Collection development in cyberspace: building an electronic library collection
Author(s):Diane K. Kovacs, Angela Elkordy
Library Hi Tech; Volume: 18 Issue: 4; 2000 Technical paper. Retrieved from San Jose
State University online database February 4, 2006. Emerald
Collection development in cyberspace: building an electronic
library collection
Diane K. Kovacs, Angela Elkordy
The Authors
Diane K. Kovacs, Diane K. Kovacs is President of Kovacs Consulting Internet & World Wide
Web Training, Brunswick, Ohio, USA.
Angela Elkordy, Angela Elkordy is Director of Library and Learning Technologies at the
Michigan Islamic Academy in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Abstract
Building a Web-based e-library may be the most important thing a library ever does. An
important role for librarians in all types of libraries is the planning and/or building of Web-based
e-libraries. Offers a practical discussion of developing and implementing a collection plan for
building Web-based e-libraries. The starting point for developing any collection plan is an
assessment of the function of and need for an information collection and the audience it will
serve. Discusses some guidelines and practical strategies on where and how to find, identify,
evaluate and select appropriate Web-based information resources. Focuses on Web-based
information resources rather than other electronic information resources such as CD-ROM or
fee-based databases that have been discussed extensively in recent literature.
Article Type: Technical paper
Keyword(s): Collection development; World Wide Web.
Content Indicators: Research Implication - * Practice Implication - *** Originality - **
Readability - ***
Library Hi Tech
Volume 18 Number 4 2000 pp. 335-361
Copyright © MCB UP Ltd ISSN 0737-8831
Introduction
An e-library of high-quality Web-based or Web-accessible information resources is an ambitious
project. It is complex and involved precisely because it entails creating a new collection of
unfamiliar resources in a variety of formats.
Today, being a librarian means expanding the range of resources that we provide for our
patrons to include those available in electronic format, especially Web-based or Web-accessible
information resources. The general pattern of our professional activities remains recognizably
similar to what it has been for the last half century and more. Librarians still evaluate information
resources, connect patrons to the information they need, and organize information for easier
access by our patrons. With the advent of Web-based resources, we are finding that our role as
information intermediaries demands a new sub-set of quasi-technical skills and awareness.
Librarians must not only identify and facilitate access to electronic information resources; we
also must educate library patrons about how to access them and when to use them.
The creation of a locally available e-library collection is one way of making sure that our library
and information center patrons have the same kind of evaluated, selected and organized access
to these Web-based information resources as they have had traditionally to print and locally
held electronic databases. Prior to the Internet, such databases were stored on CD-ROM and
magnetic media or stored on mainframe computers made available to subscribers through dialup remote access.
The Internet and World Wide Web have enabled access to many types of information resources
that were previously difficult to obtain. These include data and information in digital formats
which may be powerfully manipulated or additionally processed such as databases, full-text
reports, books, articles and data sets, or materials that are “unique” to the Web environment
such as hypermedia or online communities of human experts of one kind or another.
Other traditional types of information – newspapers, newsletters, journals, books, dissertations,
bibliographic databases, and even television and radio news transcripts – are being made
accessible, adapted or incorporated into new, Web-based products with powerful additional
capabilities. Resources once only available regionally in libraries or agencies are now
accessible globally, e.g. government information, community or campus specific information,
library catalogs.
For the most part, the writings on collection development of electronic resources have focused
on the theoretical, or the philosophical issues rather than describing the actual process of
locating and selecting Web-based resources.
This article is a practical discussion of developing and implementing a collection plan for
building a Web-based e-library; we will discuss considerations that will form the focus of your
collection building activities such as patron information needs, service levels and patron
expectations. We will also discuss starting points in terms of where and how to find, identify,
evaluate and select appropriate Web-based information resources. This article focuses on Webbased information resources rather than other electronic information resources such as CDROM or fee-based databases that have been discussed extensively in recent literature.
Definitions: electronic library, digital library, Web-based library and virtual library
The authors posted a question to the Nettrain (Internet trainers) discussion list, asking the
subscribers to help in clarifying the following four definitions:
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(1) electronic library (e-library);
(2) digital library;
(3) Web-based library; and
(4) virtual library.
Most people who responded defined an e-library as a collection of electronically formatted
information resources from a variety of sources, including the Internet and the Web. E-libraries
might consist of Web-based or Web-adapted resources which have been “collected” with a
particular client group in mind. Physically, such a collection usually appears as a Web site or
compilation of links published on a Web server to which – depending on the content or other
aspects of the library – there may be access from the global Internet.
Digital library is the most clearly defined concept. The digital library is a collection of scanned,
full-text materials created from print or holographic primary documents. The Web-based elibrary is simply defined as a Web-published collection of Web-based resources. The term Webbased library catalog refers to Web-accessible OPACS. The term “virtual library” is used almost
interchangeably with e-library, with perhaps a wider perceived scope of providing services as
well as resources. The term “e-library” allows for all the features described as digital or virtual
library. Web-based e-library is the term chosen for the purposes of this article. A Web-based elibrary collection might include links to:
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Print resource directories or bibliographies, such as print reference sources or special
collections which have been converted to Web pages or other electronic format.
A range of services that may have been adapted to an online environment, such as
reference service, interlibrary loan and document delivery request services.
Internal resources that have been digitized, such as pathfinders, blueprints, reserves
lists, floor plans, images, descriptive information about the library and its holdings.
Content specifically developed for the Web environment, such as interactive tutorials,
hyperlinked papers and online textbooks, workshops or courses.
Value-added collections of links to Web-based resources organized in a manner that is
meaningful to the library client population.
Free and/or fee-based electronic resources delivered over the Web, such as full-text,
bibliographic or image databases (e.g, PubMed, Edgar, US patent and trademark
databases, Lexis/Nexis).
Literature review
A great deal has been published on topics related to “collecting” Web-based resources
specifically in the fields of digital (virtual or electronic) libraries, Internet resource discovery and
evaluation, as well as the selection, acquisition and access of electronic resources in general.
Also extensively discussed are networking and licensing issues, access and retrieval of Webbased resources, in addition to debates on the best “cataloging” methods, organizational
schemes, metadata and automated agents for collection development.
Little practical information on Internet collection development has been added to the literature
since 1995 when Demas et al. and Piontek and Garlock were some of the first librarians to
discuss practical guidelines for collection development of Internet resources. A main theme of
the Demas et al. (1995) discussion is that collection of Internet resources can and should use
the same collection criteria as more traditional resources. The “Taxonomy of Internet resources”
introduced by Demas et al., has been used by subsequent researchers and as a practical guide
by many librarians. Demas et al. also clarify the analogous relationships between Internet
resources and other types of resource formats. Piontek and Garlock’s (1995) article is primarily
a Webliography/gopherography of collection development tools.
Norman (1997), Fedunok (1997), Yochelson et al. (1997) and Coutts (1998) have all thoroughly
reviewed the literature relating collection development of electronic resources in general and
Internet resources in particular. Norman’s article is the report of a study which surveyed 15
midwestern academic libraries on their handling of electronic information source in their
collection development policies and practices. The Norman study is particularly useful as it not
only surveyed for the handling of commercial electronic resources such as CD-ROM, but also of
Internet resources. Another useful aspect of his study is that Norman used the Demas et al.
(1995) article to guide his survey. So he asked if the library had been “mainstreaming” collection
development of Internet resources. He found that 73 percent had been and the rest planned to.
Demas et al. (1995) discussed their definition of “mainstreaming”:
To achieve the “mainstreaming” or integration of electronic formats, we must develop the staff
skills in selecting, cataloging, and providing service with these publications. For example, we
must buy the equipment and build the necessary computing and telecommunications
infrastructure to handle a variety of electronic publications; and we must learn to educate our
patrons in their use (p. 72).
In addition to her excellent review of the literature prior to 1997, Fedunok’s (1997) article
provides a synthesis of 18 library electronic resource collection policy statements. Yochelson et
al. (1997) wrote a handbook for Library of Congress “recommending officers”, which reviews the
practical literature up to 1997 and also describes the collection tools that were extant for use in
collecting Internet resources. Coutts (1998) reports on collection development and electronic
resources for research collections in the UK.
