·http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2014/06/13-prosperity-at-a-crossroads-kansas-city

A big question for many cities is "What's next?" Can they count on growth in the medical sector or in higher education? Examining the environs around Kansas City, this thoughtful report from the Brookings Institution brings together some research on economic performance. The report was authored by a team of policy experts, including Amy Liu and Chad Shearer, and was released in June 2014. Visitors can read the executive summary on the site or may wish to simply look over the basic findings, which are front and center on this page. Some of the observations indicate the greater Kansas City area is confronting global and political forces that "require renewed attention on the core drivers of economic growth and prosperity." [KMG]

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·http://ocw.jhsph.edu/index.cfm/go/viewCourse/course/AdolHealthDev/coursePage/index/

Interested in adolescent health and development? This remarkable course from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health provides a wealth of materials prepared by Professor Blum as part of his semester-long course. Visitors can take advantage of the syllabus, course schedule, lecture materials, and readings offered here. The Lecture Materials area is quite well-developed and includes slides, audio podcasts, and much more covering topics such as "Resilience in Adolescence" and "Adolescent Trends.” The site also includes a list of all the readings, required and suggested. Interested parties can sign up to receive email alerts when new items are added to the site. [KMG]

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·http://library.haverford.edu/services/digital-scholarship/projects/

Haverford College has been producing a range of student-led digital projects for almost a decade and these works (along with more formal staff initiatives) are all available right here. Under Projects, visitors can look over neat works such as Mapping Microfinance and the very cool Bit By Bit, which is an illustrated history of computing crafted by two students and a digital scholarship librarian. The Toolboxes section contains links to high-quality public domain resources, complete with headings like Create Maps, Visualize Data, and Create a Digital Exhibit. Other projects highlight an archive of statements made by al-Qaeda and an interactive urban-studies-style exploration of nearby Lancaster Avenue. [KMG]

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·http://www.provlib.org/image-collections

The Providence Public Library has worked tirelessly to digitize a range of works over the past few years. On this section of its site, visitors can look through collections that include Aerial Views, America's Cup in Rhode Island, Civil War Ballads, and over 16 additional collections. The Providence Buildings gallery is a real gem, as it includes over three hundred historical photographs of well-known structures, including the Providence Biltmore. For lovers of maritime lore, the Scrimshaw Collection showcases hundreds of photographs from the Nicholson Collection, a trove of whaling history. Users also shouldn't miss Rhode Island Mill Villages, a collection offering up dramatic views of towns like Hamlet Mills and Georgiaville Mill. [KMG]

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·http://www.poetryfoundation.org/features/audiolanding

The Poetry Foundation has a myriad of wonderful resources for the lover of quatrains, hyperbole, or iambic pentameter. This corner of its site houses audio and podcasts in one convenient locale. The Poetry Off the Shelf section contains recent conversations with poets Edward Hirsch, Nathaniel Mackey, Robert Duncan, and others. Moving on, the Poem of the Day features a number of lovely works, such as "Horseflies" and "I go back to May 1937.” There are six other sections here, including the Poetry Radio Project and Avant-garde All the Time. Additionally, users can sign up to receive updates when new works are added to the site. [KMG]

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·http://nmai.si.edu/explore/foreducatorsstudents/classroomlessons/

The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) has a rich and detailed collection of resources for students and educators, all selected for their ability to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. On this compelling corner of the museum’s main site, visitors can find a variety of materials, including classroom activities and discussion questions that are grouped into three main themes: Expressive Traditions, Thanksgiving, and History. A notable lesson plan within Expressive Traditions is “A Life in Beads: The Stories a Plains Dress Can tell,” designed for grade levels 4-6. Additionally, there are some great stories about the transformation of Manhatta to Manhattan. [KMG]

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·http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/whatsnew/

Designed for educators, the Interactivate website provides numerous high quality resources that assist with the “creation, collection, evaluation, and dissemination of interactive courseware for exploration in science and mathematics.” The What's New area provides interested parties with new and updated activities that are quite compelling. One of the more recent additions is Function Revolution, an activity that allows users to find out about the volume and surface areas of various functions as they are rotated around axes. Moving on, the For Teachers area showcases over a dozen recently updated lessons, including activities on Algorithm Discovery with Venn Diagrams and Conic Flyer Equations. [KMG]

