ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 1 1 2 / C & R L N e w s ■ F e b r u a r y 1 9 9 9 I n t e r n e t R e v i e w s Sara A m a to , e d ito r E d ito rs’ note: T h is m o n t h ’s c o lu m n is d e v o te d to I n t e r n e t site p o r t a l sites. A c a d e m i c I n f o . A ccess: h t t p : / / w w w . a c a d e m ic in f o .n e t/. O n its h o m e p a g e , A c a d e m ic In fo is d e ­ s c r ib e d a s “a s u b je c t d ir e c to r y o f I n t e r n e t r e ­ s o u r c e s ta ilo re d to a c o lle g e a n d u n iv e rsity a u ­ d i e n c e .” T h a t is e s s e n tia lly w h a t it is. T h e in ­ te n d e d a u d ie n c e is u n d e r ­ g r a d u a t e o r a d v a n c e d h ig h school-level students. T h e site is d iv id e d in to t h e f o l lo w in g s e c t io n s : T h e S u b je c t I n d e x , T h e S e a rc h P a g e , T h e R e fe r­ e n c e D e s k , T h e S tu d e n t C e n te r, a n d C o m m e n ts & S u g g e s tio n s . T h e S u b je c t I n d e x is a lp h a b e tic a l b y b r o a d to p ic . U n d e r e a c h b r o a d to p ic , ty p e s o f re s o u rc e s a re liste d . W h e n a ty p e o f r e s o u r c e is c h o s e n , th e v ie w e r c a n t h e n m a k e s e le c tio n s b y su b je c ts o r title s, w h ic h a re a r r a n g e d a lp h a b e tic a lly . T h e v ie w e r b e g in s w ith a b r o a d to p ic a n d n a rr o w s th e s e a r c h u n til t h e in f o rm a tio n n e e d e d is fo u n d . O n T h e S earch P ag e, th e v ie w e r c a n ty p e in k e y w o r d s to p e r f o r m a B o o le a n s e a r c h (w h ic h is e x p la in e d o n th a t p a g e ). A list o f d o c u ­ m e n t s o r s ite s is t h e r e s u lt o f t h e s e a r c h . A n e x p lic it s e a r c h w ill n o t ta k e th e v ie w e r to p a r ­ tic u la r sites, o n ly t o g e n e ra l site s th a t a re likely to p e rta in t o th e to p ic o f th e search . T h e v ie w e r s h o u l d n o t e x p e c t th is to w o r k a s a n a rtic le search. T h e R e fe re n c e D e s k is d iv i d e d in t o tw o parts: G atew ay s, w h ic h in c lu d e s links to g u id es, g a te w a y s, s e a r c h e n g in e s , d ire c to rie s, e n c y c lo ­ p e d ia s , a n d a lm a n a c s , a n d P a th fin d e rs , w h ic h in c lu d e s links to la n g u a g e , w o rld , U n ite d States, h e a lth , m e d ic in e , s p a c e , p u b lis h in g , n e w s , p e o p le , w e a th e r, a n d m o n e y sites. T h e S tu d e n t C e n te r lists s ite s p e r t a in i n g t o in f o r m a tio n a b o u t c o lle g e s a n d universities. T h e v ie w e r c a n lin k to s ite s o n a d m is s io n s , fin a n c ia l a id , c o l­ le g e life, g ra d u a te sc h o o l, travel, etc. M ike M a d in , w h o is a lib ra ry s p e c ia lis t a t G a lla g h e r L aw L ib rary a t t h e U n iv e rs ity o f W a s h in g to n , m a in ta in s t h e site. H e p re v io u s ly m a in ta in e d C o m p a ra tiv e R eligion: A D ire c to ry o f I n t e r n e t R e s o u rc e s fo r t h e A c a d e m ic S tu d y o f R e lig io n . E a rlie r th is y e a r, C o m p a ra tiv e R eligion w a s in c o r p o ra te d in to A c a d e m ic Info, w h ic h is a n e w site. V iew ers c a n su g g e s t sites to b e in c o r p o ra te d in to A c a d e m ic Info, b u t M adin o n ly a c c e p ts a b o u t 20% o f s u g g e s te d sites. By u s in g a strict c o lle c tio n d e v e lo p m e n t p o licy , h e c a n m a in ta in th e h ig h q u a lity o f th e site. A f e w o f th e s ite s v ie w e d r e q u i r e d s u b s c r ip t io n a n d p a s s w o r d s , b u t n e a r ly all o f t h e s ite s w e r e r e a d ily a c c e s s ib le . S u c h in f o r m a tio n a s th e w e a t h e r in C h ic a g o , v id e o s o f t h e 1906 S an F ra n c is c o E a r th q u a k e , h is to ry o f t h e H o lly ­ w o o d sig n , a n d w h o w o n P u litz e r p riz e s in 1953, w a s u n e a r t h e d d u rin g a n e x a m in a tio n o f th is site. A c a d e m ic In fo is a v e ry g o o d , g e n e ra l in d e x to a c a d e m ic re la te d W e b sites. H ig h s c h o o l a n d u n iv e r s ity s t u d e n ts s h o u l d b e m a d e a w a r e o f its e x is te n c e a n d ta k e full a d v a n ta g e o f its r e ­ so u rces.