Rosenfeld et al. (1995); Morville and Wickhorst (1996); Rioux (1997); and Tennant (1998) all
argue well for the development of “subject guides” or “subject bibliographies” as the proper role
for librarians in ameliorating access to Internet resources for our clients. Rioux’s metaphor of elibrary collection development as “Hunting and gathering in cyberspace” is an amusing and
useful way to think about the process. She says:
Over the centuries librarians have pretty much got a handle on building collections of resources
in the physical media like print and film. There are review journals, the publishing industry is
well-organized, and subscription agents are always happy to help keep things neat and tidy. It’s
a little like agriculture, where the farmer/librarian goes into a well-tended field to harvest a crop
of known type and quality. Developing a collection of Internet, especially World Wide Web,
resources is another situation altogether. It’s much more like foraging in the jungle; a trackless,
vine-tangled wilderness full of unknown species, some of which look appetizing but may be
poisonous and others of which look drab and unappealing but may well be the most nourishing.
The librarian collecting electronic resources is not a harvester of cultivated crops but a hunter
and gatherer of wild fruits and other treasures (p. 130).
In Building Electronic Library Collections: The Essential Guide to Selection Criteria and Core
Subject Collections (Kovacs 2000), practical Internet collection development strategies and
skills are the main theme. Using case studies of e-library collections, with support from the
collection development literature, this book provides support and practical knowledge for elibrary builders. The book includes core collections and Webliographies of collection
development sources for multiple subject areas.
Steps to create an e-library collection plan
The defining characteristics of an e-library should reflect the librarians’ or information
professionals’ expertise in identifying, selecting and evaluating information based on an in-depth
knowledge of the patron’s needs and currently available resources. The unique and inspiring
tradition of making resources freely available over the Internet adds unusual challenges and
freedoms to providing intellectual access to them via Web guides or compilations of links. This
freedom involves librarians being able to choose a variety of Internet resources we think are
appropriate for our collections, unconstrained by budgets. The challenge is to sift through
masses of information to locate and identify quality resources.
It is important to remember, more so in the Web-based environment than others, that including
materials in an e-library collection means an endorsement, a recommendation and an approval.
Although this is technically true of all our collection development activities, because most of us
will craft our e-library collections from the ground up, our much-awaited efforts will usually be
highly visible (figuratively, and often, politically). A small, but carefully conceived e-library
collection can be an information center’s public relations dream solution; a large collection
organized poorly can be a nightmare for patrons and maintainers on every level. Potential
problems can be avoided by developing and following a thoughtful e-library collection plan. By
having a clear understanding of what is involved to create an e-library, you can maximize
opportunities to educate management decision makers as well as your users about the process
and its possibilities.
A mission or statement of purpose is essential for shaping any collection development plan. The
issues you will address in considering the purpose of your e-library will direct your collection
activities and selection of resources. Although we implicitly consider our patrons in choosing
information resources, because of the access methodology and delivery of the electronic
resources, we must re-examine familiar issues, such as: “Who are our patrons and what are
their needs?” Also you must think about how will you organize the resources and how your
patrons will access them. Perhaps most important, you must answer the question: “Why do we
need an e-library collection?” Since it is highly likely that someone else has already created a
Web listing of resources in your topic area(s), if you are planning to simply do the same, in other
words, to make a list of related links without evaluating them or customizing them for your
patron base – do not. Save yourself a great deal of time and energy and send your patrons to
these Web sites instead.
Our recommended steps are discussed in detail below. They are:
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Step 1. Determine the purpose of your e-library.
Step 2. Develop a collection development plan.
Step 3. Collect, evaluate and select resources for your e-library collection.
Step 4. Design, create and maintain your Web-based e-library collection Web site.
Step 1. Determine the purpose of your e-library
It is essential that from the outset your goals for the e-library collection are well defined, while
allowing room for growth. In addressing the issue of the purpose of your e-library, consider the
following planning areas:
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Patron population. Who are the potential patrons of your site? For whom will you be
creating the e-library collection?
Resources. Why collect Web-based resources? Which resources should be collected?
What subject areas? What depth of coverage or educational level or resources should
be included?
Services. What is the service function of your virtual collection?
Access. Physical – where and how will the e-library Web page(s) be published?
Access, intellectual – what skills or knowledge will be expected from patrons in order to
access the e-library collection?
Access, technical – What speed and type of Internet connection will be available to your
patron population? What will be the primary Web browser used to access the information
and what functions will be available through this software?
Patron population
Who are your library patrons? What service level(s) and resources do they need? What are their
technological capabilities? How receptive or adaptable are they to new technologies and
training? Once oriented to the Web environment, will they be able to use the e-library without
assistance? As information professionals, this knowledge of library patrons allows us to make
informed and critical decisions when collecting any kind of resources for their use. When
developing an e-library collection, it is crucial to understand your target population in ways that
you may not have previously considered. This understanding of the information needs,
technological capabilities and limitations is what will allow you to effectively add value to your
collection both in your selection of resources and in the design and organization of your Web
site.
Is the goal of your e-library collection to serve all, or a segment of, your patron population, and
at what level? Will you be collecting for an academic or research community (faculty and
students, or for research staff in a university, company, hospital, newspaper, or for a division or
department)? Will you be collecting for the general public? For children (what age groups)? For
people for whom English is a second language? Recreational readers? Or perhaps providing a
pool of resources for groups working on research projects (designing a new bridge, or
researching the impact of St John’s Wort in laboratory studies)?
Will you be providing library services in a distance learning situation, and if so, to whom? Adult
learners studying materials for academic credentials, professionals trying to earn certification,
folk living in rural areas without access to traditional higher education, children doing homework,
home schooling families?
It is extremely important to look beyond the obvious answers to these questions; for example,
research assistants or junior members of staff may be conducting the actual searches for
professors, researchers or business decision-makers. If they cannot access or make sense of
the resources, then they will not be able to access, and therefore to provide, appropriate and
accurate information.
Are there any patrons in your service population who have learning disabilities or other
disabilities that might affect how they view or use electronic resources, such as vision or hearing
impairment or dyslexia? Do you receive public funds that require you make your Web site
accessible to users with special needs? (For more information about making your Web pages
accessible to users with disabilities, see the Alliance for Technology Access site[1], the Center
for Information Technology Accommodation (CITA) site[2] or the WebABLE!Site[3]).
Resources
Electronic resources such as computerized bibliographic databases, full text databases, articles,
books, reports, and multimedia Web-based instruction are, in many cases, replacing traditional
print resources or databases accessed through other mechanisms. Some resources are only
produced or designed in electronic format, such as TV or radio program transcripts, some
scholarly communications and research publications, and all hypermedia. It is important to note,
however, that Web-based resources are not direct equivalents of their print counterparts. Rather
Web resources, which maximize the multimedia and electronic databases aspects of their
medium, appeal to a variety of different learners (visual, auditory), as well as providing new
strengths such as powerful indexing and searching capabilities. Materials produced in
hypermedia format with activated links currently have no non-Web counterparts.
Other reasons we might choose to build a virtual collection include our patrons’ preferences for
the medium. They may encourage us to facilitate access and provide guidance to Web
resources because they like the immediacy of electronic resources and the format more than
traditional resources. Electronic resources often save time, access is often immediate to end
product, multiple indexes can be searched simultaneously and patrons can have a successful
research experience in less time than by sifting through print resources and possibly without
physically visiting the library. Also, electronic resources can be updated more frequently than
paper editions, especially Web-based products. Web-based components combined with
traditional texts are becoming increasingly popular. The purpose of these supplements varies
from providing a multimedia aspect to the work (such as online quizzes or glossaries), to
hyperlinked tools (e.g. Kovacs’ hyperlinked Webliography on Collection Development), which
also function to keep material in static book form fresh and up to date between editions.
It is important to be selective when building a collection of electronic resources. Choose
resources that maximize the potential of the Web as a delivery mechanism rather than working
in the collecting-everything-that-exists-on-the-topic mode.
Having first determined the scope of your patron population you need to answer some questions
about them in order to determine the scope of the resources that you will collect for your elibrary:
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What types of resources are they likely to need? Full-text or bibliographic databases?
News? Libraries? E-journals? Webliographies? Hypermedia tutorials? Data sets? Audio
recording or visuals?
What purposes will they be used for? Recreation? Research?
In what subject areas are resources needed? Nursing? Business? Legal issues?
Literature? Computer Science? Visual Arts? Ready reference? Educational resources?
What educational level and/or age group will your e-library be serving?
Does the library and its intranet have enough computer resources to provide access to a
given resource? (Web-based resources tend to demand a considerable amount of
computing facilities to use because of their graphics, scripts and data storage and
retrieval capabilities.)
Is the search system easily used? Are the indexing and searching mechanisms
adequate to locate information in the database?
