The HathiTrust Digital Library is a global partnership between research institutions and libraries around the world, all "committed to the long-term curation and availability of the cultural record." Since its launch in 2008, this repository has grown to include more than 16 million digitized volumes, over six million of which are in the public domain. Here, readers can peruse HathiTrust's...

How does one map Hawaii? It's not an easy proposition, but the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been doing just that for over a century. The University of Hawai'i at Manoa Library has created this digital archive of topographical quadrangles for the state of Hawaii, and they are a real find. Visitors to the site will note that they can view the maps by island and that each map also...

Life in Hawaii after World War II was documented in part due to a joint resolution passed by the Hawaii Territorial Legislature which stated that the University of Hawaii would be the official depository of material related to Hawaii's part in this global conflict. Over a five-year period, individuals and agencies donated personal accounts, reports, photographs, scrapbooks, newspapers, and maps to...

The Hawaii War Records Depository was established in 1943, and it contains over 880 photographs taken by the U.S. Army Signal Corps and the U.S. Navy during the Second World War. The Depository also holds around 1000 newspaper photographs from the Honolulu Star Bulletin and 330 photographs identified as being from the Honolulu Advertiser. These unique items depict various Army and Navy activities...

Drawing on new and rather novel computer-aided mapping programs, scholars have been able to bring together a number of disparate data sources that deal with a diverse set of disciplines. One such project has recently appeared online, and it is called HEALTHmap. Created by a team of researchers based at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology, the project brings together aggregate...

With good reason, there is a great deal of concern about the future of the Great Lakes. Collectively, these bodies of water account for 90 percent of the United States' and 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water. Beyond that crucial fact, the Great Lakes represent an enormous economic and cultural resource to the region. Recently the Brookings Institution's own John C. Austin, Soren...

As one of the lyrics by the Brothers Gershwin goes: "They told Marconi/wireless was a phony." Of course, the wireless world of the radio and its galaxy of musical choices has changed from the transmission of mere Morse code in its early decades to today's overwhelming choices afforded by different satellite radio companies. This recent documentary by the American RadioWorks program explores the...

Rural school districts in the U.S. face persistent challenges in finding and keeping qualified teachers. This 30-minute documentary, produced by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest and Detroit Public Television, explores "research on teacher preparation and recruitment across the country," and "actions that state and local education leaders are taking to recruit and retain teachers."...

Open source code has allowed for the proliferation of open source software that competes with the big guns of software development, like Microsoft. Tempers run high, with the key issues focused on differing philosophies on the best business model to use and disputes over copyright, leading to lawsuits and heated online discussions. This issue of Topic in Depth provides an overview of open source...

This British website focuses on hedges (or hedgerows) in the United Kingdom, which are home to mammals, birds, amphibians, invertebrates, and plant life. Visitors should go to the "About Hedgelink" link to learn that cooperation is needed between farmers, land managers, planners, environmentalists, and local communities to maintain these unique habitats. The "Hedge-ucation" link on the left hand...