The Scout Report -- Volume 24, Number 4

From the University of California's Bancroft Library, with financial support from the National Parks Service, comes this powerful digital archive dedicated to the experiences of Japanese-Americans who were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II. This collection features almost 150,000 documents, including papers, photographs, maps, and personal archives from the Bancroft Library. These documents have been digitized by Calisphere and the Online Archive of California. The collection includes the personal papers of writer Yoshiko Uchida (Invisible Thread; Picture Bride), who was interned at camps in California and Utah; the papers of California attorney general Robert Walker Kenney; and a collection of recorded interviews with individuals who spent time in internment camps (available in the multimedia section). In addition to viewing this collection through Calisphere and the Online Archive of California, visitors can explore this collection by internment camp via an interactive map. [MMB]

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Denis Lepage of Bird Studies Canada (part of Bird Life International) manages AviBase, which is an, "extensive database information system about all birds of the world, containing over 19 million records about 10,000 species and 22,000 subspecies of birds, including distribution information, taxonomy, synonyms in several languages, and more." Visitors can explore this list by conducting a text search (available via the search tab) and restrict searches by year, language, species, etc. In addition, visitors have the option of setting up a MyAvibase account, which is a tool designed to help one manage their own bird observation data. While these features may especially appeal to ornithology instructors and researchers, AviBase may also appeal to casual bird-watchers. For example, the "Bird of the day" offers a delightful way to learn about birds around the world. [MMB]

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For high school mathematics teachers, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics offers this collection of activities to help young mathematicians develop their quantitative reasoning skills. These activities have been developed by high school and college mathematics educators and can be downloaded in PDF format from this online library. Each PDF features a detailed teacher's guide as well as a student hand out. In one activity, "Cash or Gas?" students consider whether it is better to receive $250,000 in cash in an imagined lottery or free gas for life. Another activity, "As the Crow Flies," is designed to help students understand the logic and reasoning behind the Pythagorean theorem. These activities can be implemented alongside existing mathematics curriculum as they align with Common Core Standards. [MMB]

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This Stanford University Coursera class dedicated to science writing recently opened on January 22, 2018. This class is intended for both post-secondary science students as well as professionals interested in improving their science writing skills. Dr. Kristin Sainani, Associate Professor of Health and Research Policy at Stanford, instructs the class. In addition to her work at Stanford, Dr. Sainani has also written for both a popular magazine (Allure) as well as an academic journal (Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation). Topics covered in this eight-week long course include sentence structure, the scientific peer review process, grant writing, science writing for the general public, and much more. [MMB]

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For social studies teachers with access to Mac or iOS devices, the Library of Congress offers this helpful collection of free iBooks designed to engage students with primary source documents. Each of these iBooks, or Student Discovery Sets, addresses a different topic or theme in U.S. history - a few kits address world history topics. Sets include topics such as Children's Lives at the Turn of the Twentieth Century (featuring eighteen images, most of which are photographs); The Harlem Renaissance (featuring art, photographs, and sheet music); and Women's Suffrage (featuring cartoons, pamphlets, and an audio recording). In addition, this collection includes a few kits that may also appeal to science instructors; for instance, Scientific Data: Observing, Recording, and Communicating Information offers a glimpse into the history of science, as does Understanding the Cosmos and Weather Forecasting. As of this write-up, the LOC offers nineteen kits. [MMB]

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Librarians, educators, youth workers, and parents may be interested in GayYA: "a website and blog dedicated to everything LGBTQIA+ in YA [young adult literature]." This website was launched in 2011 and continues to be regularly updated by a team of dedicated volunteer book-lovers. Perhaps the most useful of these resources is the LGBTQA+ YA Master List, a collection of book recommendation lists organized by category, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. From here, visitors may want to check out the latest blog post on the site's homepage or browse previous blog posts by category, which include author interview, book review, teen voices, and sneak peek. This blog offers a fabulous way to discover new titles and stay up-to-date on news in the world of YA literature. Accessibly written, this blog may especially appeal to young readers themselves. [MMB]

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Want to test out your grammar knowledge? The New York Times recently published this series of short, interactive quizzes that allow readers to take a stab at copy editing sentences from recently published articles. Each quiz features about a dozen sentences taken from actual Times articles. Readers are then tasked with identifying the word that needs editing. When they select the correct word, readers can see how well they did in comparison to other quiz-takers. This interactive activity may especially appeal to instructors of upper-level writing classes. As of this write-up, the series includes nine quizzes. By following the link above, readers can check out the most recent quiz and find a link to previously published quizzes. [MMB]