Can the database be networked or be used with a locally developed end-user interface?
Services
Do you want to extend library services beyond the hours the library is actually open and beyond
its physical scope? Or would you like to provide basic guidance and access to Web-based
resources? Or both? In the first case you might want to include some kind of e-mail based or
chat based interaction with library staff, or book reservation and catalog verification services. In
the latter, annotations and directions for resource use should be sufficient. The scope of your
service choice is a matter primarily of the staff available to provide the services.
Invest time in providing the services. Anecdotal evidence (from professional listservs such as
Web4Lib, DigRef and Nettrain) is that live reference assistance through chat and other facilities
is not heavily used, but e-mail access to reference assistance is frequently used and valued by
e-library patrons. Other services that are offered through Web-based e-libraries can include
renewing materials, interlibrary loan services and even document delivery services; some
institutions are experimenting with digitizing reserve materials.
Access: physical
The choice is based on the financial or technological limitations of your library, the physical
location of your patron population, as well as potential content. In general the physical access to
the e-library collection involves three possibilities made for the following reasons:
1. (1) Available on the Internet (anyone anywhere with an Internet connection and a Web
browser can access it):
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when the patron population is the general public on a variety of subjects;
when the patron population is internationally located;
when the library can afford to run their own Web server, participate in shared Web
server services, or rent Web-server space from an ISP; and
when the subject matter of the e-library is of general interest.
1. (2) Available only on a local area network or on an intranet:
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when the library does not have the facilities or resources (including computer resources
as well as available staff time and/or expertise) available to support off-site access;
when the patron population is internal to the library’s organization (company, school);
when the patron population is a highly secret research group such as in a research and
development division of a company; and
when licensing agreements with database providers restricts access to on-site patrons
only.
1. (3) Available only on stand-alone workstations:
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when the library cannot afford access to a Web-server or to install and maintain a
network;
when the library does not have the facilities (computer or human resources) available to
support off-site access;
when the patron population is internal to the library’s organization (company, school);
and
when the patron population is a highly secret research group such as in a research and
development division of a company.
Access: intellectual – what skills or knowledge
You will have to assume a basic skill level for any patrons of the e-library, while perhaps
planning to provide training for patrons who are not able to access the e-library through lack of
skill in using the Internet and Web browsers. Training might be formal sessions taught in the
library, simply providing one-on-one assistance at the reference desk, or Web-based tutorials.
Keep in mind when planning your e-library that some segments of your patron population will
not be able to access and use the resources.
Access: technical – speed and kind of Internet connection
This is perhaps the most important access aspect to be considered from the practical point of
view in creating a Web-based e-library. You must have at least a good general idea of your
patron population’s technical resources. If you are providing in-library access only via a LAN,
intranet or standalone workstations, then you can have a better idea of who is using your elibrary. If you know the speed of the Internet connection and you know exactly which Web
browser with which capabilities is available, then you can design a Web page with features such
as frames, multimedia files, high resolution graphics, JavaScript menus and other interaction
features without fear of excluding patrons from your e-library. However, if you are making your
e-library available to the general public you cannot assume that they have high speed
connections or even Web-browsers that allow display of graphics, playback of multi-media files,
frames or allow JavaScript or Java interactivity.
Remember, it is always possible to maintain two or more versions of any Web site. You can
have a high-tech multi-media e-library and also provide a low-tech, basically designed text
version for folks with limited technological access, or who may simply prefer speed over
graphics. For example, individuals who are visually impaired or working with assistive devices
will be severely limited in their ability to access a Web-page with frames, graphics without text
alternatives, Java or JavaScript programs that generate aspects of the page.
Step 2. Develop a collection development plan
Creating an e-library collection involves a large investment in time and personnel. In order to
justify these significant investments there must be a compelling reason to dive into the realm of
ephemeral resources. The most important reason is to provide enhanced, customized services
for patrons based on in-depth knowledge of your patrons, their needs and the currently available
Web-based resources.
The ongoing processes of developing an e-library collection are essentially based in research
oriented and affiliated activities. Before you start planning in earnest, it is also helpful to have a
sense of what other institutions are practising in terms of collection development of electronic
resources.
Although there are no established standards for e-libraries, it makes sense to begin by building
on or consulting the work of others and by becoming familiar with the collection development
“tools” available to you. As with any serious research project you will need to become
acquainted with the respected, revered and reviled works in the field.
Additionally, there is simply no need to try to build an e-library collection from scratch from the
hundreds of thousands of Internet resources currently available. There are hundreds of other elibraries, subject Webliographies and other specialized information services (see Appendix:
Webliography of collection development tools). Begin with some kind of idea as to the kinds of
information and resources that you would like to add to your collection. This will vary, of course,
according to your patrons’ needs, but will also vary with the subject matter (for example,
collecting data sets might be helpful for science, technologies or business, but not very helpful
in the visual arts). Demas et al. (1995) described a taxonomy of Internet resources which
provides a useful foundation when supplemented with the suggestions below. Sowards (1998)
discusses several possible typologies for ready reference Web sites.
A typical collection development methodology for non-electronic media might consist of:
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reviewing curricular/faculty/researcher needs;
reviewing current holdings;
consulting “subject experts” or guides such as ALA’s Books for College Libraries (out of
print);
searching for reviews of materials;
soliciting suggestions for acquisitions from patrons; and
comparing the current collection with other libraries, perhaps by using automated
analysis methods such as WLN’s Conspectus or OCLC/Amigos.
With electronic media, however, there are new considerations, such as the Web’s unstructured
nature, the lack of “core collections” and examples, and the fact that for the most part we are
working in new, uncharted territory without standards, guidelines or precedents. In addition to
different evaluation criteria and sources to consult for “acquisitions”, we must facilitate access,
both, physically and pedagogically, to Web-based resources. All this, while accounting for the
ephemeral and rapidly changing nature of resources and the reality that they may disappear or
change radically overnight. Some of the resource types that you will find and have to make
decisions about include:
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meta-sites or e-libraries;
directories (listings);
subject guides;
associations and organizations;
current awareness tools;
e-journals (and/or archives);
electronic lists or conferences (and/or archives);
electronic texts (and/or archives);
electronic reserves;
databases available on the Web (free);
government sources;
image banks;
products and services (such as newsletters, professional development training, subject
or industry oriented current awareness);
push technologies (customized news, current events and highlighting of resources);
ready reference;
reference (subject specific);
review sites (subject specific);
search engines – general and subject specific;
subject gateways;
specialized libraries or academic departments;
statistical sources;
survey sites (by time period, general); and
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tutorials or Web-based training courses (subject specific, or resource specific and of
course, Web).
Step 3. Collect, evaluate and select resources for your e-library collection
Until you are familiar with the kind of resources available, this task might seem overwhelming
which is why it is especially important to remain focused and task-oriented. Building Electronic
Library Collections: The Essential Guide to Selection Criteria and Core Subject Collections
Kovacs (2000), along with its companion Web sites provides recommendations for core
reference collections for a number of subject areas, which may be used as the kernel for your
own e-library. You may also wish to use other e-library collections to form the core for yours, but
remember that the annotations and enhancements added to these e-libraries are copyrighted
materials which belong to the compilers and/or their organizations. While it is permissible to add
their collection of links to your e-library, you must either cite them or write your own annotations
and enhancements. If you are in any doubt, seek permission before linking.
Although serendipitous resource discovery on the Web is great fun, it may also become a
distraction from the main task. Initially it is most efficient to stick to directed searching and
browsing. Stay focused by having defined, attainable goals (“What are the best five free
databases in the Arts?” or “What are the important electronic journals in environmental
engineering?”). Use the evaluation essentials checklist and flowchart to help you quickly make
an initial assessment of sites (first level criteria) and to guide you through a more in-depth
analysis. Make notations to the sites that you “visit”, being sure to “collect” links that are
interesting but irrelevant to the task at hand in an organized manner (yes, this takes time, but
saves a lot of confusion later: “Why did I save this URL?”) You may wish tentatively to organize
links by saving them into directories, e-mailing the URLs to yourself and organizing them into
“folders” or by setting up Web pages on general topics and adding the URLs as you go along.
To stay organized, use an online bookmark manager such as My URL’s[4] or Bookmarks 2
Go[5]. Online bookmark managers are useful Web utility programs that will allow you to “collect”
and organize links (bookmarks) in cyberspace. Unlike browser mechanisms which save
bookmarks to a local file, Web-based online bookmark managers are machine independent and
therefore accessible from any computer that supports Internet access.
