march13_b.indd


March 2013 165 C&RL News

Joni R. Roberts is associate university librarian for public 
services and collection 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 

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

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 
Access: http://www.carnegieendowment.
org/.
Founded in 1910, the Carnegie Endowment 

for International Peace is a private, nonprofit 
organization dedicated to advancing coopera-
tion between nations and promoting active 
international engagement by the United States. 
Its work is intended to be both nonpartisan 
and to lead to practical results.

The site itself is simply laid out, with a row 
of featured option buttons placed just below its 
banner. Choices for research include “Issues,” 
“Regions,” “Programs,” “Experts,” “Events,” and 
“Publications.” The “Issues” section separates 
subjects into broad categories, such as “Econom-
ics,” “Energy and Climate,” and “Political Reform,” 
with subcategories, such as “Global Trade” and 
“Development Policy” under “Economics,” and 
“Arab Political Reform” and “Rule of Law” under 
“Political Reform.” Topics covered are as current 
as the continuing Syrian conflict, the French re-
sponse to Islamist rebels in Mali, and who will be 
the next Treasury Secretary of the United States.

The “Regions” section covers the entire 
globe, with particular focus on those countries 
or areas that are either of current concern or 
dominant economic powers or policy mak-
ers. For example, many of the countries in 
the Middle East are listed, as are countries of 
South Asia, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan; 
the United States, as well as European powers 
such as Germany and Great Britain, represent 
major players in the western world. 

The “Programs” section offers specialists 
providing in-depth analysis of the topics 
listed in both the “Issues” and “Regions” sec-
tions. “Experts” provides brief biographies of 
the scholars and writers associated with the 
Carnegie Endowment.

The Carnegie Endowment see themselves 
as building the first worldwide think tank, 
with offices in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, 
Beirut, and Brussels. The selection of these 
sites indicates their importance as centers of 
international and regional governance, where 
the policies created will influence the Endow-
ment’s goals of world peace and economic 
advancement.

A search box, located on the same bar as 
the featured options, provides access to the 
entire site. Searches can be limited by issue, 
region, document type, and date. Translation 
options are included for Russian, Chinese, 
and Arabic. 

This site is highly recommended for stu-
dents and researchers seeking information 
about current economic and political topics 
and events.—Ford Schimdt, Willamette Uni-
versity, fschmidt@willamette.edu 

Guttmacher Institute. Access: http://www.
guttmacher.org.
Reproductive rights leader, obstetrician-

gynecologist, and president of Planned Parent-
hood in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Alan 
F. Guttmacher saw a need for an organization 
that now bears his name. With the goal to 
advance sexual and reproductive health and 
rights worldwide, the Guttmacher Institute 
provides information on sexual activity, con-
traception, abortion, and childbearing through 
an interrelated program of research, policy 
analysis, and public education. 

While the pro-life perspective may not 
flourish here, the institute, overseen by a large 
multidisciplinary board, does claim to publish 
reliable, balanced, nonpartisan, scientifi-
cally rigorous material in its effort to address 
relevant public policy questions and issues. 
Nevertheless, an “Evidence Check” section 
(under “Media” section) debunking various 
assaults on Guttmacher reports, highlights the 
controversial nature of its work.

Directed toward policymakers, activists, 
health care professionals, researchers, and the 



C&RL News March 2013 166

media, this very current, easy to navigate site 
also provides a wealth of resources for the 
busy undergraduate, from new findings to 
decades of archival documents. The Web site 
distributes fact sheets, press releases, articles, 
and data gathered and researched by the In-
stitute, including two peer-reviewed journals, 
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 
and International Perspectives on Sexual and 
Reproductive Health. The “State Center” pro-
vides easy access to the reproductive health 
and rights situation in each state via a handy 
interactive map. Similarly the “Data Center” 
includes customizable tables to extend fact-
finding.

In addition, the site provides multiple, in-
tuitive avenues for accessing material. Buttons 
down the left collate documents thematically: 
“Abortion,” “Adolescents,” “Contraception,” 
“HIV/AIDS and STIs,” “Men,” “Pregnancy,” 
“Services and Financing,” “Sex and Relation-
ships,” and “Technology and Bioethics.” Main 
real estate features compelling news, data, and 
stories in attractive multimedia formats. Op-
portunities to donate or follow feeds and social 
network links fall to the right. A convenient 
search box offers alternative access. The Gutt-
macher icon, located on each page, quickly 
transports one “home” to start the hunt afresh.

Unfortunately, the site was inaccessible 
several times during review, whether over-
whelmed by use or more nefarious visits. But 
the return was always worthwhile. Guttmacher 
fills a unique niche addressing provocative 
ideas and questions on reproductive health 
and rights issues. Discover surprising content 
and attractive visuals to enhance any debate 
or research paper, no matter what side one 
favors.—Barbara Valentine, Linfield College, 
bvalen@linfield.edu 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Ac-
cess: http://www.nrel.gov.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

(NREL) is situated within the U.S. Department 
of Energy and physically located in Golden, 
Colorado. According to its Web site, NREL “de-
velops renewable energy and energy efficiency 
technologies and practices, advances related to 

science and engineering, and transfers knowl-
edge and innovations to address the nation’s 
energy and environmental goals.”

The site offers much to assist the “transfer 
of knowledge and innovations.” NREL shares a 
wealth of information, spanning the spectrum 
from fact sheets for home owners to white pa-
pers on technical matters to links to published 
scholarly articles. Despite the massive quantity 
of information accessible through this site, 
navigation is made easy due to a well-designed 
interface with tabs for primary sections at the 
top of each page and a navigation bar on the 
left side, which changes to correlate to the 
section one is viewing.

Directories to resources and subject bibli-
ographies can be found within specific subsec-
tions (such as “Geothermal Energy,” housed 
under the “Science & Technology” section). 
Datasets and online databases are also linked 
from relevant sections and subsections of the 
site. Alternatively, one can find resources on 
particular topics using the search box located 
at the top right of all pages.

Although the NREL library’s online catalog 
is available to the public for searching, the 
library and its resources are intended primar-
ily for the use of NREL employees. This may 
explain why the link to the library is located 
at the bottom right of the NREL homepage 
in small typeface, as well as the very basic 
catalog interface with several broken links. 
Correspondence with library staff revealed 
that this barebones page is the “public-facing” 
side, whereas NREL employees may sign 
in for a more robust, aesthetically pleasing 
interface to the library’s resources. Aesthetics 
aside, this portion of the site provides access 
to information about the library’s holdings, as 
well as to a very well-organized online digital 
photo collection.

Anyone interested in energy or renew-
ables—whether in the context of policy or 
science and technology—should be aware of 
NREL’s Web site and the resources it provides. 
This site may be useful to students at the high 
school, college, and graduate level, or mem-
bers of the public.—Lia Vella, Colorado School 
of Mines, lvella@mines.edu