Web Critique 2

Website Name: The Charters of Freedom
Operated By:  The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Funded By:  The President’s Budget with authorization each year by Congress₁

This website is a virtual museum exhibit. Many Americans are unable to visit the National Archives Museum, so naturally a website resource is a good thing for NARA to provide. The website has a museum-like feel, with the title and tabs at the top of the website appearing to be carved in stone. The rest of the navigation occurs within a smaller box within the larger webpage. A visitor may navigate through 5 particular topics: the making of the charters, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the impact of the Charters. Thorough, yet succinct, the website offers many interesting subtopic pages along with corresponding pictures and documents. One of my early complaints with the website was that the images of documents such as the Declaration and Constitution were not clear enough to be read. However, I found after a bit more time on the site that these documents were available for download as a high-resolution file making them a bit more readable. I enjoyed the works of art that were included as well as poignant quotes from founding fathers and others. Another helpful feature of the website is its linking to the NARA website which has even more resources and historical information, and also information about visiting their museum. Overall, I was hard-pressed to find anything which may make for a strong critique. I really recommend the website as it is a wonderful resource about our founding and treasured national documents.

₁ http://www.archives.gov/about/plans-reports/performance-budget/