa/expo.htm.The