ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ J a n u ary 1999 / 9 Some sites you should bookmark by Elna L. Saxton and Jo McClamroch T his piece b e g a n w ith a focus o n ed u ca­ tio n -re la te d a n d o th e r scholarly sites. Since African American Studies (or Black S ies o r Afro-American Studies) has b e e n an established academ ic discipline at d o zen s o f institutions since th e late 1960s, w e w ere co n ­ fident w e w ould quickly b e overrun w ith qual­ ity sites. It s o o n b ecam e a p p a re n t th at th ere are m any quality sites, an d that to focus only o n academ ic sites w as to o narrow for this article. O u r resource list, therefore, e x p an d ed b ey o n d academ ia into a total o f five catego­ ries: Getting started, Educational sites/research centers, O rganizations/associations, Afrocen­ tric sites, a n d E -journals/new s services. We d o deliberately highlight m ore African American than Africana sites. At the sam e time, w e d o n o t suggest that w e co u ld capture the essen ce o f or ex h au st the n u m b er o f p o te n ­ tially valuable sites for any cu ltu re’s links, b e it African A m erican, Asian American, Native American, o r any ethnic g roup. At th e risk o f sounding hyperbolic, th e Internet is a m other lode o f inform ation for cultural inform ation. Librarians k n o w th at the quality o f infor­ m ation o n th e Internet is problematic. We used several criteria: sco p e o f coverage (d ep th an d b read th ), relevancy o f links, logic o f organi­ zation, currency, com p ariso n to similar sites, an d aesthetic ap p eal w ith lim ited com m er­ cial overtones. We ev alu ated at least te n an d u p to thirty sites in each o f o u r categories tu b efo re deciding o n o u r final reco m m en d a­ tions. We w o u ld em p h asize th at n o cultural d­g ro u p sh o u ld b e se e n in m onolithic term s a n d w e have a ttem p ted to include sites that re p re se n t view s along the political an d id eo ­ logical spectra. We also tried to av o id an em phasis o n any particular geographic region o r historical period. C om piling this list o f In tern et resources has b e e n b o th a fascinating a n d rew arding undertaking. We w ere p leased to discover the w ealth o f resources, especially access to full- te x t d o cu m en ts. Libraries th at serve large num b ers o f ethnic a n d m inority g ro u p s are e n c o u ra g e d to d e v e lo p th e ir o w n lin k e d bo o k m ark s w ith subject relevance to their local com m unities. G e ttin g s ta rte d • African A m erican Web C onnection (AAWC). An excellent starting point. T h e site is crisp, clean, very logically arranged, an d features links to m any art an d art-related sites. T h e p ro d u c t o f a “W eb hobbyist a n d Certi­ fied C o m p u ter P rofessional,” th e AAWC is “d ed ica ted to providing a Web gatew ay to A frocentric resources suitable for th e entire fam ily.” It su cceed s qu ite adm irably. Access: h ttp ://w w w .a a w c .c o m /. • Afro-American Studies o n th e Web. C reated an d m aintained at the University o f W isconsin, this is a visually aesthetic site w ith I N T E R N E T R E S O U R C E S A b o u t th e a u th o rs I Elna L. Saxton is h ea d o f th e Periodical Services D e p a rtm e n t a t th e University o f Cincinnati, e-m ail: Elna.Saxton@UC.Edu; a nd Jo McClamroch is head o f the Halls o f Residence Libraries a t Indiana University, e-mail: jmcclamr@iago. ucs. indiana. edu African American culture http://www.aawc.com/ mailto:Elna.Saxton@UC.Edu 10 / C&RL News ■ January 1999 high-caliber, scholarly links in sev en cate g o ­ ries including electronic texts/historical texts. A