AdViews: A Digital Archive of Vintage Television Commercials
While watching television commercials might seem like a form of torture to some, this amazing archive is a treasure trove for those with an interest in media studies and popular culture. The AdViews digital archive consists of several thousand vintage television commercials from the 1950s through 1980s, and it is part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at Duke University. First-time visitors should check out the "About" area for a bit more background on the project, and then type in some keywords like "peanuts" or "toothpaste" into the search engine. The results are returned in a grid format, and the commercials are played back via iTunes. The "AdViews Expert Interviews" area contains talks with former advertising executives, professors of marketing, and media studies experts. The site also has a nice blog that highlights new items in the collection and a quiz to "Test Your Ad Knowledge." (Copyright 2010 Internet Scout Project, http://scout.wisc.edu, 3/19/10)
StoryCorps: Recording The Lives of Everyday Americans
StoryCorps' mission is to provide "Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives". Since 2003, 50,000 Americans have taken that opportunity, and some of their stories can be heard on NPR's radio show, Morning Edition. The StoryCorps website has links to over a dozen stories on its homepage, along with photos of those key to the story. To "Read the StoryCorps Blog", visitors should go to the menu on the right side of the page, under "Follow Us Online, On The Road". The stories of these Americans range from heart-rending to humorous. Some of the titles include "A Boy Raises a Man-And Becomes One Himself", about a 16-year-old who raises his son as a single dad; "Boy Scout Tells Leader Why He Stayed 25 Years", about a Boy Scout troop for special needs scouts; and "Coping With Memory Loss as it Spans Generations", about a 55-year-old woman who has early onset Alzheimer's disease, and is dealing with her mother, who also has Alzheimer's. (Copyright 2010 Internet Scout Project, http://scout.wisc.edu, 3/19/10)
The Heritage Preservation: The National Institute for Conservation is a 30-year-old non-profit in Washington, DC, that is concerned with preserving the treasures of the United States that are already in institutions, such as museums, historical societies, and libraries, as well as those historical treasures that are in people's homes, basements, and attics. Their website is comprehensive, and lists the programs they run to help accomplish this monumental task. Under the "Programs" tab visitors will find links to the "Conservation Assessment Program" and "Heritage Emergency National Task Force", which is like FEMA for historical objects. "Rescue Public Murals" and "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" are also programs the Heritage Preservation runs. Visitors can see photographs of "Murals That Have Been Lost" and "Murals That Have Been Saved". Finally, the link under "Programs" to the "Heritage Health Index" provides a full online report of the "first comprehensive survey to assess the condition and preservation needs of U.S. collections". (Copyright 2010 Internet Scout Project, http://scout.wisc.edu, 3/19/10)
- CEO, Youth Services Update, Issue 341, April 14, 2010
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