nov05c.indd


I n t e r n e t  R e v i e w s  Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost 

Images Canada. Access: http://www. 
imagescanada.ca/index­e.html. 
Images Canada, described on its homep­

age as “the gateway to images of Canadian 
events, people, places and things,” is hosted 
by Library and Archives Canada (formerly 
the National Library and National Archives of 
Canada). This bilingual site provides free ac­
cess to photographs and other images related 
to Canadian culture. The “About” information 
states that Images Canada “provides central 
search access to the thousands of images held 
on the websites of participating Canadian 
cultural institutions.” Although few technical 
details are available on the site, it is indeed 
a “gateway”—a metasearch tool for discov­
ering and viewing images hosted at partner 
institutions. 

Navigation and searching are simple and 
straightforward. Each page includes a naviga­
tion bar and basic keyword search function, 
enabling users to start a new search very 
easily from anywhere within the site. There 
are also preselected searches called “image 
trails” that enable users to explore popular 
themes or topics, such as “Calgary Stampede,” 
“Canada at War,” “Inuit,” and “Trains.” Search 
results are displayed as thumbnail images, 
captioned with the first few words of the 
image title and a “More Information” link, 
which leads to descriptive metadata. 

Clicking on a thumbnail opens a new 
browser window, taking the user outside of 
the Images Canada site directly to the image 
and description on the Web site of the ap­
propriate partner institution. 

For users unfamiliar with metasearching, 
or who do not at first realize that Images 
Canada is a metasearch tool, this stage of the 
retrieval process may be a bit confusing, espe­

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 

cially if the transition from the search results 
to the individual images does not function 
properly. I initially encountered problems 
with some of the preselected search results, 
but noted that two days later the problem 
had been resolved. 

Information and tools for teachers are 
available under “Educational Resources.” 
Another important feature is the “Copyright” 
section; it is clear and informative, with infor­
mation about preauthorized noncommercial 
use of the images, and instructions for obtain­
ing high­resolution images or permission for 
other uses if needed. 

Perhaps because the images are not 
centrally hosted, Images Canada does not 
indicate the size of its search universe. A 2001 
news story linked from the site indicates that 
more than 65,000 images were indexed at that 
time, with another phase of the project about 
to begin. While it would be helpful to have 
such details updated, as well as technological 
information, the main purpose of the site is 
to gather images from many locations and 
facilitate intellectual connections between 
distributed digital objects.—Cheryl Gunsel­
man, Washington State University Libraries, 
gunselma@wsu.edu 

Budhhanet. Access: http://www.buddhanet. 
net/. 
Buddhanet.net, the product of the Buddha 

Dharma Education Association, Inc. in Austra­
lia, offers an extensive database of articles on 
Buddhism, a worldwide directory of Buddhist 
centers, and an eBook library. The site seeks 
to join the ancient traditions of Buddhism to 
the information superhighway, and thereby 
create an electronic meeting place of shared 
concern and interests. The general layout of 
Buddhanet appears unobtrusive, and there 
seem to be no commercial links on the site. 
The articles on Buddhism provide a good 
overview of its basic tenets, including the 
Four Noble Truths, the Eight­Fold Path, and 
the Five Precepts. An extensive glossary is 

C&RL News November 2005  740 

http:Buddhanet.net
http://www.buddhanet
mailto:gunselma@wsu.edu
mailto:cdrost@willamette.edu
http://www


also provided. The directory contains in­
formation on Buddhist centers around the 
world, with contact information for Buddhist 
temples in the United States organized by 
state. Scholarly information is available in 
the eBook section. 

Many library patrons may be familiar 
with Lamaism, the Tibetan form of Bud­
dhism, through its spiritual head, the Dalai 
Lama, and its sacred text, The Tibetan Book 
of the Dead. This form of Buddhism places 
great emphasis on magical and sacramental 
rites. Also familiar is Zen Buddhism, with 
its emphasis on meditation and koans. Stu­
dents of religion, however, will need to be 
conversant with the two main movements of 
worldwide Buddhism: Theraveda (Southern 
Buddhism), which maintains the importance 
of the scholastic community, and Mahayana 

(Eastern Bud­
d h i s m ) ,  t h e  
more liberal 
approach. For 

this purpose, Buddhanet.net contains a very 
helpful chart, “A Comparative Study of the 
Schools.” For example, Theraveda Buddhism 
(generally considered the more conserva­
tive expression) accepts only the Guatama 
(the Buddha, in conventional terminology) 
and historical Buddhas as authoritative. 
Mahayana Buddhism, on the other hand, 
also accepts more contemporary Buddhas. 
Unfortunately, this chart is imbedded deeply 
within the site, and a bit of navigation is 
required to find it (from the “Site Map,” 
go to “Buddhist Schools and Lineages,” 
and then to “A Comparative Study of the 
Schools”). 