link to th e W.E.B. D uBois Virtual U niver­ sity is also provided. Access-. h ttp ://a fro a m . aas.w isc.edu/places.htm . • U niversity o f California, Santa Bar­ bara. This is a very m anageable site w ith ac­ cess to a range of data-types. T he site has 16 b ro ad categories a n d is especially strong in new s m edia, historical texts, an d docum ents. Access: h ttp ://w w w .lib r a r y .u c s b .e d u /s u b j/ black.html. • Soul Search: The Search E ngine for the World’s People o f Color. This is a search en g in e for accessing inform ation c o n tain ed in th e African A m erican W eb Ring. O n e of m any “W eb rin g s” form ing o n th e Internet, this o n e h as collected ov er 1,000 sites related to A frican A m erican culture in clu d in g art, d a n c e , h isto ry , a n d p e rs o n a l p a g e s. Soul Search— Access: h ttp ://w w w .so u lse a rc h .n e t/. African A m erican W eb Ring— Access: h ttp :// w w w .w e b r in g . o rg /c g i-b in /w e b rin g ? rin g = afroa&list. E du catio nal sites/research cen ters • Sch öm b erg Center fo r R esearch in Black Culture. This re n o w n e d a n d w idely linked site su p p o rts th e Schöm berg Center, “a n ational research library d e v o te d to col­ lecting, preserving a n d providing access to reso u rces d o cu m en tin g th e ex p e rie n c e s o f p e o p le s o f African d escen t th ro u g h o u t the w o rld .” T h e site co n tin u es to grow , recently ad d in g T h e Digital Schöm berg an d O nline E x h ib itio n s. Access: h tt p :/ /w w w .n y p l.o r g / re se a rc h /sc /. • Am erican Memory: Historical Collec­ tio n s fo r th e N a tio n a l D ig ita l Library. D ev elo p ed by th e Library o f C ongress for the study o f black history a n d culture, this site includes A frican-Am erican Mosaic, African- American Odyssey, an d African-American Per­ spectives. A m erican M em ory is a searchable c o lle c tio n w ith d o c u m e n ts , p h o to g r a p h s , m aps, so u n d , a n d film clips. Access: h tt p :/ / m em o ry .lo c.g o v /am m em /. • The Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) C en ter fo r N o n v io le n t S o cia l C hange. T his is th e official MLK historical site. P ro­ vides links to th e King P ap ers P roject (at Stanford), a 2,700-item b ib lio g rap h y , p h o to ­ graphs, an d m u ch m ore. Access: http ://w w w . th e k in g c e n te r.c o m /. • M useum o f Afro-Am erican H istory, B oston. This visually attractive site provides links to 12 o th e r m u seu m s o f African A m eri­ can collections. Virtual tours, reso u rce lists, m u se u m hours, a n d o th e r practical inform a­ tio n are given. An ex am p le o f w h a t y o u can find here is H eroes in the Ships: African Ameri­ cans in th e W haling Industry from th e Kendall W haling M useum in Sharon, M assachusetts, o r T he National Civil Rights M useum Web site. A ccess: h t t p : / / w w w .a f r o a m m u s e u m .o r g / links.htm . • E x p lo r in g A m ista d : R ace & th e B ou nd aries o f F reed om in A nteb ellum M aritime Am erica. D e v e lo p e d b y Mystic Seaport: The M useum o f A merica a n d th e Sea, this site has collected 500 prim ary docum ents, a n In tern et reso u rces “b o o k m a rk ” page, an d e v en furnishes th e o p p o rtu n ity for interac­ tive discussion a n d com m ents. This im pres­ sive site, fu n d e d prim arily b y th e National E n d o w m en t for th e H um anities a n d th e C on­ n ecticu t H um anities Council, offers full-text access to court records, p o p u la r m edia, gov­ ern m e n t papers, m aps, an d im ages. A “D is­ covery Section” offers links to a b ro a d over­ view , to specific p