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·http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB474/

How might one characterize the relationship between the Koreas and the United States over the past forty years or so? Well, to quote a popular social networking site, "It's complicated.” This electronic briefing book from the National Security Archive at George Washington University brings together a wide range of declassified documents that provide insight into the political and security challenges on the peninsula under Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. The nineteen items here include a report with a near-verbatim account of meetings between U.S. and North Korean military officers and the detailed “Guide to Working and Living in Nyongbyon, DPRK” that addresses some of the practical challenges associated with travel, living and working in North Korea. [KMG]

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·http://hawthorneinsalem.org/

During his days as a clerk for the federal government in Salem, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hawthorne began crafting some of his most notable works. The Hawthorne in Salem site celebrates his life and times in this very unique place. Created by the North Shore Community College in nearby Danvers, the site offers up an interactive timeline of dates from Hawthorne's life. Visitors can browse through six sections, including Life & Times, Literature, and Buildings and Houses. The Maps area is a delight, offering maps of Salem Village, Salem in Hawthorne’s time, as well as Salem today. Accompanying articles also provide riveting insight into Salem around the time of Hawthorne’s birth in 1804. The site’s introductory video is also worth a look. [KMG]

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·http://journals.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Journals.woa/xmlpage/4/issue

Based at Dartmouth College, the Journal of e-Media Studies is a peer-reviewed, on-line journal dedicated "to the scholarly study of the history and theory of electronic media, especially television and New Media.” First-time visitors can learn about its editorial board, submission guidelines, and much more from this site. Clicking on the Current Issue tab will bring up the most recent issue, which presently includes essays, such as "Computational Cultures after the Cloud" and “’Dark Mass,’ or the Problems with Creative Cloud Labor.” Also, each issue contains a series of Conversations with scholars and the like on a myriad of matters, including software studies and Occupy Wall Street. [KMG]

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·http://digital.chipublib.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/cr

The city of Chicago has long been a haven for African American intellectuals, artists, and activists. This digital collection from the Chicago Public Library offers up bits of ephemera from the Chicago Renaissance that took place on the city's South Side from the early 1930s to the 1950s. Visitors will find almost two dozen items of interest here, including a self-portrait of Gordon Parks, images of C.L. Cook and his Dreamland Orchestra, and wonderful portraits of notables such as Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks. Visitors can search across all of the materials and even save items for future consideration. [KMG]

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·http://content.lib.washington.edu/ohcweb/greaves.html

Gary Greaves was a researcher who interviewed hundreds of people around Seattle in the late 1980s and 1990s. He went around the city and talked to the homeless, citizen activists, and many others. Regrettably, he passed away in 2009 before he could compile all of these observations into the book he was working on. This digital collection from the University of Washington Special Collections department brings together many of these interviews. First-time visitors can read a news article on his work from the UW Today newspaper before starting their exploration through the site. It's quite a trove and includes observations from politicians Cheryl Chow and Paul Schell, along with community activists such as Aaron Dixon, the founder of the local Black Panthers chapter. [KMG]

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·http://texashistory.unt.edu/

If you're looking for anything from an ancestor's picture in a college year book to a rare historical map, you'll find much to enjoy here at the Portal to Texas History. This project is hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries and the site has grown exponentially since it began over a decade ago. First-time users can look over the Featured Collections on the homepage to get a feel for the documents offered in the portal. Additionally, the Search area allows users to look through books, maps, photos, and newspapers of note. All told, there are over 390,000 unique items and the collection is particularly strong in terms of late 19th and early 20th century items. Teachers shouldn't miss the Resources 4 Educators section that includes activities for K-12 teachers, along with selected primary sources on specific topics, including Sam Houston and Native Americans in Texas. [KMG]

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·https://archive.org/details/opensource

The Internet Archive has a wealth of collections and this one is voluminous in every sense of the word. Formerly known as Open Source Books, the Community Texts section contains over 483,000 items contributed by libraries from all over the world. Visitors can look over books in dozens of languages, including Czech, French, German, and Hebrew. First-time visitors might wish to read through the Staff Picks, which contain ancient classic texts from before 400 BC and the poetical works of Oliver Wendell Holmes. Visitors can also click on any of the Most Downloaded Items to get a sense of what others are reading. [KMG]

