·http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/umarmot/antislavery/

The digital collections at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst are top-flight and this collection continues that grand tradition. The Antislavery Collection contains several hundred pamphlets and books pertaining to slavery and antislavery in New England from 1725-1911. These items include speeches, sermons, proceedings, and other publications from organizations such as the American Anti-Slavery Society, the American Colonization Society, and a small number of pro-slavery tracts. Visitors can browse the selected titles alphabetically or perform a more detailed search across all of the items. Several documents should not be missed, including speeches by Horace Mann and Ezra Gannett's "Relation of the North to Slavery" delivered in Boston in 1854. [KMG]

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·http://www.dvaction.org/

Created by a team of educational specialists at Northwestern University, DVAction is a resource for chemistry laboratory instructors.The funding for this fine trove was provided by the Committee for Institutional Cooperation's Learning Technologies Initiative. Visitors can use the five headings on the left-hand side of the page to look through Categories, Equipment, Chemicals, and Titles. Looking over Chemicals will bring up a range of three dozen chemicals. Each item is accompanied by a short film that shows a test, interaction, or activity. The Title tab is a good way to look around as well, as it contains over 27 films such as "Calibration of a Small Drop Microburet" and "Beer's Law Demonstration." [KMG]

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·http://worldwildlife.org/pages/wildfinder

Do you know where the red panda lives? How about the celebrated Siberian tiger? You can find out right here with the World Wildlife Fund's Wildfinder interactive tool. The long term goal of the site is "to include all of the species on Earth," an ambitious venture. Visitors will enjoy using the Search by Species and Search by Place functions found here. After typing in a species (or common animal) name, visitors can look over a detailed map, read about the animal in question, and learn more about its habits and more. Users can also learn more about the database and how it came to be, or sign up to receive updates about the WWF's work. [KMG]

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·http://www.dcc.ac.uk/

The Digital Curation Centre (DCC) states as its motto: "because good research needs good data." Based in the United Kingdom, the DCC provides expert advice and helps those in the UK higher education and research communities store, manage, protect, and share digital research data. As such, the site is a great resource for information specialists, particularly librarians and academics. Visitors should make sure to check out the Digital Curation area which provides a bit of background on the field, along with information for newcomers to the field. The homepage also contains a neat feature entitled Editor's Choice, which brings together reports on digital preservation, information on new books, and much more. Also, visitors can sign up for the DCC's newsletter and take a look at its tag cloud. The Resources area should also not be missed as it features how-to guides, data management plans, case studies, and white papers. [KMG]

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·http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/

The Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) works with a range of public sector and industry partners to "conduct innovative research on the dynamic environments and ecosystems of the Great Lakes" in order to produce information for resource use and management decisions. From its homepage, visitors can explore the CoastWatch program which includes large data sets about the Great Lakes, sophisticated images, and contour maps. Moving on, the Publications area contains annual reports, fact sheets, poster presentations, and more. The site is rounded out by a host of photo galleries and web cams placed in various locations, including Muskegon, Alpena, and Michigan City. [KMG]

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·http://www.bioedonline.org/lessons-and-more/

The Baylor College of Medicine has done a great job of crafting excellent materials for students and teachers of biology over the past few years. This corner of its BioEd Online site focuses in on a range of lesson plans for classroom use. All of these lessons are aligned with national standards and are sorted by format, topic, and grade level. A good place to start is the STEM After School area. Here, visitors can find resources for younger students that will help them get excited about studying infectious diseases, the solar system, and microscopic organisms. The other three sections covered here include Resource Collections, Teacher Guides, and Lessons by Topic. [KMG]

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·http://www.historyextra.com/podcasts

The official website of the BBC History magazine is a great place to learn about British history via a litany of blogs, book reviews, fun quizzes, and more. It also maintains a trove of informative podcasts dating back to 2007 that will be a joy and a delight to anyone with a penchant for history. Recent conversations cover Britain in 1914, depictions of Jesus throughout the ages, and Gandhi's early years. Additionally, users can sign up to receive updates when new podcasts are added to the site. [KMG]