Search for Webliographies and compilations
Conduct literature searches in Library Lit and other appropriate indexes of professional literature
such as ERIC. In addition to subject-specific terms, use keywords such as Web or Internet or
electronic, or online, combined with guides or directories or Webliographies or resources or
perhaps even reviews. Journals such as College and Research Libraries News, Library
Journal’s Webwatch, Ariadne as well as many professional publications such as Choice have
annotated Webliographies. Do not forget to search Web-based publications such as the Internet
Resources Newsletter for reviews of Web-based resources. When consulting these guides,
consider the following:
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What is the author’s focus? Is this a Government documents librarian writing about
government sites of general interest? Or working tools for the librarian?
What are the most frequently cited resources for your patron group?
Do you agree with the author’s assessment?
Search/browse directories
When you begin to get a sense of “must-have” resources, it will be much easier quickly to
assess the quality of finding aids such as Webliographies or Web directories. The quality and
relevancy, or lack thereof, of link compilations or virtual libraries will quickly become apparent
because of the inclusion or absence of certain resources. Next, still building on the knowledge
of others, consult value-added directories or databases. Such sources add annotations,
rankings, ratings, classification or descriptive cataloging to assist the patron.
Important sites in this regard do not include the ubiquitous Yahoo!Although a wonderful
resource in itself, the patron is given no guidance regarding the quality or the sources included
in the directory. Sources that do provide an assessment of sites are tremendously useful when
building a collection, especially subject specific resources. Examples are included in the
annotated Webliography in Appendix 1 (an online version is also available[6]).
Web site evaluation – a practical perspective
While the process of evaluating Web-based resources may seem overwhelming at first, in
practice your in-depth knowledge of your patrons will allow you to perform a rapid preliminary
assessment of a site. See Figure 1, Figure 1a and Figure 1b for suggestions for key areas to
evaluate first. If the site’s performance is poor in one of these areas there will be no point in
further evaluation. Only when sites are acceptable in these major key areas should you continue
with the more time-consuming aspects of evaluating the resource.
In general, the following criteria should be considered when critically evaluating and selecting
Web-based resources for your e-library:







suitability for audience;
content;
timeliness;
presentation;
ease of use;
appropriateness for digital/Web-based format; and
special characteristics of Web-based resources.
The application of these criteria specifically to Web-based resources is discussed in more detail
below.
Evaluation criteria: suitability for audience
Choosing resources that are appropriate for your clients acquires new dimensions with Webbased resources; traditionally, when we are assessing resources, we consider issues such as
scope or level of coverage, accessibility (is the source written in language appropriate to the
discipline and understandable to the target audience?), and presentation (is the information
clearly and logically presented in a format that is useful to the target audience? For example,
statisticians may find spreadsheets and data visualization tools more appropriate than data
presented within text).
With non-electronic resources, evaluating suitability for your target audience is for the most part
fairly straightforward, because the entities ultimately responsible for the content are static and
clearly known. Web sites, however, present unique challenges in that they are the sum of their
parts – the content of some of which may not be directly controlled by the Web site owners and
which may change over time. Many sites are sponsored by businesses which will exert their
presence in one form or another, such as advertising banners, subtle (or not so subtle)
posturing, or links to their sites. Sometimes businesses may provide a service or product which
may be helpful (for example, a commercial site on educational resources might provide a link to
reviews on software, a site on pet grooming tips might be underwritten by a discount pet
products supplier). Sometimes, however, the businesses funding or otherwise supporting a site
(perhaps by reciprocal links) may be inappropriate for your audiences, so it is extremely
important to know which organizations are affiliated with a site. Remember that by including a
site in your e-library you are endorsing site content; although the site content might be excellent,
if the sponsors are not suitable for your clients, look for another site (for example, you may find
an excellent compilation of search engines, but the site provides links to a dating service –
clearly this is not what you would provide for a school audience).
In the same line of consideration, it is also important to review the sites’ banner advertisements
and link collections so that you are aware to whom your recommended resource is pointing
(hyperlinking) as well as the apparent sponsors.
Evaluation criteria: content
With Web-based resources, often one of the greatest challenges is to find out who is
responsible for the site’s content. This is not only due to poor Web design – sometimes the
entities wish to downplay their involvement. Since the Web is a self-publishing medium, anyone
with a connection to the Web and an opinion can publish materials. Knowing who is responsible
for a Web site is critical to evaluating its content and, less obviously, for establishing bias or
point of view of site content. A simple example: research findings on using Echinacea will have
different emphases and conclusions (bias) depending on whether the authoring agency is for
profit (commercial), an individual or an educational institution. In order to evaluate the material
effectively, you will need to have an awareness of points of view or potential biases. While this
is true of all resources we recommend for our patrons, sometimes we are lulled into forgetting to
check this crucial point when a Web site dazzles us. General rule: if the author is not clearly
identified (usually at the bottom of every page or the “home” page (top tier), do not use it!
Of increasing concern to the Web community is the practice of channeling unsuspecting patrons
to products or services. Companies may pay for this “service” or have an affiliation with the
referring Web site (usually some kind of reciprocal or financial agreement). While advertising
banners are obvious indicators of site sponsorship, other, less obvious relationships may exist.
Examples of this include Web search engines that allow Web site owners essentially to
purchase higher rankings for specified keywords. This results in their sites appearing higher in
the search results listing and therefore more likely to be selected. Additionally, many patrons are
unaware that portals which include search engines and “channels” (categories of Web
resources) may selectively list sites in which they have a financial interest. Since the Web is
growing at such a phenomenal rate, it is impossible for any current search utility to index all the
new (and existing materials) so it stands to reason that some choices are being made about
which sites to index, at what level and how frequently. These decisions affect the contents of
Web databases and hence the information available to the user. The main reason for concern,
however, is that even seasoned Web users are unaware of these practices.
Conversely, such channeling may be exactly what you are looking for simply because someone
has pre-selected sites of potential interest to your clients whether they are specialists or
professionals, children, scholars or seniors. Such portal sites can be time savers when used in
context and for the right audiences; for other communities of users, gateways function in a
similar capacity gathering together resources.
Having established the authorities responsible for the resource and their affiliations, spend time
assessing the material on the site. Most important, is the information accurate? Are sources
cited, most usefully with a hyperlinked Webliography? Would the information actually be useful
to your audiences in its present format (for example, if your clients need to manipulate data
sets, an image of statistics from a pdf file will not be very useful)? Is the language appropriate
and accessible to your target users? Is the subject matter covered in a suitable depth and
scope? Are there quality links to more information on the topic?
Evaluation criteria: timeliness
One of the major advantages of the Web is that unlike print or other static media, Web sites may
be easily updated. This means that site content may theoretically be updated monthly, weekly or
even hourly. How often the site should be updated really depends on its content; news services
must almost continuously update stories, while online exhibitions or sites of historical interest
may change only periodically. When evaluating resources, be sure to consider if currency is an
issue (for example, it may not be wise to discount an archival documents site because it has not
been updated within the last two months).
Knowing when the site was last updated is important, however. If the nature of the content
requires frequent updating, is this being done? While some resources may be self contained
and not need regular updating, it is important to know that it is still an “active” project and not a
“ghost” project. How often external links are being updated is important. A high percentage of
dead links is a good indicator that the resource is no longer being maintained and hence, of
limited usefulness. With traditional resources, the author, for example, writes a book or an
article and we do not expect this material to be updated. If changes are made, new editions are
published. With Web-based materials, however, the issue of whether or not a site is actively
maintained is extremely important, no matter what the nature of the content. Externally linked
sites may move, cease to exist, or change content. Similarly, the internal links may change with
Web hosts’ maintenance and updates.
Evaluation criteria: presentation
Because the Web is such a visual medium, presentation is extremely important. The way in
which information appears and is accessed on a site should be appropriate for the targeted
audiences – for example, garish graphics do not instill confidence for legal researchers, but may
thrill young adults. The site’s user interface should appear uncluttered, easy to use and reflect
the site’s underlying content or information architecture. Navigational elements should be clearly
and reasonably sized so that they are obvious to detect and not difficult to select. Links to other
pages should be clear and easy to find. In other words, users should be able to trace their
journey through the site, get back home, and know where they are at all times.
The site’s graphics and other images should be appealing, enhancing and supplementing the
material, and not supplanting the content. It is important that they should load quickly. For
graphics intensive sites, where appropriate, look for “text-only” options for users in a hurry.
