A link from the opening screen of the Norton Websource to American Literature leads to a Student Roundtable where readers can join a discussion forum. Instead of asking questions concerning American literature, two messages posted to the forum in late January 2000 discuss the Websource site itself. Both messages forecast their assessment of the site in their subject lines, the first titled "impressive" and the second titled "Could be helpful." A closer look at the Websource confirms that both messages are in part correct in their characterizations of the site.
The Websource does offer an impressive collection of information for students of American literature. It covers authors ranging from A. R. Ammons to John Winthrop. For each author listed, the site provides a brief biography and a series of Exploration questions offering additional insight into key works or themes. For most of the authors, links to supplemental information on the Web are also provided. With nearly one hundred and twenty five authors covered, the Websource truly does present an impressive array of resources for the study of American literature.
Additionally, the site is well organized. The site menu is divided into four major sections: Literary Periods, Explorations, Topics, and Authors. The menu is incorporated into a frame on the left side of the browser window, allowing readers to easily jump to major sections of the site and remain oriented. A link to a search function makes it easy for readers to find items on the site quickly. The menu would benefit from return links to the opening of the site, but thanks to the site's simple and effective design, instructors can feel confident that students will easily navigate the Websource and make use of its information.
Also impressive is the site's approach to presenting information about American Literature. In addition to the study-oriented Explorations and Topics sections where key movements and periods are discussed in overviews, the site offers handy timelines incorporated into its Literary Periods sections. Each period includes a timeline presenting a key text from a given author in one column correlated with a key event, figure or movement in a parallel column. Clearly the timelines represent a welcome opportunity for students to see authors and texts as situated within particular contexts.
Initially, the breadth and simple design of the Websource may lull readers into believing that the site offers comprehensive coverage of American Resources. A closer look at what is available for a given author, however, suggests that the site may be limited by some of the same forces at play in literature anthologies. For instance, selecting the Author link for Elizabeth Bishop takes a reader to the timeline for Poetry Since 1945. In the timeline, Bishop is listed at 1976 along with a link referring to her "In the Waiting Room." Following the link leads a reader to the Bishop page where "In the Waiting Room," "The Armadillo" and "Over 2,000 Illustrations" are discussed. Still, a cursory glance might suggest that the Bishop's work is situated around 1976 or is limited to these few works.
Closer inspection reveals that the poems and authors covered provide more of a lens into what's available in the print counterpart of the Norton Websource, than into American Literature as a whole. Of course, this approach is understandable given that the site acts as a supplement to the anthology. However, at some point the anthology-orientation can be misleading or uneccesarily limiting. One wonders whether students will revisit the collections, summaries of key topics and timeline events with an eye that appreciates their status as items that have been selected among many competing possibilities or with an understanding that reflects on the decisions that go into the selection process.
To its credit, the Websource counters this anthology-focus for many authors by providing links to resources on the Web at large that offer supplemental information. For instance, the Adrienne Rich page contains useful links to text and audio readings, articles and archives. Curiously, though, even when integrating links from the vastly inclusive Web, a site like the Websource enacts all of the selection issues intimately involved in choosing resources for any anthology-like project. A quick search for "Adrienne Rich" for instance, at the Google search engine turned up 9,998 items related to Rich; the first four screenfuls of the search items all provided resources that would offer a student worthwhile insight into Rich and her work.
Finally, the Websource has some ways to go before it utilizes the electronic medium of the Web to its full potential. On a simple level, this can be seen in the Explorations offered on the site. Mainly these explorations play out as study questions or prompts for discussion. Given the gesture at the opening screen of the site toward student involvement it is curious that these questions have not been made "live" in the form of spaces for online discussion. Similarly, study questions might be enhanced with the inclusion of visual materials or even snippets from texts that are already in the public domain. In having a ways to go before realizing the full potential of electronic study resources, the Websource is not alone. Still, the easy navigability and useful resources can only be made better should the site evolve to become not only a resource, but also an activity space.
The Websource (though offering extensive coverage) would benefit from even more interaction with the many information-based resources available online for studying American literature. Similarly, the resources provided by the Websource will benefit from the incorporation of still richer teaching and learning materials and on-site activities. So, the student who opened her characterization of the site with the subject line "impressive" made a good judgment when it comes to the coverage and ease of use of the Websource. Students will be well served by visiting and using this fine resource. However, the second student's "Could be helpful" posting suggests that there remain unexplored avenues for facilitating online learning at the site. If developed these avenues can allow the Websource to grow even beyond its anthology roots.