e o p le a n d places, a n d to a h isto rical tim elin e. Access: h tt p ://a m is ta d . m y sticseap o rt.o rg /. • The N ational U nderground Railroad F reedom Center. With a n anticipated g ran d o p e n in g in 2003, this m u seu m w ill b e a “n a ­ tio n al e d u c a tio n a n d d istrib u tiv e m u se u m center located o n th e central riverfront in Cin­ cinnati.” In th e m eantim e, this site pro v id es sketches o f histori­ cal figures in th e a b o l i t i o n m o v e ­ m ent, a n overview o f th e historic context, a n d a co m p reh en siv e collection o f a n n o ta te d lin k s to o th e r r e ­ l a t e d W e b s i t e s . A c c e s s : h t t p : / / u n d e rg r o u n d ra ilro a d . c o m /. • Our Shared History: Celebrating Af­ rican A m erican H istory an d Culture. The N ational Park Service (NPS) features links an d online tours to p ro v id e inform ation o n Afri­ can A m erican heritage. Visitors can to u r th e historic South, learn a b o u t th e U n d erg ro u n d Railroad, a n d visit o th e r NPS sites d e d ica ted http://afroam http://www.library.ucsb.edu/subj/ http://www.soulsearch.net/ http://www.nypl.org/ memory.loc.gov/ammem/ thekingcenter.com/ http://www.afroammuseum.org/ http://amistad mysticseaport.org/ C&RL N ew s ■ January 1999 / 7 7 to p reserv in g A frican A m erican h eritag e. A c ­ cess: http ://w w w . cr. n p s .g o v /a a h is to ry /. • H istorically Black C olleges an d U n i­ v ersities. T his is th e m o st co m p lete list w e located, w ith links to th e h o m e p a g e s o f 71 colleges a n d universities. T h e M inority O n - Line Inform ation Service (MOLIS), w h o s e u l­ tim ate goal is “to re p re se n t all m inority insti­ tu tio n s,” m aintains this link. T he o th e r fea­ tu re MOLIS p ro v id es is links to sch o larsh ip a n d fellow ship inform ation for all “recognized m inorities.” A ccess h ttp ://w eb .fie.co m /m o lis/. • In d ia n a U n iv ersity , B lo o m in g to n . U nder th e auspices o f th e D epartm ent o f Afro- A m erican Studies, self d escrib ed as “o n e o f th e m o st vital Black studies academ ic un its in th e c o u n try ,” th e Black Film C enter/A rchive is a freq u en tly h o tlin k e d site to th e ir e x te n ­ sive holdings. A lim ited n u m b e r o f re la te d links to sites at In d ian a U niversity a re also p ro v id ed . Access: h ttp ://w w w .in d ia n a .e d u / - b f c a /. A re la te d site o f interest is th e Ar­ chives o f African A m erican Music & C ulture. Access: h ttp ://w w w .in d ia n a .e d u /~ a a a m c /. O rg a n iz a tio n s a n d associations • African A m erican Organizations. This collection o f links to organizations is a g g re­ g a te d by th e A frican A m erican W eb C o n n e c ­ tion. It in clu d es m an y fraternal a n d social o r­ g a n iz a tio n s as w ell as political a n d social ad v o cacy g ro u p s. Access: h ttp ://w w w .a a w c . co m /aao .h tm l. • NAACP. T h e h o m e p a g e o f th e N ational A ssociation fo r th e A dvancem ent o f C o lo red P eo p le in clu d es tim ely inform ation a b o u t th e o rganization, tex t o f sp e e c h e s b y th e cu rren t p re s id e n t K weisi M fume, a n d a c a le n d a r o f u p c o m in g events. A p a g e o f NAACP Links co n n e c ts to a ran g e o f m inority in terest a n d advocacy g ro u p s, su ch as th e M exican Ameri­ c a n Legal D efen se a n d E ducation F und, th e N ational G ay & L esbian Task Force Policy Institute, a n d th e Native American Rights F und a m o n g m a n y o th e rs. Access: h ttp ://w w w . n a a c p .o rg . • The N ational Urban League (NUL). F o u n d ed in 1910, th e NUL is the “p rem ier