— M ary Wise, C entral W ashington Uni­ versity Library, wisem @ tahom a.cw u.edu S n a p . Access: h tt p : / / w w w .s n a p .c o m . S n a p is a n e w p o rta l s e r v ic e d e v e l o p e d b y N BC a n d CNET. A s a g a te w a y o r p o rta l, th e site g a th e r s in f o rm a tio n fr o m v a r io u s s o u r c e s o n th e In te rn e t, in c lu d in g D e ja N e w s, MSNBC, CN N , a n d t h e D is c o v e ry C h a n n e l o n li n e . D u e to t h e b r a n d n a m e r e c o g n i­ tio n o f its d e v e lo p e r s a n d c o n t e n t p r o v id e rs , S n a p h a s q u ic k ly b e c o m e p o p u la r. S n a p o ffe rs t h e u s u a l fe a tu re s o f p o rta ls in ­ c lu d in g a d ire c to ry o f W e b sites, a s e a r c h facil­ ity p o w e r e d b y In k to m i, n e w s a n d c u r r e n t e v e n ts ( o n e o f t h e s ite s s tr e n g th s ) w ith h e a d ­ lin e s d ra w n fro m a v a rie ty o f re p u ta b le s o u rc e s s u c h a s MSNBC (w ith in te re s tin g fe a tu re s s u c h a s lin k s to th e “W e b ’s B e s t” a n d p o lls o n th e to p ic ), a n d m e s s a g e b o a r d s (jo in tly d e v e lo p e d w ith D e ja N e w s ). S p e c ia l f e a t u r e s in c l u d e th e a b ility to c u s to m iz e u s i n g “M y S n a p ” t o s e le c t n e w s fe e d s, b o o k m a rk s a n d to p ic areas, a n d th e a b ility t o v ie w r e g io n a l in f o rm a tio n s u c h as Sara A m a t o is e le c tr o n ic services a n d W e b d e v e lo p m e n t lib ra ria n a t B o w d o in C ollege, e -m ail:s a m a to @ b o w d o in .e d u http://www mailto:unsem@tahoma.cwu.edu http://www.snap.com mailto:samato@bowdoin.edu C & R L N e w s ■ F e b r u a r y 1 9 9 9 / 1 1 3 w e a th e r a n d n e w s o n o n e p a g e u s in g t h e “Lo­ c a l” fe a tu re th a t is c u s to m iz e d u s in g z ip c o d e s. T h e o v erall s tru c tu re o f th e site is excellen t; is it e a s y to n a v ig a te to d iffe re n t se c tio n s , a n d y o u a lw a y s k n o w w h e r e y o u a re ( a n d h o w to g e t b a c k ). Im p o rtan tly , w h e n y o u se le c t a W e b site fro m its listings, y o u a c tu a lly g o to th e site itself a n d n o t a n o th e r b r o w s e r w in d o w w ith in th e S n a p site. T h e o rg a n iz a tio n o f th e site is c le a r a n d logical. D e s p ite th e a m o u n t o f infor­ m a tio n available, th e site’s p a g e s d o n o t a p p e a r c lu tte r e d a n d d e s ig n e le m e n ts a re m a x im iz e d to b e v is u a lly a ttra c tiv e a n d m e a n in g fu l. T h e u b iq u ito u s a d v e rtise m e n ts o f co m m e rc ia l sites, w hile no t exactly low key, are no t visually abrasive. T h e site h a s a ra n g e o f c o n te n t fro m p o p u ­ lar to u n d e rg ra d u a te levels o f re se a rc h (w ith th e e x c e p tio n o f n e w s fe e d s , w h ic h a re o f in te re s t to all levels in re s e a rc h a n d a c a d e m ic libraries). I s e a r c h e d u n d e r a rt h is to ry a n d d id n o t fin d se v e ra l site s o r c a te g o rie s I e x p e c t e d to b e in ­ c lu d e d . W h ile s o m e c o n te n t a re a s o f t h e site h a v e e x c e lle n t c o v e ra g e (s u c h a s “C o m p u tin g a n d Internet,”) o th e rs s e e m u n e v e n (su c h as “Art H is t o r y ”). S u g g e s tio n s fo r im p ro v e m e n ts m ig h t in ­ clu d e: a full d isc lo su re o f th e s ite ’s c o n te n t p ro ­ v id e rs, p re f e ra b ly a v a ila b le in o n e lo c a tio n (it is h a r d to a s c e rta in th e o rig in o f m u c h o f th e data/services); inform ation o n selectio n policies fo r W e b s ite s in c lu d e d in t h e d ir e c to r y (w h a t a re th e s e le c tio n criteria?); in fo rm a tio n a b o u t h o w frequently th e site is u p d a te d (w h ic h is also d e p e n d e n t u p o n th e c o n te n t p ro v i d e r s ’ p o li­ c ie s); m o r e re lia b le c h e c k in g o f lin k s (a d e a d lin k is in c lu d e d to “R o a d m a p 9 6 ” in th e C o m ­ p u tin g a n d I n te rn e t se c tio n ); in c lu s io n o f re l­ e v a n c y ra n k in g s; a n d a m o r e in te llig e n t o r in ­ tu itiv e s e a r c h fo r W e b p a g e s . O v e ra ll, th e site n e e d s w o r k to b e c o m e u s e fu l to s e r io u s r e ­ searchers, b u t is currently re c o m m e n d e d for u n ­ d e rg ra d u a te s a n d re s e a rc h in n e w s a n d c u rre n t events areas.