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·http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) "plans Boston's future while respecting its past.” Working with the private sector, the BRA helps guide physical, social, and economic change in Boston's neighborhoods and its downtown. The agency’s homepage features an interactive map of the city that allows visitors to view current and future development projects. Additionally, users can search via parcel ID or address. In the Neighborhoods area, visitors can browse around the officially identified list of neighborhoods to see what's on the docket. Clicking on Business Development is a great way to learn about long-term business opportunities, including the Boston Business Hub and various initiatives designed to encourage the growth of certain value added businesses. Moving on, the Research & Maps area contains rich data sets, interactive maps, and a raft of research papers, including "Boston in Context: Neighborhoods" and "Grocery Stores in Boston.” [KMG]

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·http://www.taftmuseum.org/

Located in Cincinnati’s Baum-Longworth-Sinton-Taft House, built around 1820 and considered one of the finest examples of Federal architecture in the country, the Taft Museum of Art has a small but strong collection of European old master and 19th-century American paintings, Chinese porcelains, European decorative arts, Limoges enamels, watches, sculptures, and furniture. View the collection highlights page to see digital images such as The Doctor's Visit, ca. 1663, by Jan Steen (Dutch, 1625 - 1679), or John Singer Sargent's portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson, 1887. While no complete exhibitions are available online, you can read exhibition descriptions dating back to 1985. As a point of interest for website managers, the Taft Museum is using Word Press. [DS]

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·https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dayboard-new-tab-page/kimodcegbhclamjcbifgfaldeengbgij

Dayboard lets you take on five tasks a day, no more, no less. It's a great extension that works with Google Chrome to keep users focused. Visitors can insert their items at the start of each day and then keep track of them via a system of tabs. This version is compatible with all operating systems running Goole Chrome. [KMG]

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·http://slides.com/

If you're looking for a great way to create and share beautiful presentations at no cost, you should give Slides a look. The program gives visitors the ability to use the software on many devices, add audio to each slide, import PDF files seamlessly, and much more. Presentations will be publicly available, unless visitors elect for the paid version, in which case they can be kept private. This version is compatible with all operating systems. [KMG]

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Obama to create world's largest marine preserve in Pacific Ocean
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/06/17/kerry/WLI43Ni0fKsLJTretAi1xK/story.html

US Proposal Would Create World's Largest Marine Sanctuary
http://www.voanews.com/content/us-proposal-would-create-worlds-largest-marine-sanctuary/1938635.html

FACT SHEET: Leading at Home and Internationally to Protect Our Ocean and Coasts
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/17/fact-sheet-leading-home-and-internationally-protect-our-ocean-and-coasts

Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument
http://www.fws.gov/pacificremoteislandsmarinemonument/

NOAA: National Marine Sanctuaries
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/

Oceans and Law of the Sea
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm

In the past decade, there has been a great deal of hand-wringing about the future of the world's oceans. Overfishing, environmental damage, and climate change have taken their toll from the Mediterranean to the Pacific Ocean. This Tuesday, President Barack Obama announced a proposal at the U.S. State Department's "Our Ocean" conference that would create the world's largest marine preserve. This massive area in the south-central Pacific Ocean, located between Hawaii and the U.S. territory of American Samoa, will contain over two million square kilometers that would be off-limits to drilling, fishing, and other related actions. The plan must go through a public comment period before it is formally approved allowing other parties to offer their opinions and possible objections. [KMG]

The first link will take visitors to a fine article from this Monday's Boston Globe with details on this ocean preservation proposal. The second link will take interested parties to a feature from the Voice of America's website, complete with some links to related news and additional materials. Moving along, the third link will whisk users away to the official fact sheet from the White House about this ambitious proposal and features the text of President Obama's remarks. The fourth link will take visitors to the homepage of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine Islands National Monument, which will be the core of this expanded ocean preserve. The main page of the National Marine Sanctuaries can be found via the fifth link. Here, visitors can learn more about these unique habitats which range from the Channel Islands off the coast of California to Stellwagen Bank off the coast of Massachusetts. The final link leads to an authoritative site on official policies of the United Nations regarding the world’s oceans and seas.