so ­ cial service a n d civil rights organization in A merica . . . to assist African Americans in th e ach iev em en t o f social a n d eco n o m ic equal­ ity.” A very user-friendly site w ith a link to a ch anging selection o f o th e r Internet resources a n d program s” across th e country. Access: http:/ /w w w .n u l.o rg . • T he N ation o f Islam (NOI). T his site p ro v id es ex ten siv e co v erag e o f sp e e c h e s a n d w ritings b y M inister Louis F arrakhan. T h ere is also historical inform ation a b o u t th e fo u n d ­ ing o f th e N OI a n d links to d o m estic a n d in tern atio n al Islam ic centers. An o n lin e ver­ sio n o f th eir w e e k ly n e w sp a p e r, The F in a l C all, is a l s o p r o v i d e d . A c c e ss: h t t p : / / w w w .n o i.o rg . A fro c e n tric sites • Virtually A frocentric. T his site is o n e o f th re e fea tu re d b y T h e A frican W orld C om ­ m u n ity N etw ork. T h e V irtually A frocentric R epository co n tain s d o z e n s o f links a rran g ed in 16 b ro a d categories, in clu d in g business, organizations, a n d education. An attractive site w ith lots o f p o ten tial. Access: h ttp ://w w w . taw c n e t.c o m /~ a w e /v a .h tm . • U n iv ersity o f P en nsylvania: African Studies Center. F req u en tly lin k e d a n d re g u ­ larly u p d a te d , this is a g o o d basic site fo r all libraries. It has a n extensive collection o f links o n Africa w ith specific su b to p ic s b y country; c u rre n t a n d w ell o rg an ized . Access: h tt p :/ / w w w . s a s . u p e n n . e d u / A f r i c a n _ S t u d i e s / AS.html. • A frican N a tio n a l C o n g ress (ANC). T h e ANC a n d N elson M andela certainly h av e n e a r u niversal n a m e reco g n itio n , so this is a n o th e r site all libraries s h o u ld b o o k m ark . It is v ery th o ro u g h , w ith a n attractive a n d user- friendly layout. O f g reat utility is th e access to th e full-text o f n u m ero u s ANC publications. Access: h ttp ://w w w .a n c .o rg .z a . E -jo u rn a ls /n e w s services • A frica N ew s O nline: G atew ay to a C o n tin en t. T his is a n o th e r A frica-based site th a t all libraries sh o u ld bo o k m ark . It includes n u m e ro u s links fo r cu rre n t n e w s a n d ev en ts in Africa. T he link to new s o f th e U nited States a n d Africa highlights u p -to -th e-m in u te new s stories from th ro u g h o u t Africa. Access: h ttp :// w w w .africanew s.org. nps.gov/aahistory/ http://web.fie.com/molis/ http://www.indiana.edu/ http://www.indiana.edu/~aaamc/ http://www.aawc naacp.org file:///www.nul.org http://www.noi.org http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/ http://www.anc.org.za http://www.africanews.org 72 / C&RL News ■ January 1999 • A frican-Am erican M ale R ese a rc h b e g a n p u b lish in g in 1996. Ar­ tic le s , a b s t r a c t s o f r e ­ search, book reviews, and announcem ents are p u b ­ lis h e d th r e e tim e s p e r y e a r. T h e J u l y /A u g u s t 1998 issue h ad a substan­ tial n u m b e r o f research, new s, a n d policy briefs o n socio-econom ic topics. Also p ro ­ vided are collections o f W eb-based resources that are w ell organized and cover a broad spec­ trum o f African American research interests. Access-http://www.tomco.net/~afrimale/. • A fr ic a n S tu d ie s Q u a rter ly : T h e O nline Jou rn al o f African Studies. P u b ­ lished by th e C enter for African Studies at the University o f Florida, this refereed journal is available in electronic form at only. T he em ­ phasis is o n currency/tim eliness to reap the full benefit from the electronic m edium , an d includes articles, o p /e d pages, an d b o o k re­ view s. A recen t issue w as dedicated to “H u­ m an Rights a n d G overnance in Africa.” A c ­ cess: http ■.