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·http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/

If you've ever wondered about Indiana history, wonder no more. This rather engaging website created by the diligent staff at Indiana Public Media brings together compelling moments from the Hoosier State's rich past. On the site, visitors can wander through the About area and then dig through some of the more recent moments. These short and eminently listenable audio features include "A Sunday School Spectacular" and "Pulpit or Politics: An Indiana Minister in Congress." The diversity of topics covered here is impressive, as visitors can listen to heartland tales of public health initiatives, architecture, and of course, small town basketball. [KMG]

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·http://oblog.designobserver.com/

People who love design, typography, and architecture will find the Design Observer's blog (OBlog) to be a slice of heaven. First-time visitors can scroll through the entries at their leisure, which might cover anything from a 3D book cover to fairy tale architecture. The Topics list provides a great organizational component and offers up four dozen headings, such as Craft, Industry, and Urbanism. The content is quite dynamic and includes interviews with artists, critics, designers, and others. One post that should not be missed is the "We're Thankful" post, featuring some collected essays on a localvore Thanksgiving, the Digital Farm Collective, and a piece by Nicola Waldron about the cycles of life and land. The Archives also present a great collection of past posts, along with links to additional complementary resources. [KMG]

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·http://www.canadianurbanism.ca/

As the About section on the Council for Canadian Urbanism proclaims: "Canada is a big country, a very big country." The Council is committed to examining, discussing, and transforming the built environment of this big country through its work. Accordingly, this work strives to connect urbanists across Canada and from its homepage, visitors can learn about the council's recent efforts. There are a number of great sections presented on this site, covering News & Events as well as Resources. In the Resources area, visitors can look over detailed case studies that explore the urban forms of Toronto's Cabbagetown, Montreal, and other large urban centers. The News & Events area contains items such as the council's Charter for Canadian Urbanism and information about upcoming design talks and outreach events. [KMG]

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·http://collections.nlm.nih.gov/?f%5Bdrep2.isMemberOfCollection%5D%5B%5D=DREPPHFGTW

When the United States needed to teach soldiers and others about public health matters, who did they turn to? The United States Army Pictorial Service, of course. The National Library of Medicine has digitized 18 of these most intriguing items for consideration by researchers as well as the general public. These short films cover women's health, physical fitness, syphilis prevention, as well as malaria prevention. First-time visitors may want to start with the "Criminal at Large" film which presents a fascinating look at how to prevent malaria in rather dramatic fashion. Also, "Winky the Watchman" is an animated treasure that is designed to help parents promote their children's oral hygiene. [KMG]

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·http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/index.jsp?prio_area=11

The Physics Discoveries section of the National Science Foundation (NSF) website brings together a "panoply of discoveries and innovations that began with NSF support." Indeed, it is quite a panoply and visitors will enjoy scrolling through the dozens of resources presented here. The projects profiled include new gene sequencing, celebrations of Marie Curie's birthday, space turbulence studies, and quantum computing. Each of these resources includes a press release, video coverage related to each project, and a set of additional websites. Visitors can also print out relevant materials and share these links via a range of social media tools. [KMG]

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·http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/

How does a state tell others about its history? Through a careful preservation of a historic church? Or an old factory? There are a number of ways to do this and the Michigan Historic Sites Online website provides information on over 3,500 historic sites throughout the Wolverine State. First-time visitors can use the Find Historic Sites tab to get started or perform a variety of detailed searches. Additionally, a Community Search can be performed, which allows users to search by city, township, village, or county name. Users can also Browse the Map to explore this great state from Grand Rapids to Lapeer. [KMG]

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·http://www.library.unt.edu/news/digital-libraries/american-lumberman-photographs-southern-pine-lumber-company