Be sure to check how the site appears in the browser most commonly deployed by your users.
Also, screen for potentially annoying features such as flashing or pop-up banners, overuse of
animated gifs, visually abrasive color schemes or poor use of white space – all of which may
make accessing and actually reading information from the screen difficult. If you have users with
learning disabilities or special needs, verify that the layout of the site will be easy to use (or at
least not difficult). Pay particular attention to type size, the functionality of the frames
implementation (if used), and the effective use of graphics and color contrasts.
Evaluation criteria: ease of use
Closely aligned with presentation is ease of use; if the resource is not designed to function
almost intuitively from a user’s perspective, it will simply not be useful. Your first task should be
to examine the site’s navigational elements. Is it clear how to maneuver through the pages (that
is, are icons and buttons clearly labeled)? Are menus helpful and well thought out? Is it clear
where you are (which sub-level), how you got there and how to return to the first tier (main
level)? Is there a map showing the site’s structure? If “frames” are used, be especially careful,
since these can be confusing if not implemented in a meaningful manner (i.e. that adds function
and utility to the site).
The well-planned site’s navigational and labeling elements enhance and reflect the underlying
structure of the site. Organization of information should be logical, and elements should be well
thought-out from the users’ perspective; while it makes sense for a circulation librarian to go to
an element called “library catalog” to renew materials or to review a patron record, unless told, a
user would not necessarily make this connection. Labels (used to describe or name sub-levels)
at Web sites function as indicators of the content available within sub-levels; they should be
concise and descriptive. Content or information architecture is the key to the storage and hence
to the retrieval of the actual substance of the site.
If the site is searchable using an internal search engine this is an added plus. However, if full
text indexing is not available (meaning that the search utility does not search within the actual
text of Web pages) the user must rely on whatever method of indexing is used for the site. If this
index is not complete or is poorly conceived, the user may not find something, even though it is
present at a site. This is particularly the case in large organizations such as universities where
units prepare essentially their own “sub-Web sites” under the umbrella of the main Web site. Be
aware that without a central database, indexing may be uneven; different units may index at
different levels using a variety of keywords and differ on maintaining or rebuilding the index after
significant changes.
Of course, if the site you are evaluating is a search utility itself, remember that no database
contains all Web pages. Rather evaluate presentation of results as well as actual results by
submitting the same query to several search engines to judge relevance. With practice and
experience it will become clearer which databases are geared towards your target population
(and they will be most grateful for your educated recommendations!)
More practical considerations: you should also consider how accessible the site is? If it is
popular (and perhaps difficult to access at times) are there mirror sites where the material is
replicated in full? Also, how long does the site take to load? If it is loaded with graphics without a
text alternative, do they really add enough value to motivate your users to be patient while they
load? Does the site require plug-ins such as “Shockwave” that may be difficult for your clients to
install or time consuming to download? Do strange things happen when you are trying to print
from the site (for example, because of the use of frames or a Web designers’ use of white type
which does not always show up on paper when printed)?
In conclusion, when evaluating a Web site for your e-library, be sure to assess the learning
curve of using the resource for the users of your e-library. This should be weighted against the
site’s usefulness. The bottom line is that clients who have a choice simply will not invest the
time, if a site appears (or is) difficult or confusing to use. The Web environment also propagates
and sustains a user base that wants quality information instantaneously.
Evaluation criteria: appropriateness for digital/Web-based format
Since so many traditional print resources now have Web-based counterparts, it is important to
question whether the resource takes advantage of unique characteristics of the medium or is it
just a bad “translation” from a print resource? If the answer is no or if a print (or other) source
fits the information need better then chances are it is not worth it to the user to invest the time to
use (yet another) resource. There should be some aspect that makes this resource useful in
electronic format? (Why not use print?). Web-based resources should provide enhanced access
or improved presentation of information over their print counterparts. Some ways in which Webbased versions of print resources are an enhancement or improvement include:







simultaneous use by multiple users;
portability (can be saved, printed, and used at multiple locations);
searchability (user can find specific information they are interested in rather than reading
through all of a text);
ease of use (homogeneous interface, fun);
ability to manipulate digital data/format (can copy digital information for use in other
applications – graphics, statistics, text, software, presentations);
interactivity (links, forms, tutorials, chat, courseware); and
uniqueness of resources available (searchable, archives of discussion groups,
newsgroups, e-journals, images).
Roundup
After some practice and experience, evaluating Web-based resources for your e-library will
become second nature. Until you reach this point it is sometimes difficult to judge which criteria
are more important; after all, mass produced computer-based interactive media such as those
on the Web are relatively new.
Evaluation checklist/flowchart
The checklist in Figure 1 suggests a systematic methodology of evaluating Web sites. First level
criteria are time savers in that you should be able to assess quickly whether or not the site is
worth investing more time analyzing. Tier two elements require more time-consuming
investigation of the site’s content and access to it. While tier three elements are also important,
they do not necessarily define the ultimate usefulness of the site.
Selecting Internet resources
Developing an e-library is an exciting challenge. In doing so, however, we are continuing a
tradition of selecting quality resources for our patrons based on the same very basic criteria that
librarian and information professionals have always used to build quality collections for our
patrons:



contains useful information;
language and level appropriate;
easy to use;



produced by knowledgeable experts;
enhances existing subject holdings; and
subject matter is supportive of community needs.
Step 4. Design, create and maintain your Web-based e-library collection
Creating an e-library is a time-consuming process. In addition to the usual collection
development responsibilities such as reviewing new information resources and deciding if they
are needed and appropriate for our patrons, we must learn about:




Web browsers and proprietary plug-in software to view, listen, or watch (that is, software
that provides some interactivity);
different access and printing methods including a variety of non-standard formats such
as Adobe Acrobat, or RealPage;
information and content architecture (how should the data be best organized for effective
as well as logical access and retrieval in the Web environment);
Web site design (and if you are the library Web manager, Web development and
construction).
Maintaining a large listing of links requires diligence or the listing will become quickly outdated.
Patrons will quickly lose confidence in your site if they come across an ill-maintained page with
broken or outdated links. Maintenance of the e-library can be thought of in terms of “collection
management”, rather than Web server administration. E-library maintenance involves
maintaining the quality and content of the e-library collection. This does not mean the e-library
manager does not need to know anything about the technology. Below are five suggestions that
will help to guide you in planning and implementing e-library collection maintenance:
1. (1) Stay in touch about software updates and changes. It is no joke that when upgrading
software or hardware, Web server administrators may alter access to e-libraries by
adding or deleting directories structures, changing input permission status for database
access, and other related system changes. Developing and maintaining good
communications with Web server administrators can ensure that you are not taken by
surprise and that you will have input into any major changes that are planned.
2. (2) Review and check links. Checking links manually allows you also to review and verify
that the Web site not only still links properly, but that it still provides the same information
as it did when you originally annotated and added it to your e-library collection. It is
recommended that you do this periodically as things really do change or go away.
Imagine your surprise if a library client discovers that the great kids games and puzzles
site you linked to is now a porn site. This is a true story and really happened to an elibrary builder – who wishes to remain anonymous. Fortunately the problem was
discovered Link by a responsible adult before children were exposed to the changed
site. checking software can be used for regular link-checking. It saves time but it will
only reveal to you whether the links are working and not whether the Web sites have
changed. Subscribe to Web4lib or search the archives to find other recommended linkchecking software. Information about Cyber Spider Link Test[7] andLinkbot [8] can be
found on the Web. These two link-checkers were recommended by Web4Lib subscribers
in spring, 1999. However you manage, check your links frequently. Dead-links means
frustration for your clients and defeats the purposes of the e-library in providing good
access to information. Depending on the content of your pages, a good schedule to
maintain is a site link check every two months or less.
3. (3) Solicit client feedback. Provide a mechanism for e-library clients to evaluate and
comment on the e-library Web site contents and organization, and take their comments
into consideration. A simple mail-to link or a Web form should be provided so that elibrary clients can comment or evaluate the e-library contents and structure. This kind of
feedback will allow you to make informed decisions about how well your e-library is
serving your clients.
4. (4) Review your organization and reorganize as necessary. For example, a review of the
OPLIN e-library Web site revealed a large number of resources under the broad
category of “Business information” under the sub-topic of “International business”. It was
decided to further organize those resources under sub-headings by continent[9].