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The ALSC Blog is the official blog of the Association for Library Services for Children, "a network of more than 4,000 children's and youth librarians, children's literature experts, publishers, education and library school faculty members, and other adults committed to improving and ensuring the future of the nation through exemplary library service to children, their families, and others who work with children." The blog, authored by a variety of children's librarians, provides ideas, tips, and information about new books and resources that may be of interest, and event ideas. For example, in one recent post, librarian Emily Bayci offers some ideas about how to commemorate February with young library patrons. In another recent post, Paige Bentley-Flannery discusses a variety of reading apps. This blog is updated almost daily, offering a great way to stay abreast of developments in youth library services. [MMB]

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Theodore Roosevelt was a book lover: the twenty-sixth president was known to read a book a day (at least), and some historians speculate that he may have been the most well-read president in U.S. history. This interactive timeline, created using Knight Lab's TimelineJS visualization, is dedicated to the books Roosevelt read throughout his life. Designed by public historian Karen Sieber, this timeline highlights the books that Roosevelt wrote about in his correspondence, which is available courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. In each entry, visitors can learn about a book Roosevelt read and check out the accompanying letter through a direct link to the digital library. In addition, visitors can view an image from each book. For those interested in reading some of Roosevelt's selections themselves, many of the books featured in this timeline are in the public domain. [MMB]

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On July 8, 1924, at 9:00 p.m., WNYC aired its first official broadcast. The radio station has been on the air ever since, making it one of the oldest radio stations in New York City. Today, WNYC offers this fascinating collection of archived broadcasts, allowing visitors to listen to broadcasts originally aired throughout the station's 93-year history. For instance, visitors can listen to Eleanor Fischer's report on The Freedom Summer of 1964; hear a 1939 dedication ceremony for a collection of murals funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA); and enjoy Leonard Bernstein's first ever New York Symphony concert, recorded on October 8, 1945. Each archived radio clip is accompanied by a thoughtful short essay and additional archival material of interest, including photographs and documents. In addition to an impressive collection of radio broadcasts, the archives also include a few short essays about the station's history: for example, one essay displays a number of microphones used throughout WNYC's history. [MMB]

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Here Be Monsters is a "podcast about the unknown" that may especially appeal to those interested in science, philosophy, and psychology. The podcast is hosted by Jeff Emtman (who has also appeared on This American Life) and is distributed by KCRW, a National Public Radio station in Santa Monica, California. Each episode of this 20 to 40-minute-long podcast explores a different mystery, from unusual scientific phenomena to urban legends. This recent episode of Here Be Monsters features Ian Tattersall from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and explores the question: how do you represent ancient hominids in a museum when no one really knows what they looked like? As Tattersall explains, AMNH scientists grappled with that question while designing their Laetoli Figures display, which depicts two early humans (circa 3.6 billion years ago) whose bones were discovered in modern-day Laetoli, Tanzania. Tattersall talks about why this question is particularly vexing to scientists and describes how natural museums must draw on both science and art when creating exhibits. By visiting the above link visitors can listen to the full episode and check out an accompanying essay, which includes pictures of the Laetoli figures and links to related resources. [MMB]

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According to national copyright laws, a person's work enters the public domain after a certain number of years following their death. In many countries, this number of years is set at either 50 or 70. Thus, on January 1 of every year, a number of new items become part of the public domain. The Public Domain Review (last featured in our 05-26-2017 Best of the Scout Report issue) recently published this "Class of 2018" list to alert readers to works that are now in the public domain. This eclectic list includes English occultist Aleister Crowley, avant-garde writer Alice B. Toklas, Harlem Renaissance poet Jean Toomer, and British poet Anna Wickham. Visitors can check out the full list via the link above, and can also view the PDR's previous lists for 2015, 2016, and 2017. [MMB]

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As fashionistas will attest, sartorial trends often cycle back around after a few years or decades of obscurity. This Europeana online exhibit demonstrates that fashion trends can also reemerge centuries after they first appear. Drawing on the collections of a variety of European museums and other cultural institutions (including the Amsterdam Museum, Paris's Les Arts Decoratifs and the Victoria and Albert Museum), this exhibit allows visitors to compare clothing items of yesteryear with more modern reinterpretations side-by-side. For example, visitors can view a 1928 evening gown by Madeleine Vionnet alongside a 2005 Viktor & Rolf evening gown. Both gowns incorporate the same style of bow, although in very different ways. Another comparison places a late-eighteenth-century frock coat alongside a 1981 Vivienne Westwood coat. These photographs are accompanied by short annotations that provide additional information about the clothing items displayed in the exhibit. [MMB]

