The field of media literacy is not a new content-focused subject, but rather "a new way to teach all subjects." It is a key interest of the Center for Media Literacy (CML) which is dedicated to heaping citizens "develop critical thinking and media production skills needed to live fully in the 21st century media culture." This particular section of the website includes best practices documents,...

Created in 1984, the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress has been dedicated to creating affiliate centers in the 50 states. These affiliates (and the Center, of course) work together to "sponsor programs that highlight their area's literary heritage and call attention to the importance of books, reading, literacy and libraries." On their website, visitors can learn about the affiliate...

Despite the hand-wringing over the disappearance of local and regional cultures throughout the United States, many traditions and folkways are very much alive and well. One rather distinctive organization that studies and documents these traditions is the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures at the University of Wisconsin. Drawing on the strengths of the University and their knowledge...

Charles Baudelaire was an acclaimed poet and translator, and during his life he produced works that explored the urban condition, psychological turmoil, and despondency. He took meticulous care when crafting his poems, and his first work, Les Fleurs Du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) was published in 1857 when he was 36. The work was later praised by Gustave Flaubert and Victor Hugo, but the French...

Noted poet and literary theorist Charles Olson began investigating the life and work of Herman Melville during his time as a graduate student at Wesleyan University in the 1930s. Olson began to realize then that there were hundreds of Melville's former books scattered around the country. He began to locate these books and transcribe information about each volume (including Melville's original...

In 1906, the first edition of The Chicago Manual of Style was published by the University of Chicago. Over the past one hundred years, the Manual has been revised and edited fourteen times, and is now in its fifteenth edition. On this site, visitors may register for free and gain access to the search tool for this latest edition. While this feature is certainly helpful, there are a number of...

Established in 2000, and based in Bergen, Norway, the Children and War group is "dedicated to improve children's lives after wars and disasters." Their homepage has the latest news and results of the group's efforts, and visitors who have relationships with children will find advice on what to tell them about the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. The "Stories" link on the far left-hand side of...

First, the CCB site offers "a non-circulating collection of more than 14,000 recent and historically significant trade books for youth, birth through high school, plus review copies of nearly all trade books published in the U.S. in the current year." Additionally, there are over 1,000 reference titles on the study of literature and storytelling for youth. The second site, from the University of...

Drawing on materials from the New York Public Library, the National Yiddish Book Center, and the University of California Libraries, the Internet Archive has created this trove of digitized children's books. Currently, there are over 2,700 books available here and they include works like "Infant's cabinet of birds & beasts" from 1820 and "What the Moon Saw: And Other Tales" from 1866. On the left...

Librarians, teachers, and children's book aficionados will find a wealth of free resources at the Children's Literature website, as well as information about the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD), available by subscription only. (Visitors to the web site can sign up for a free trial of the database). One of the key features of the site is the Themed Reviews, that make it easy to...