5. (5) Review, update, and grow the contents. Content should always be reviewed on an
ongoing basis. The only limitation to the growth of an e-library collection is disk space on
the Web server and the time and energy of the collectors and maintainers. Collection
development and current awareness tools for e-library collections continue to develop
(for a collection of helpful current awareness resources see “Web-savvy: keeping current
with Web-based resources”[10]. New and better review sources as well as new and
better Web-based information sources are made available literally every day. Limitations
of time and the print medium have affected the specific review sources and resources
showcased in the previous chapters. The Web itself provides a marvelous solution to
this. The companion Web site to Kovacs’ work will continue to annotate and include new
or newly discovered or recommended e-library collection development tools, as well as
additions to the “Core Internet reference collections”. Click on the link “Click here to be
added to the Mailing List for Updates and News,” if you would like to be e-mailed when
resources are added or updated.
Conclusions: a word or ten about politics
Kopp (1997) was understating the case when he recommended:
Seeking to understand the politics of the virtual collection and to learn how to work with the
political process at all levels will aid considerably in the realization of the virtual collection.
Without that effort and accomplishment, the virtual collection is very likely to remain a utopian
vision (Kopp, 1997, p. 99).
In a rather surprising and unique way, internal politics can invigorate or quash an e-library
project. The proposed Web presence at any institution is a widely visible and highly anticipated
project. Frequently, because of its importance within the organization, the library or information
center’s Web site is particularly important. So far, this sounds like good news, so what are the
possible pitfalls? This will vary according to the institution but the kind of “politics” that could
quash the project include:



Upper management agrees with the importance of the project, but does not allow time or
resources for planning or implementation leading to the poorly planned and managed
Web site.
uUpper management and the board micromanage; the everybody’s-a-Web-expert
strategy where micromanagement by the misinformed and good-intentioned bring the
project to a halt with conflicting demands.
Decision makers have conflicting or inappropriate visions about the Web site which may
differ from the information center’s mandate to collect and make information accessible

(“this should go up first”, “remember this is a primarily public relations tool, not a source
of information”).
Upper management changes the Web site’s direction/graphics/structure in mid-stream,
usually based on poor research or re-evaluation of “target audience”.
Although this is a pessimistic assessment, it is important to be aware that when you are working
on a Web site for an institution, suddenly everyone has a viewpoint – “an important perspective”
– that must be addressed. Once-friendly colleagues have heated exchanges about the
information architecture, site navigation, or the number of sites to include, and almost everyone
has an opinion about what kinds of sites are “essential” and “must haves”. Perhaps even worse
is the colleague who feels overwhelmed with all the Web work and does not participate at any
level. Some of this “interference” is unavoidable. However, careful planning and being aware of
potential problems can help minimize their impact.
Building a Web-based e-library may be the most important thing a library ever does. It
demonstrates to our library clients and our communities and organizations that we are
committed to fulfilling their information needs. It also represents a willingness to change and
progress as the technological infrastructure of our international community and global economy
shifts from the paper-based transmission and storage of information to the computer based
transmission and storage of information. The survival of libraries and the institution of
librarianship is related to that willingness to progress and change. The maintenance of high
standards of selectivity and information quality and an underlying philosophy of education and
service have made librarianship an essential profession in the United States and around the
world. Bringing that professionalism to the Internet we will certainly be welcomed as citizens –
“netizens” – in the international community of the Internet (Kovacs, 2000, p. 194).
Notes
1. http://www.ataccess.org/
2. http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/cita/
3. http://www.Webable.com
4. http://www.murl.com
5. http://www.b2g.com/
6. http://www.kovacs.com/collectools.html
7. http://www.cyberspyder.com/
8. http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/
9. http://www.oplin.lib.oh.us/business
10. http://www.thelearningsite.net/cyberlibrarian/elibraries/cybecurr.html
Figure 1 Education essentials
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
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Sowards, S.W. (1998), First Monday,
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Yochelson, A., Ammen, C., Guidas, J., Harvey, S., Larson, C., McGinnis, M. (1997),
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Appendix. Webliography of collection development tools
General items
Alphasearch –
http://www.calvin.edu/library/as Contact: remelt@calvin.edu Search by word or phrase for
reviewed gateway sites; browse them by resource type, discipline, or alphabetical listing.
The Argus Clearinghouse – http://www. clearinghouse.net Contact: clearinghouse@ argusinc.com Sites are annotated, reviewed and rated by subject experts (librarians). Search or
browse the hierarchically arranged directory.
Barnes Learning Resource Center – http://www.galter.nwu.edu/libinfo/lrc Contact: galterlrc@nwu.edu The LRC houses the library’s non-print collection, including anatomical models,
computers, software (including word processing and e-mail), computer-aided instruction (CAI)
resources, videocassettes, audiocassettes, interactive laser videodiscs, both audio and
multimedia CDs, and 35mm slides.
Bartlesville Public Library – http://www.bartlesville.lib.ok.us/ Contact: Webmast
@bartlesville.lib.ok.us Full Service online library.
Beaucoup – http://www.beaucoup.com Contact: Teri Madden, Webmaster@ beaucoup.com
Over 2,500 search sites, including topics of parallel/Meta, Reviewed/What’s New, Music,
Science, Health, Employment; coming soon, searching the search engines.
Beyond Bookmarks: Schemes for Organizing the Web –
http://www.public.iastate.edu/∼CYBERSTACKS/CTW.htm Contact: Gerry Mckiernan,
GMCKIERN@gwgate. lib.iastate.edu Overview of different ways that Web-based information
might be organized.
Beyond the Black Stump – http://home.mira.net/∼lions/anew.htm Contact: Adam Todd,
commercial@au.net Lists the latest/newest Web sites in reverse chronological order. Also
search WWW by category.
BUBL / 5:15 – http://bubl.ac.uk/link/ Contact: Alan Dawson, a.dawson@strath.ac.uk or
bubl@bubl.ac.uk Relevant, librarian-evaluated resources on all academic subject areas.
California Digital Library – http://www.cdlib.org/ Contact: John Ober, John.Ober@ucop.edu An
integrated Web gateway to digital collections, services and tools.
Choice – Current Reviews for Academic Libraries – http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice
http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/98sup.html Contact: Irving E. Rockwood, IRockwood@alachoice.org “Timely”, “Concise”, “Authoritative” and “easy-to-use” reviews by experts of books
and electronic media.
CyberStacks – http://www.public.iastate.edu/∼CYBERSTACKS Contact: gerrymck@iastate.edu
“Centralized, integrated, and unified collection of significant World Wide Web (WWW) and other
Internet resources categorized using the Library of Congress classification scheme.” This
service emphasizes the fields of science and technology, but other topics are now available,
such as geography, medicine, social science, and law.
The Internet Tourbus – http://www.tourbus.com/ Contact: Patrick Douglas Crispen,
crispen@netsquirrel.com or Bob Rankin, bobrankin@ulster.net “TOURBUS is a virtual tour of
the best of the Internet, delivered by e-mail to over 80,000 people in 120 countries.”
Learning @ Web.Sites – http://www.ecnet.net/users/gdlevin/home.html Contact: d-levin@
govst.edu Searchable “guide intended primarily for senior high school educators who would like
to enhance their curriculum and instruction using the Internet”.
Detroit Public Library – http://www.detroit. lib.mi.us/ Contact: mktg@detroit.lib.mi.us Artwork was
developed from actual bits of the library architecture, which is a way to connect the physical
location to their comprehensive virtual services.
Digital Librarian – http://www.servtech.com/∼mvail/home.html Contact: Margaret Vail Anderson,
mvail@servtech.com “a librarians choice for best of the Web”.
Directory of Networked Resources – http://www.niss.ac.uk/subject2/ Contact: niss@niss.ac.uk
Search alphabetically, by subject or by “UDC” (library shelf classifications). Many gateways
available at this site.
Electronic Library Programme – http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/ Contact: elib@ukoln.ac.uk
Information on workshops, studies and conferences.
“egroups’’ – http://www.egroups.com/ Join a discussion group regarding specific areas of
interest (education, business, humanities, etc.) or start one of your own.
Encyclopedia Britannica Internet Guide – http://www.britannica.com Contact: editor@
britannica.comtechnical or Webmaster@ britannica.com “Classifies, rates, and reviews
thousands of Web sites” then clearly and concisely describes, rates according to consistent
standards, and indexes for easy retrieval.