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Founded in 1247, Bethlem Royal Hospital is one of the oldest institutions designed for treating mental illness. Today, the Bethlem Museum of the Mind is dedicated to preserving information and material related to how mental illness has been perceived and treated throughout British history. The museum offers this interactive timeline that outlines the history of Bethlem Hospital between 1676 and 1815. Visitors can explore this timeline by six categories: the hospital, attitudes to mental health, visitors, staff, patients, and outside events. Once visitors select a category, they will find a variety of primary documents along with short videos in which scholars answer frequently asked questions about the institution's history. Materials featured in this timeline include a passage of writing by Nathaniel Lee, a dramatist that spent time at Bethlem; William Hogarth's 1733 painting A Rake's Progress; and the 1815 testimony of a Bethlem physician before the House of Commons Committee on Madhouses. [MMB]

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For fans of modern and contemporary art, SFMOMA's Raw Material podcast offers a delightful way to learn about art projects across the United States. Each season of this podcast is hosted by a different "podcaster-in-residence" who explores a different kind of art. The show is currently in its third season, entitled "Landfall," which is hosted by Jessica Placzek and Madeline Gobbo and dedicated to art in the Western United States. This season focuses on the intersections of art and land. Individual episodes explore topics including land art, the works of John Muir, underground gardens, and, "the little-known art history of Disney Land." Folks interested in exploring past seasons of this podcast may do so via the past seasons tab. Season two, hosted by Geraldine Ah-Sue, explored, "the intersections between art, community, and social justice." Season three, hosted by Ross Simonini, "documented artists who work with the unknown." [MMB]

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Recipe for Victory, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presents digital versions of books and pamphlets published during World War I between 1917-1919 in the U.S and England. These materials, selected from the UW-Libraries collections, were created to help home cooks support the war effort. Texts in the collection explain the world food situation, nutritional value of various foods, how to grow gardens on "slacker" land, and cookbooks with recipes dealing with scarce products, such as wheat and meat. The 45 publications in the collection can be browsed page by page, and a keyword search is also available. For example, Wheatless and Meatless Days, by Pauline Dunwell Partridge and Hester Martha Conklin, includes a foreword that explains how careful rationing can support the war effort and includes recipes for wheatless and meatless meals. Yeasted buckwheat cakes on page 17 sound appealing for breakfast, although Liberty Loaf, composed of rice, walnuts, and cheese on page 173 sounds a bit less so. Perhaps the MacAdoo sauce, with pimentos, rice broth or hot water, thickened with a roux made from three tablespoons of precious flour, renders it tasty. [DS]

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Ring is a decentralized, peer-to-peer communication platform designed to preserve user privacy. To the end-user, it is similar in functionality to Skype, providing text chat, voice calls, and video calls. However, unlike Skype, Ring uses no central servers and all communications are end-to-end encrypted. Ring is developed and maintained by Savoir-faire Linux, a Canadian company, with contributions from a global community of developers. Ring is free software, with source code available from Savoir-faire Linux's gitlab site. In addition to using its own eponymous peer-to-peer network, Ring can also act as a standard SIP client to make voice-over-IP calls. Ring is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. [CRH]

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Mailspring is a mail client that strives to be, "the best new mail client in a decade." Based on the discontinued Nylas Mail, Mailspring retains many of Nylas's unique features while also rewriting substantial portions of the program for increased speed and decreased resource usage. Mailspring includes support for multiple accounts, a unified inbox across all accounts, Gmail-style global search, automatic translation of drafts between languages, and a language-sensitive spell checker. Mailspring comes with a selection of themes to customize the look and feel of the interface. Users may also use the theme starter to build custom themes. The core of Mailspring is open-source and available on GitHub. A professional version is also available for a fee that contains additional features. Mailspring is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. [CRH]

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Originally featured in January 2017, this real-time map of wind and temperature conditions on earth continues to dazzle us.

Software engineer Cameron Beccario created this website, which allows visitors to view a, "near real-time visualization of global weather conditions." Using data from a number of sources, including the Global Forecast System (GFS), the Ocean Surface Current Analyses Real-time (OSCAR) database, Real-Time Global Sea Surface Temperature (RTGSST) analysis, and more, Beccario has designed an animated, interactive globe. Visitors can choose from a variety of modes (air, ocean, chem[ical], and particulates) in order to view near real-time model information. Within each mode, visitors may also select from a subset of the model's data (e.g. in the "air" mode, visitors can choose to view wind data or temp[erature] data, among other options.) Visitors can also adjust how they view these global models using the projection or overlay options.

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