INTERNET REVIEWS
C&RL News, April 2009
Vol. 70, No. 4
by Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost
AIDS.gov. Access: http://aids.gov/.
Governed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources, AIDS.gov was launched as an information gateway on Dec. 1, 2006 (World AIDS Day). This Web site aims to be the single point of access to information and resources provided by the various federal agencies and departments who are engaged in HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, treatment, and research. 
The design and structure of AIDS.gov is visually attractive and easy to navigate. Appropriate graphics are displayed on different portions of the Web site. Users can perform a quick search with the option of limiting the search to AIDS.gov or all federal Web sites, by using the search box at the top of the homepage.
Menus located on the left side of the homepage provide access to a wealth of information. “News and Events” highlights recent news, announcements, and events. “Testing” offers an overview of HIV testing resources, standards, and guidelines. “Funding Opportunities” provides listings of federal agencies, programs, and recent announcements about funding available. “Agencies and Programs” directs users to an agencies/programs index, prevention programs, treatment and care programs, minority initiatives, global and other program initiatives. “Frequent Questions” refers users to a list of frequently asked questions regarding all the HIV/AIDS topics presented on the Web site. “Other Resources” informs users about private organizations involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Researchers will find the authoritative information provided in “Basic Information,” “Prevention and Education,” “Treatment and Care,” “Research,” and “Populations” sections valuable. They provide relevant links to statistics, background information, and other useful resources that address HIV/AIDS issues.
Other useful content on the site includes “Find an HIV Test Site.” In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a search box is provided to assist users in finding a HIV testing site by ZIP code.
An impressive feature of AIDS.gov is the incorporation of Web 2.0 technologies. Users of Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook can connect with this Web site. Also, a blog, podcasts, and RSS feed are used to disseminate information.
Because of AIDS.gov, it is less complicated to find HIV/AIDS information that is available across the various federal agency Web sites. Laypersons, researchers, and students who want to save time will find this Web site valuable.—Nancy Allen, University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee, nallen@sar.usf.edu
International Organization for Migration. Access: http://www.iom.int.
The Web site of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a repository for information about IOM, including its current annual report, budget, constitution, and a chronology of key events in its history. It offers statistics in international migration, a discussion of migration policy, research studies, books, periodicals, and serials.
The organization’s activities in specific countries are also highlighted. The site’s media center features a searchable “Image Library” and a collection of videos, which may be viewed with Windows Media Player. A series of photo stories, slideshows depicting the situation of migrants and refugees, can be found on the “Video Vault” page. IOM’s Web site hosts the “Migration Law Database,” featuring international, regional, and national law.
The site offers multiple ways to search content. Its search engine offers both basic and advanced search options, with a helpful search tips guide. The user may also opt for exploring the search tabs but will have to deal with fussy and sometimes challenging drop down menus. It isn’t always clear which tab to choose in order to find a particular research topic.
Many of the same research categories may be found further down the page in a clearer, more user-friendly format.
IOM’s Web site is trilingual, with both interface and content in English, French, and Spanish. While exploring the French site, I found I couldn’t return to the English site despite numerous attempts. I could only return to the English and the Spanish sites after closing my browser and starting from scratch. I had the same problem with both Firefox and Internet Explorer, but not with Safari.
Despite some rough waters in negotiating the IOM Web site, it is an excellent resource for researching international migration issues. Most of the organization’s research publications are available for download for free, as well as for purchase in hard copy. Graduate students and researchers will be pleased to find such a wealth of material.—Ann Flower, Monterey Institute of International Studies, aflower@exchange.miis.edu
National NAGPRA. Access: http://www.nps.gov/history/nagpra/.
The National Park Service maintains a Web site to update the public and to assure that museums and other federal agencies are in compliance with the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Museums and federal agencies must submit inventories of their collections that contain Native American human remains, funerary objects, or sacred objects. Federally recognized tribes may petition for these items to be repatriated. 
While some of the information, such as the section covering laws and regulations, found on the National NAGPRA site can be found elsewhere, the fact that all the pertinent and related data can be found in one place is the site’s strength. In addition to a helpful FAQ and documents section, many users will be drawn to one of the four databases. The “Native American Consultation Database” contains current contact information for Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages and corporations, and Native Hawaiian organizations. The search feature for the “Notices of Inventory Completion Database” and the “Notices of Intent to Repatriate Database” did not work at the time of review, but links to notices in both databases are available for browsing through a chronological list. The “Culturally Unidentifiable Native American Inventories Database” is searchable by state or holding institution. Entries for all viewable database content include text only; no photos or drawings are available. The Web site does not have creation or revision dates. The section on NAGPR Review Committee is out of date, but the homepage has updated information.
The site is organized by audience (“tribes,” “museums,” “agencies,” “public,” “press”) and by content (FAQ, databases, laws, and legislation). Each has a menu that is persistent throughout the Web site, making navigating easy for the user.
Users drawn to this site will probably be limited to museums, tribes, and federal agencies because of the narrow focus, although historians and anthropologists may find the databases useful.—Kimberly Bartosz, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, bartosz@uwp.edu
Joni R. Roberts is associate university librarian for public services and collection development at Willamette University, e-mail: jroberts@willamette.edu, and Carol A. Drost is associate university librarian for technical services at Willamette University, e-mail: cdrost@willamette.edu