Gelman Library – http://www.gwu.edu/∼gelman/subjects/subjects.htm Contact: Martin Courtois,
courtois@gwu.edu Internet Resources divided into five categories then subdivided to more
specific topics. Also links to a virtual reference desk.
Infomine: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections * – http://lib-www.ucr.edu/ Contact: Steve
Mitchell, Co-ordinator; smitch@citrus.ucr.edu or Margaret Mooney, co-ordinator;
mmooney@citrus.ucr.edu “Infomine contains over 14,000 links. Substantive databases,
electronic journals, guides to the Internet for most disciplines, textbooks and conference
proceedings are among the many types of resources.”
Internet Library for Librarians – http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/ Contact: Vianne Tang
Sha, ShaW@missouri.edu “A comprehensive Web database designed to provide a one-stop
shopping center for librarians to locate Internet resources related to their profession.”
(Reference, collection development, archives, administration, automation etc.)
Internet Public Library – http://www.ipl.org/ Contact: ipl@ipl.org Huge site with many easy-touse features, including: youth, teen and just-for-librarians sections, virtual exhibits, reference
collection (with Ask A Question feature).
The Internet Sleuth – http://www.isleuth.com/ Contact: feedback@isleuth.com Search over
3,000 annotated databases, categorized subjects, not reviewed.
KnowledgeCite Library – http://www.knowledgecite.com/ Contact: marcr@knowledgecite.com
“… Limited to individuals affiliated with one of our subscribing institutions.” A reference tool
providing “multi-disciplinary searching across dozens of research-grade databases in a Web
environment.”
Librarian’s Index to the Internet – http://lii.org/ Contact: Carole Leita, cleita@sunsite.berkeley.
edu Evaluated, annotated and searchable collection of Internet resources (academic and
popular) organized by subject.
Librarians’ Resource Centre – http://www.sla. org/chapter/ctor/toolbox/resource/index.html
Contact: Margaret Gross, mgross@cam.org Selective collection of information, resources and
databases organized by clients’ needs – public service, professional and technical.
The Library of Congress – http://lcWeb.loc.gov/library Contact: lcWeb@loc.gov Services for
researchers, publishers, educators. Many collections.
Library Spot – http://www.libraryspot.com/ Contact: feedback@libraryspot.com Link to law,
medical, musical libraries as well as online libraries; other features include archives, reading
room and librarians’ shelf (tools, humor, career information and more).
MindSpring Enterprises – http://corpcom.mspring.net/corpcom/cgi-bin/query-formb.cgi Contact:
http://www.mindspring.net/mail.html Search for sites from a large category list, both academic
and popular subjects.
Miningco – http://www.miningco.com Contact: reachus@miningco.com “600 guides mining the
net on thousands of topics” – academic and popular.
Morrisville College Library – http://www.morrisville.edu/pages/library/ Contact: Wilfred Drew,
drewwe@morrisville.edu General, specialized (authorization needed on some), and periodical
databases.
MEL – Michigan Electronic Library http://mel.lib.mi.us Contact: Sue Davidsen, Director;
davidsen@umich.edu Browse the Internet by subject and use the electronic reference desk at
this Web site.
National Library of Australia – http://www.nla.gov.au/internet.html#alls Contact: Rod Stroud,
rstroud@nla.gov.au “Selective subject lists of evaluated Internet resources that are easy to
browse …” Also contains subject lists of e-mail discussion groups, online newspapers by
country, and reference materials.
National Library of Canada – Electronic Collection – http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/e-coll-e/indexe.htm Contact: e.publications.e@nlc-blc-ca The beginnings of an electronic collection which
incorporates formally published Canadian online books and journals; comprehensive site
directory.
Needle in a CyberStack – http://home.revealed.net/albee/ Contact: John Albee,
albee@revealed.net Use the “needle navigator” to locate the database(s)needed from a large
selection of options.
The New Athenaum – http://members.spree. com/athenaeum/mguide1.htm Contact: Robert J.
Tiess, rjtiess@warwick.net. “Metaguide to Internet resource guides developed by libraries and
library professionals all over the world.”
North Carolina State University Library – http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/disciplines/index.html Contact:
eric_morgan@ncsu.edu Listing and links to both research and internet resources by subject.
Pinakes: A Subject Launchpad – http://www.hw.ac.uk/libWWW/irn/pinakes/pinakes.html
Contact: Dave Bond, d.a.bond@hw.ac.uk or Roddy MacLeod, r.a.macleod@hw.ac.uk This Web
site is a set of “graphic” links (easy to use) to the “major subject gateways”.
Lycos – Top Five Percent – http://point.lycos.com/categories/index.html Contact:
Webmaster@lycos.com Top Five Percent is a directory of reviewed sites. Search, or browse by
broad subject arranged by rankings. Mix of popular and academic resources.
Ramapo Catskills Library System – http://www.rcls.org/ Contact: Jerry Kuntz, jkuntz@ rcls.org
Electronic library consisting of search tools (kids’ search tools), directories, and multiple subject
database listings.
Rettig on Reference – http://www.gale.com Reviews of traditional and Internet resources for
reference by James Rettig. Monthly publication from Gale Research is available free of charge
to all Internet users.
ROADS (Resource Organisation and Discovery in Subject-based Services)
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/roads/ Contact: roads-liaison@bris.ac.uk “The software allows you to set
up a subject gateway.”
The Scout Report – http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/ Contact: scout@cs.wisc.edu
“Published every Friday both on the Web and by e-mail, it provides a fast, convenient way to
stay informed of valuable resources on the Internet. Our team of professional librarians and
subject matter experts select, research, and annotate resource.”
Seattle Public Library – http://www.spl.lib.wa.us/ Contact: Deborah L. Jacobs,
city.librarian@spl.org Full service library with online databases, quick information center,
reference, etc.
Services to Librarians – http://www.library. okstate.edu/dept/sed/prestamo/anne5.htm Contact:
Anne Prestamo, prestam@notes. okstate.edu Database of information for librarians: resources
for net training (many areas), references, periodicals, listservs, libraries.
State Library of Ohio – World Wide Web Information Network – http://winslo.state.oh.us/
Contact: Georgiana Van Syckle, Webmaster@ winslo.state.oh.us Lists state and federal
government information, online databases, Ohio Public Library Online (OPLIN).
Schools and Libraries Division – http://www.slcfund.org/ Contact: question@slcfund.org Site for
school and library regarding funding information, announcements and forms.
Scout Select Bookmarks: Subject-based Metasites –
http://wwwscout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/toolkit/bookmarks/index.html Contact: scout@cs.wisc.edu
Very selective list (“chosen for selectivity, breadth, and depth of coverage scope and authority”)
of metasites in seven academic fields.
Scout Report Signpost – http://www.signpost. org/signpost/ Contact:signpost@cs.wisc.edu
Searchable, browseable (sic) database of the Scout Report – critical summaries of Internet and
mailing lists.
Social Science Information Gateway – http://sosig.ac.uk/welcome.htmlor
http://scout18.cs.wisc.edu/sosig_mirror/ Contact: Nicky Ferguson, Director; nicky.ferguson@
bris.ac.uk “Social Science Information Gateway is an online catalogue of thousands of high
quality Internet resources relevant to social science education and research. Every resource
has been selected and described by a librarian or subject specialist.”
Virtual Visit of the Multimedia Library – http://mediatheque.ircam.fr/infos/vrml/index-e.html
Contacts: http://mediatheque.ircam.fr/messages/mail.html Need to download special software to
view/use the “virtual” library. Can access without this, though. Heavy emphasis on music.
World Wide Web Virtual Library – http://www.vlib.org/Home.html Individuals maintain the
separate collections of this library at separate locations. Contact person listed at each site.
Oldest catalog on the Web. Annotated collection of searchable Internet resources arranged by
subject.
Collection development related discussion lists, newsgroups and e-serials
ACCRI-L – Discussion of Internet resources for anesthesiology and critical care. Archives:
contact the moderator for details. Subscribe: send e-mail to listserv@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu with
the command: Subscribe accri-l yourname. Contact: A.J. Wright, meds002@
uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu
ACQNET – Discussion for acquisitions and collection development librarians. Archives:
http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/law/acqs/acqs.html Subscribe: send e-mail to
listproc@listproc.appstate.edu with the command: Subscribe acqnet yourname Contact:
EleanorCook cookei@appstate.edu
ASIA-WWW-MONITOR – Discusses Web sites for social science studies in and about Asia.