//'w eb. africa. ufl. e d u /a s q /. • The Black C ollegian O nline. This is th e electronic version o f th e 27-year old, n a ­ tional m agazine that focuses o n career o p ­ p o rtu n itie s fo r y o u n g A frican A m ericans. W hile its target au d ien ce is college-age stu­ dents, there is a broader scope, including com ­ m entary b y leading African A m erican writers. Very nicely organized w ith an attractive lay­ o u t; i n c l u d e s f u l l- t e x t. A ccess: h t t p : / / w w w .black-collegian.com /. • The Black World Today. M aintained b y “a collective o f journalists, w riters, artists, com m unicators, racial justice advocates, an d e n trep ren eu rs” in concert w ith th e N ational C ouncil o f C hurches, this site w as launched in July 1996 in resp o n se to th e ep idem ic o f B lack c h u rc h b u rn in g s across th e U n ited States. Its m ain p u rp o s e is “to chronicle the daily social, political, cultural an d econom ic realities o f Black com m unities an d countries . . . [and] to advocate the universal principles o f civility, justice, fairness, an d resp ect.” A c ­ cess: h ttp ://w w w .tb w t.c o m /. • C a lla lo o . P u b lis h e d b y th e J o h n s H opkins University Press since 1976, in print an d in electronic form at since 1995, this is a core journal in African A m erican a n d African arts an d letters. T he electronic version is avail­ ab le by institutional subscription only. A c ­ cess: h ttp ://m u se .jh u .e d u /jo u rn a ls/c a lla lo o /. • Jouvert: A Jou rn al o f P o stco lo n ia l Studies. P ublished by th e College o f the H u­ m anities a n d Social Sciences at North Caro­ lina State University, this is an attractive an d decidedly m ulticultural scholarly publication p u b lish ed only in electronic form at. Vol. 2, no. 1 w as d ed icated to “postcolonial m ascu­ linities” an d in clu d ed eight articles ranging from sev en to fo u rteen pages. Links to o th er academ ic electronic journals are also p ro ­ vided. Access: h ttp ://1 5 2 .1 .9 6 .5 /jo u v ert/. • The North Star: A Journal o f African- Am erican Religious History. S upported by a grant from a n d b ased at B arnard College, T he N orth Star is a n exclusively W eb-based publication. The editors are affiliated w ith the Afro-American Religious History G roup o f the A m erican A cadem y o f Religion. T he mission o f T he N orth Star is to provide inform ation o n events, n ew publications, an d o th er re­ sources, as w ell as to serve as a peer-review ed journal. Access: http://cedar.barnard.colum bia. e d u /~ n o rth /. • W estern J o u rn a l o f Black Studies O nline Journal. In print since 1977, this in­ terdisciplinary journal no w offers an electronic version w ith scholarly articles, selected by blind p e e r review , w hich rep o rt original in­ vestigations an d contribute n ew k n ow ledge to African A m erican Studies. Available only b y subscription to individuals, th e m odest price provides access to current issues a n d a tw o-year backfile. Access: h ttp ://w w w .w s u . ed u /~ w jb s/o n lin e.h tm . ■ Expanded version online E x p an d ed versions o f articles in the C&RL News “In tern et R esources” colum n m ay b e fo u n d o n th e W eb at h t t p : / / w w w .ala ‚org/acrl/c& rlnew 2. h tm l. http://www.tomco.net/~afrimale/ http://www.black-collegian.com/ http://www.tbwt.com/ http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/callaloo/ http://152.1.96.5/jouvert/ http://cedar.barnard.columbia http://www.wsu C&RL News ■ J a n u ary 1999 / 1 3