— A ngela Elkordy, The Sage College Libraries, elkora@sage.edu E n c y c l o p e d i a B r i t a n n i c a 's E b l a s t : A g u i d e t o t h e W e b 's t o p s ite s , c h o s e n b y B r i t a n n i c a ’s e d it o r s . A ccess: h t t p : / / w w w .eb last.co m / o rh ttp :/w w w .e b ig .c o m /. E b la s t c u ts d o w n o n t h e f r u s tr a tio n o f In te rn e t o v e rlo a d b y n a rr o w in g c h o ic e s to s e ­ le c te d sites. F o rm e rly k n o w n a s E n c y c lo p e d ia B rita n n ic a In t e r n e t G u id e , th is re c e n tly r e d e ­ sig n e d h ie ra rc h ic a l in d e x to th e W e b is u n c lu t­ te re d a n d e a sy to u se. B ritannica editors ch o o se, a n n o ta te , a n d ra te e a c h site, as w e ll a s p ro v id e E N C Y C L O P Æ D I A B R I T A N N I C A ' S lo ts o f o th e r in fo rm a tio n a t a g la n c e t o h e lp y o u d e c id e if a lin k is w o r th t h e visit. It is a g re a t site fo r s tu d e n ts lo o k in g fo r q u a lity r e ­ search. A n n o ta tio n s g e n e ra lly in c lu d e th e title, a u ­ th o r o r r e s p o n s ib le p a rty , a s ta r ra tin g , a n d a c o n c ise d e sc rip tio n fo r th e site. In a d d itio n , Site Statistics fe a tu re s u se fu l details s u c h a s site re g ­ is tra tio n , n u m b e r o f visits, s p e e d , a n d r e la te d to p ic lin k s. T h e s i te ’s p la c e in th e B rita n n ic a s u b je c t h ie r a rc h y c o m p le te s th e a n n o ta tio n , p ro v id in g lin k s fo r f u r th e r e x p lo ra tio n . S e a rc h in g c a n b e a s s im p le o r c o m p l e x as y o u w is h . S e a rc h b y k e y w o r d o r p h r a s e v ia a c le a rly m a r k e d s e a r c h e n g in e . M o re fo c u s e d search o p tio n s a re a click aw ay. In addition, y ou c a n c h o o s e from categorical subject listings until y o u fin d w h a t y o u w a n t. V a rio u s le v e ls a llo w y o u to p ic k a n d c h o o s e a lo n g t h e w a y . Site o f th e d a y , site o f th e w e e k , a n d r e la te d a rc h iv e s p ro v id e lin k s t o s ta ff favorite s. T h e d o w n s id e o f a n y s e le c tiv e list is th a t th e r e m a y n o t b e e n o u g h lin k s fo r y o u r p u r ­ p o s e s . In fact, it a p p e a r s th a t s o m e to p ic a re a s a re b e tte r d e v e lo p e d th a n o th e rs. F o r in stan ce, H is to ry /U n ite d S tates/C iv il W a r p ro v id e s s u ­ p e r b sites th a t m a y b e h a rd to find th ro u g h Alta Vista o r Y a h o o . W h ile E n v iro n m e n ta l S cience, u n d e r S c ie n c e T e c h n o lo g y a n d M ath, is la c k ­ lu ste r b y c o m p a riso n . A lthough Eblast p ro v id e s a s p o t to h o o k in to a n A lta V ista se a rc h , it w ill n o t (as d o e s Y a h o o ) d o this autom atically w h e n y o u r k e y w o rd s fail. In a d d itio n , y o u h a v e to p u t u p w ith a d v e r­ tising, w h ic h is c o m p a ra tiv e ly u n o b tru siv e , b u t still a n n o y in g . T h e site c a n a ls o ru n s lo w ly o n o ld e r te c h n o lo g y . Still, E b last is a g o o d p la c e to s ta rt fo r fin d ­ in g in fo rm a tio n o n a n y to p ic b e c a u s e it is e a sy to u s e a n d th e sites y o u find a re g en erally w o rth th e visit. T h e s ta te m e n t o f a u th o rity a lo n e , in ­ c lu d e d in e a c h e n try , w ill s a v e s tu d e n ts a n d scholars h o u rs o f o n lin e g u e ss w o rk in th e q u e st for re s e a rc h -w o rth y sites.— B arbara V alentine, L infield College, bvalen@ linfield.edu ■ mailto:elkora@sage.edu http://www.eblast.com/ http://www.ebig.com/ mailto:bvalen@linfield.edu