Taken in 1903 and 1907, these remarkable silver prints were originally published in "American Lumberman," a weekly trade journal. Fortuitously, the University of North Texas has placed these unique photos (255 in all) here for those with a curiosity for the industry and the greater history of Texas. The majority of these shots document a range of lumber production activities, including transportation, sawmills, kilns, and log cutting. First-time visitors may wish to look at the Pine Lumber Alley photo as a way of getting introduced to the collection. Additionally, visitors can sort through the images by year or county of origin. [KMG]

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·http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/march-on-washington/

To commemorate the recent 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, August 28th, 1963, the Library of Congress has selected these images from its extensive Prints and Photographs collections. Images by members of the White House News Photographers Association, color slides for publication in Look magazine, and pictures from a professional Ohio photographer document a "day that changed the course of history." The online exhibition is organized into sections by photographer. For example, Danny Lyon's "The March on Washington, August, 28, 1963" shows a marcher clapping, while a man next to him snaps his fingers. Roosevelt S. Carter is another photographer worth checking out, whose photos include Mahlia Jackson in a truly remarkable hat. For more photos by Carter and others, see the Special Presentation, a slide show that includes a view of a very young Paul Newman with Sammy Davis Jr., color shots of marchers around the reflecting pool, and marchers assembling to take buses and trains to Washington DC. [DS]

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·http://www.cr.nps.gov/NR/travel/ReclamationDamsAndWaterProjects/Index.html

What do you know about the water way out West? You might know a bit about the dams and water projects that have made cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and certainly Los Angeles possible. Well, all of that comes alive with this very unique Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary from the National Park Service. Created in partnerships with the Bureau of Reclamation and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, the site begins with three great essays: "Water in the West," "Mission of the Bureau of Reclamation," and "Bureau of Reclamation Engineering Achievements." Visitors can look at a list of sites covered by the itinerary, some nice maps of the American West, and the Learn More area, which includes additional helpful resources from a range of agencies and a selected bibliography. Overall, this site is perfect for travelers, historians, and those with an interest in engineering history more specifically. [KMG]

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·http://searchlet.io/

If you're interested in a way to quickly search for information without opening a new tab, Searchlet is for you. Visitors can just highlight any text on any page to search Google, Wikipedia, or any number of dictionaries. Visitors can simply drag the Searchlet button to have it added to their bookmarks for quick reference. This version is compatible with all operating systems. [KMG]

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Heavier dieters using diet drinks should look at food too, study says
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sn-diet-beverages-obesity-20140116,0,7402255.story#axzz2qcgFaQLX

Overweight Americans Who Pick Diet Drinks Eat More Food, Study Finds
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/16/diet-drinks-eat-more-food-overweight-obese-americans_n_4612493.html

How are diet sodas marketed to men?
http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/2014/01/14/dieting_and_weight_loss_how_are_diet_sodas_marketed_to_men.html

The Rise of the Silicon Valley Diet Hacks
http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/01/rise-of-the-silicon-valley-diet-hacks.html

USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/

Mayo Clinic: Nutrition and healthy eating
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/nutrition-basics/HLV-20049477

It would seem that every day brings forth a new diet based on a different exercise plan, regional cuisine, or so on. A recent study from Johns Hopkins University offers some compelling new findings in this regard. The researchers looked over data from 24,000 adults over a period of 10 years and noted that overweight or obese persons who chose to imbibe diet drinks appeared to eat more over time. This finding was met with skepticism in some quarters and the American Beverage Association was quick to note that, "Losing or maintaining weight comes down to balancing the total calories consumed with those burned through physical activity." More research is required, but certainly public health wonks and others will do well to consider the results from this study. [KMG]

The first link will take visitors to an article on this study via the Los Angeles Times which appeared this Thursday. The second link will take users to additional coverage on this work from the Huffington Post. Moving on, the third link will lead interested parties to a piece from Slate, which talks about the ways diet sodas are marketed to men. The fourth link leads to a fascinating piece from New York magazine on the world of Silicon Valley "diet hacks" and the fifth link leads to the homepage of the USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Here, visitors will find nutritional information, tips on healthy eating, and much more. The final link will take users to the Mayo Clinic's site for nutrition and healthy eating.