Sometimes one of the best uses of new technology is to allow us to enjoy old technology, and the e-codices Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland is designed to do just that. The mission of e-codices "is to provide free online access to medieval and early modern manuscripts from public and church-owned collections as well as from numerous private collections" in Switzerland. The digital...

A number of collaborative online projects have developed during the past few years that draw on the resources of institutions and individuals that are frequently separated by hundreds, if not thousands, of miles. This website, which features early seventeenth-century political poetry, is just such a project. The team of collaborators includes professors from both Rutgers University and the...

Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns was an 18th-century man, but his work is being reimagined for the modern day in Editing Robert Burns for the 21st Century. A collaboration between the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy, and the University of Glasgow, this project has several elements: a blog, copies of prose, digital resources (for example, videos and interactive...

This edX course from Georgetown University addresses "the history of ideas about American Sign Language (ASL) with research that has been done on the structure, learning, and historical change of ASL and other sign languages." This course is instructed by Ted Supalla, a professor of Neurology, Linguistics, and Psychology at Georgetown, and is designed for students with all levels of experience and...

At least 30 languages of the Siberian region are considered endangered, and UNESCO is hoping to preserve, anchor, and develop them. The "Roundtable" link in the menu near the top of the page, allows visitors to read a few sentences by the contributors to the roundtable, on three thematic blocks. Visitors can click on "text" at the end of the paragraph to read the whole discussion, and view a...

The California Digital Library has been working on bringing a wide array of primary and secondary materials online over the past few years, and this particular digital endeavor is one that will delight both academics and those who are just plain curious about everything from the influence of Elvis Presley on Mexican popular music to the ceremonial costumes of the Pueblo Indians. All told, the...

The British Library knows that the English language is far from a static entity, and in their exhibition "Evolving English" they have gathered a number of guests to talk about the world of English and its contemporary usage. There are five podcasts available and they present a cornucopia of material on the evolution of the English language, including: "How do jokes work?", "English: the World's...

What did newspapers mean to the rural frontier? They were (and are) vital sources of information about everything from big city life to the changing rural landscape around farmers and other folks far from city life. This digital newspaper collection from the University of Illinois was made possible with funding from a wide range of organizations, including the Institute of Museum and Library...

With generous funding from Florida's Library Services and Technology Act Grants Program, the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and other organizations, the Florida Digital Newspaper Library exists "to provide access to the news and history of Florida." On this site, visitors can browse through over 800,000 pages of historic Florida newspapers dating back to the early 19th century....

People may know about Longfellow and Poe, but do they know about the ongoing literary feud between these two sons of New England? They will after perusing this marvelous digital exhibit from the Boston Public Library and the Massachusetts Historical Society, which explores some of the "forgotten chapters" of the Hub's literary history. Designed to complement an in situ exhibit, this collection...