JapanKnowledge is a portal to Japanese encyclopedias, dictionaries and databases, searchable both in Japanese and English. And you can like the database on Facebook!

Contents include Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, a largest Japanese language dictionary, Rekishi Chimei Taikei, a large historical & geographical dictionary that consists of 51 volumes, contains 200,000 entries, and updated from printed version (1979-2005), Kôdansha Encyclopedia of Japan, the largest encyclopedia in English about Japan, Nihon Dai Hyakka Zensho, one of the largest encyclopedia in Japanese (31 volumes), Jitsû, one of the best dictionaries about history and culture of Kanji, Imidas and Gendai Yôgo no Kiso Chishiki, dictionaries of current words, e-book of Tôyô Bunko series, e-journal of Shûkan ekonomisuto and etc.

Wanna be starting something?  Find out what activist women around the world have been starting since 1840 by exploring this new digital archive of conference proceedings, reports of international women’s organizations, publications and web pages of women’s non-governmental organizations, and letters, diaries, and memoirs.   Research organizations such as the  Associated Country Women of the World, founded in 1933 or The International Alliance of Women, founded in 1904, or search by country, region or activist.

And if you are wondering what American women activists have been up to, see Women and Social Movements in the United States.

We know, it’s only rock ‘n’ roll but we like this new database: Rock’s Backpages–a database of music journalism.

Boomers (and sons and daughters of Boomers) will love reading reviews of albums, and reading–and listening to–interviews with their favorite artists. (Listen to Levon Helm talking about his roots–the voice!)

Read the 1969 Rolling Stone profile of Joni Mitchell, the coverage of the 1968 arrival of the Queen of Soul (that would be Aretha) in London, or about “THE MOST exciting new band to break from the States this year” (1973, Steely Dan).  Search for your favorite artists and learn about the world and culture they lived and performed in.  Here’s what happened on September 4, years ago:

Sep 04 1952
Precocious eight-year-old Gladys Knight forms her first singing group, after putting on an impromptu show at her brother Bubba’s tenth birthday party. (1952)

Sep 04 1963
An article in today’s edition of Variety, the US entertainment trade magazine, hails fast-rising star Bob Dylan as ?a folknik hero?. (1963)

Sep 04 1965
Help! by The Beatles reaches No1 in the Billboard US singles chart, for the first of three weeks. (1965)

Sep 04 1970
Led Zeppelin play at The Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA. (1970)

Sep 04 1970
The Rolling Stones release a new album Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out! ? The Rolling Stones In Concert, on Decca Records in the UK and London Records in the USA. (1970)

The Library has purchased the JSTOR XI collection of journals, which, when completed by 2014, will add about 125 journals to the database.  Many are available now.  Journals to be added include:

The Bowdoin community now has access to a database of current newspapers worldwide. Library PressDisplay provides “instant online access to today’s newspapers from around the world in full-color, full-page format. The ever-expanding collection currently includes more than 1,200 U.S. and international titles—from 94 countries in 48 languages. Just like reading the familiar print edition, viewers can browse articles and other key content, such as pictures, advertisements, classifieds, and notices. The service also provides up to a 60-day backfile and the ability to perform keyword searches across all titles and the entire backfile.” (from the database description)

Note that 3 users may access the database at one time (additional users are fairly pricey), so if you can’t get in, just try again. And if access is a consistent problem, let us know!

Traveling this summer? Mango Languages database has basic courses in a variety of languages, including Hindi, Thai, Korean, and Portuguese. They have also added, for your scholarly travels, Koine Greek, Ancient Greek, Latin and Biblical Hebrew.