Students of world religions will fi nd much 
helpful material here, including audio fi les of 
chants, Dharma (truths, or basic teachings) 
talks, and instructions for guided medita­
tions. One can even take a virtual tour of a 
traditional Chinese temple. “The Daily En­
lightenment” offers reflections for the prac­
ticing Buddhist, a separate article for each 
day of the year. The material is presented in 
a straightforward, helpful manner, without 
a hint of rhetoric. The aim of Buddhanet 

is to inform, not to proselytize.—Wendell 
Johnson, Waubonsee Community College, 
wjohnson@waubonsee.edu 

International Development Economic Asso­
ciates. Access: http://networkideas.org/. 
Some economists argue that the pattern of 

high inequality, low growth, and persistent 
poverty in the southern hemisphere is a di­
rect result of failed neoliberal practices (free 
trade, privatization, etc.). According to these 
economic experts, this problem of inequality 
stems from the neoliberal paradigm preferred 
by the International Monetary Fund, the 
World Bank, and the U.S. Treasury Depart­
ment. Moreover this approach is supposed 
to promote growth, but according to some 
experts, it largely overlooks the very apparent 
problem of inequality that it creates. 

The International Development Economic 
Associates (IDEA) seeks to remedy this prob­
lem. IDEA is devoted to creating a pluralistic 
group of progressively heterodox economists. 
Thus, its overall mission is to challenge the 
neoliberal orthodoxy, and explore progres­
sive approaches to economic development in 
underdeveloped or developing countries. 

Created in 2002, IDEA achieves this mis­
sion by cultivating a network of economic 
experts who collaborate, assess, research, 
and develop materials (e.g., research papers, 
books, lessons, etc.) that emphasize progres­
sive approaches to economic development. 

The IDEA Web site is well­organized and 
users can easily navigate it by clicking on 
one of the main headings located in the site 
menu. In addition, IDEA has a list of eco­
nomic “themes” (e.g., Agriculture, Gender 
Issues, Finance, etc.) that users may easily 
access through a dropdown menu. 

This site houses generous sections of 
freely available research papers, articles, 
and statistics. In addition, there is an expan­
sive list of books and a growing section of 
educational materials and book reviews. All 
sections have been updated within the last 
three years, many within the last year, and 
much of the information is current. 

(continued on page 751) 

November 2005  741 C&RL News 

http:http://networkideas.org
mailto:wjohnson@waubonsee.edu
http:Buddhanet.net


Dean P. Walton has been named science 
librarian at the University of Oregon Librar­
ies­Eugene. 

Jeannette Ward has been promoted to 
associate director for collections and technical 
services at the University of Central Florida 
Libraries­Orlando.

 Linda Watson has been appointed 
director of Health Science Libraries at the 
University of Virginia. 

Kate Wenger is the new reference librar­
ian at Muskingum College Library. 

Andrew Whitis is now head of user ser­
vices at Muskingum College Library. 

Beth Williams is now reference librar­
ian in the Arthur W. Diamond Law Library at 
Columbia University. 

Stephanie Wright is now natural sci­
ences information services librarian in the 
Natural Sciences Library at the University of 
Washington­Seattle. 

Susan Xue is now head of the Center 
for Chinese Studies Library and electronic 
resources librarian at the University of Cali­
fornia­Berkeley. 

R e t i r e m e n t s  

May Stack has retired as director of D’Amour 
Library at Western New England College fol­
lowing a 40­year career. Stack joined the col­
lege in 1965 as a circulation clerk and rose 
through the ranks, serving as library director 

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for the past 16 years. She helped guide the 
college through many changes, including 
the opening of D’Amour Library in 1983. 

D e a t h s  

Donald Howard Shively, 84, an authority 
of Japanese urban life and popular culture 
in the Tokugawa period and former head of 
East Asian Library at the University of Cali­
fornia­Berkeley, has died. Shively served as a 
Japanese language officer in the Marine Corps 
during the Pacific War. Following doctoral 
training and election to the Society of Fel­
lows at Harvard, he held professional appoint­
ments at the University of California­Berkeley 
(1950–62), Stanford University (1962–64), and 
Harvard University (1964–83). He returned to 
Berkeley in 1983, serving until his retirement 
in 1992 as professor of East Asian Languag­
es and Cultures and head of the East Asian 
Library. Shively was editor of the Journal of 
Asian Studies (1955–59) and the Harvard 
Journal of Asiatic Studies (1975–83). He also 
directed the conservation and cataloguing of 
the Mitsui Collection of early Japanese printed 
books and maps. 

(“Internet Reviews” continued from page 741) 

IDEA defines itself as a “South­based” or­
ganization. Thus, one may be led to believe 
that this site would focus on developing 
countries south of the equator. However, a 
review of the organization’s writings reveals 
an emphasis on developing countries in 
southern Asia, while a thorough analysis of 
Latin American countries is lacking. 

The IDEA site is recommended primarily 
for the subject areas of business and eco­
nomics, though it may also be suitable for 
political science. College students of all levels, 
academics, and specialists with an interest 
in business or economics may find the Web 
site useful. Not recommended for a general 
audience.—Brad Matthies, Butler University, 
bmatthie@butler.edu 

November 2005  751 C&RL News 

mailto:bmatthie@butler.edu