For this assignment, I decided to look at Famous Law trials and the Internet Archive
Famous Law trials
Content: This site documents some of the greatest and well-known trials from as far back as 30 A.D. to as recent as 2024. While a vast majority of the trials on the site are criminal trials, there are some civil ones listed as well. The site lists out all the trials they’ve collected and researched on the main page and from there is an option where you can search for a specific type of trial such as trials having to do with race, religion, wrongful convictions etc., which I thought was really helpful in narrowing down the search. The site also holds trial transcripts, maps, and images pertaining to these cases. From the few trials that I skimmed on this site, I would say that the cases were very well researched and informative.
Design: While I did find the design of the site to be simple and basic, I think it does still communicate what a user can find within it and it is fairly easy to navigate as well. The trials that they’ve researched are all laid out and, if one was looking for a trials pertaining to a specific subject, the site has it so that trials can also be organized by category on the homepage.
Audience: The site was originally created by a professor at the UMKC School of Law for students in his Famous Trials seminar class but as time went on, his focus shifted to having it be for anyone of any background, whether it be someone in middle school or a graduate student. The site is intended for anyone interested in law, and to small degree History since they go hand in hand.
Digital Media: While simple, I believe that the site does make use of digital media and new technology. The site was originally created in 1995 and, as of 2017, has since been revamped. It includes not just images but digital maps, graphs, and links to videos, and audio clips, things that would have likely not been possible at the time of creation. The site isn’t perfect but for the most part, I think it does a fairly good job of adapting to the times and including recent technology within it.
Creators: The creator for this site is professor Douglas O. Linder from UMKC School of Law, although he does acknowledge having a support team that helped him with cleaning up and revamping the site, keeping it up to date.
Internet Archive
Content: The Internet Archive is a digital library that offers access to a wide-range of accessible media, from books and newspapers to films and podcasts. it strives to save and preserve things available (or no longer available) on the internet, as well as digitize books and other print materials so that they can be made more accessible to everyone.
Design: While I love the functionality of the site, I do think it looks very old and dated, at times also feeling cluttered. It can be hard at times to navigate around the website which is why I’m very glad that a search bar exists since it’s an easier and faster alternative for searching for the materials you’re actually looking for, especially if you’re using a phone or tablet.
Audience: The audience seems geared towards basically everybody, from researchers, historians, and scholars, as well as the general public. I used this archive as a young child before I even knew what all it stored on its site and as an adult, I can see that it holds basically every kind of content, from movies to books and newspapers making this site one that anyone can benefit from.
Digital Media: The site definitely makes effective use of digital media and new technology. It holds music, movies, podcasts, maps, books, and even the Wayback Machine, an archive that I’ve made grateful use of when it comes to finding deleted sites and works from the internet. It is a great method of preserving and finding all types of media.
Creators: The site was founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle but it works as a non-profit that is maintained and supported by various staff, volunteers, as well as the everyday person who decided to make an account and upload their media.
