When we need to hunker down in the Berkshires (or anywhere else) during inclement weather, whether it is a named system like Hurricane Sandy or just a run of wind and rain or snow, we like to take advantage resources on the Internet, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s MetPublications. It gives you access to the Met’s renowned print and online publications published from 1964 to the present. Eventually it will offer access to nearly all books, bulletins, and journals published by the Metropolitan Museum since its founding in 1870, as well as online publications.

There is a Berkshires link to one of the latest books available because of the Silk Road Ensemble, founded at Tanglewood by Yo-Yo Ma. Available for free through Google books is Afghanistan: Forging Civilizations along the Silk Road, which was published this year. Additionally, 140 out of print books can be bought through a high-quality print-on-demand service administered by Yale University Press. Of course, recent publications are available at book stores and at amazon.com.

So, bring it on Hurricane Sandy, and please stay on western Massachusetts electric and other utilities because we’re looking forward to a virtual journey along the Silk Road, with detours as they undoubtedly will arise thanks to tabs reading “additional resources,” and “related titles.”