Archives: http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html Subscribe: send e-mail to
majordomo@coombs.anu.edu.au with the command: subscribe asia-www-monitor your e-mail
address. Contact: Dr T. Matthew Ciolek tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au
BIOSCI – Group of bio-science discussion lists and newsgroups. Subscribe: http://www.bio.net
Contact: biosci-help@net.bio.net
Buslib-L – Moderated electronic forum that addresses all issues relating to: the collection,
storage and dissemination of business information within a library setting – regardless of format.
Archives and subscribe: http://www.willamette.edu/∼gklein/buslib.htm Contact: Gary Klein.
Cancerwire – http://www.rwneill.com/publishing/ Cancerwire is an e-newsletter which publishes
general cancer news, clinical trials, support groups, Internet resource reviews, and other
information for cancer patients, caregivers, and medical professionals. Subscribe:
http://www.rwneill.com/publishing/ Contact: http://www.rwneill.com/publishing/
COLLDV-L – Moderated: discussion for library collection development officers, bibliographers,
and selectors plus others involved with library collection development, including interested
publishers and vendors. Subscribe: Send e-mail to listserv@vm.usc.edu with the command:
subscribe colldv-l yourname Contact: Lynn Sipe lsipe@calvin. usc.edu
CONSDIST – Discussion of collection and preservation of library, archives and museum
materials. Archives: http://palimpsest.stanford. edu/byform/mailing-lists/cdl Subscribe: send email to consdist-request@lindy.stanford.edu Contact: Walter Henry consdistrequest@lindy.stanford.edu
ECOLL – Subscribe: send e-mail to listproc@unllib.unl.edu with the command: Subscribe ecoll
Edresource – Discussion of the education resources available that benefit Internet educators.
Subscribe and archives: http://www.egroups.com/list/edresource Contact: Arun Tripathi, tripath@amadeus.statistik.uni-dortmund.de
ELDNET – Discussion of the Engineering Libraries Division of the American Society of
Engineering Education. Subscribe: send e-mail to listserv@ukans.edu with the command:
subscribe eldnet yourname Contact: desart@falcon.cc.ukans.edu
Feminist Collections – (http://www.library.wisc. edu/libraries/WomensStudies/fcmain.htm)
Publishes reviews of Internet resources related to women’s studies in the arts, humanities,
social sciences and sciences.
The Finger Searcher Science Seeker Newsletter –
(http://www.connect.ab.ca/∼xdr/fsearch/fsindex.html) Publishes nothing but reviews of science
resources on the Internet. Again the Internet Scout Project (http://scout.cs.wisc. edu) comes
through for physical sciences researchers and educators by publishing the The Scout Report for
Science and Engineering. This bi-weekly e-newsletter publishes reviews of Internet resources of
interest to researchers and educators in the physical and life sciences fields.
HMATRIX-L – Focuses entirely on health and medical resources on the Internet. Archives:
Contact the moderator for details. Subscribe: Send e-mail to listserv@kumchttp. mc.ukans.edu
with the command: Subscribe hmatrix-l yourname Contact: Lee Hancock
le07144@ukanvm.cc.ukans.edu
InSITE – (http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/lawlibrary/insite.html) An e-serial which reviews and
annotates Internet legal information Web sites. It is published by the Cornell Law Library.
Law-Lib – Discussion for law librarians. Archives: http://www.ljx.com/public/mailinglists/uclawlib/index.html Subscribe: wend e-mail to listproc@ucdavis.edu with the command: subscribe
law-lib your name Contact: Judy Janes jcjanes@ucdavis.edu
The Law Library Resource Exchange – (http://www.llrx.com) An outstanding current awareness
“Webzine” which not only publishes legal Web site reviews but also publishes articles
discussing all aspects of legal information on the Internet.
Lawlibref-l – Discussion for law reference librarians working in all types of libraries. Archives:
http://www.ljx.com/public/mailinglists/wwwlawlibref-l/index.html Subscribe: send e-mail to
listproc@lawlib. wuacc.edu with the command: subscribe lawlibref-l your name Contact: Lissa
Lord zzlord@acc.wuacc.edu
LAWSRC-L – Internet Law Resources List. Subscribe: send e-mail to listproc@law.cornell. edu
with the command: subscribe lawsrc-l your name
Libref-L – Discussion of library reference concepts, issues and service. Archives:
http://listserv.kent.edu/archives/libref-l.html Subscribe: send e-mail to listserv@listserv.kent. edu
with the command: subscribe Libref-L your name Contact: Diane K. Kovacs diane@kovacs.com
LM_NET – Subscribe: send e-mail to listserv@listserv.syr.edu with the command: subscribe
lm_net yourname Contact: Mike Eisenberg mike@ericir.syr.edu or Peter Milbury
pmilbury@cusd.chico.k12.ca.us
Mathqa – Discussion list which includes reviews of mathematical Web sites. Archives: contact
the moderator for details. Subscribe: send e-mail to majordomo@lists.oulu.fi with the message:
subscribe mathqa your e-mail address Contact: Nick Halloway snowe@rain.org
MEDLIB-L – Discussion list for medical librarians which includes discussion of Internet
resources for medical e-library collections. Archives: contact the moderator for details.
Subscribe: send e-mail to listserv@listserv. acsu.buffalo.edu with the message: subscribe
medlib-l yourname Contact: Jan Mixter jmixter@luc.edu
Net-Happenings – Announcements of new Internet resources and excerpts from various
discussions of Internet-related events. Archives: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/caservices/ newlist/ Subscribe: send e-mail to listserv@ hypatia.cs.wisc.edu with the command: subscribe nethappenings your name or fill out the form at http://scout18.cs.wisc.edu/cgibin/lwgate/listsavail.html or use a Usenet Newsreader to access comp.internet. net-happenings
Contact: Gleason Sackman gleason@rrnet.com
NetInLib-Announce – Current awareness service whose purpose is to alert librarians and other
information professionals to new, innovative or useful Internet resources. Members can
announce resources they feel are worth sharing. Subscribe:
http://www.targetinform.com/netinlib/ Contact: Mark Jordan mjordan@mail.bc.rogers.wave.ca
NewJour – Distribution list for the announcement of new electronic journals and newsletters.
Archives: http://gort.ucsd.edu/newjour/ Subscribe: submit the form at
http://gort.ucsd.edu/newjour/subscribe.html Contact: owner-newjour@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
Psychiatry-Resources – Discussion list for review and recommendation of psychiatry
information resources on and off the Internet. Archives: contact the moderator for details.
Subscribe: send e-mail to listserv@maelstrom. stjohns.edu with the message: subscribe
psychiatry-resources yourname Contact: Myron Pulier mpulier@interport.net
PUBLIB – Discussion of issues relating to public librarianship. “Particularly appropriate issues
for discussion on PUBLIB include, but are not limited to: collection development, acquisitions,
management and weeding, including traditional and new media reference services…”. Archives:
http://sunsite.berkeley. edu/PubLib/archive.html Subscribe: send the message “subscribe
PUBLIB YourFirstName YourLastName” to listserv@sunsite.berkeley. edu Contact: Sara
Weissman weissman@main. morris.org or Karen Schneider kgs@bluehighways.com
PUBLIB-NET – A sublist of PUBLIB where discussion is devoted strictly to the Internet in public
libraries. Archives: http://sunsite. berkeley.edu/PubLib/archive.html Subscribe: send the
message “subscribe PUBLIB-NET YourFirstName YourLastName” to
listserv@sunsite.berkeley.edu Contact: Sara Weissman weissman@main.morris.org or Karen
Schneider kgs@bluehighways.com
The Scout Report – (http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/index.html) Weekly e-newsletter distribution which
publishes reviews of Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators. Different
versions include SCOUT-REPORT-HTML, The Scout Report HTML version. The subject
specific versions are described in Chapters 2, 3 and 5. Subscribe: fill out the form at
http://scout18.cs.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/lwgate/listsavail. html Archives:
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/archive/index.html Contact: scout-report-request@cs.wisc.edu
SLA-Dite – Discussion for the Information Technology Division of the Special Libraries
Association. Subscribe: send e-mail to listserv@listserv.sla.org with the command: subscribe
sla-dite yourname Contact: Hope N. Tillman hope@tiac.net
Soho-Spider – Reviews Web sites of interest to small business. Subscribe: send e-mail to
majordomo@sohoWeb.net with the command: subscribe soho-spider youremailaddress
Contact: Scott Temaat spider@sohoWeb.net
The Spire Project Australia – (http://cn.net.au) The Spire Project is uniquely not a library-based
project. It is a subject guide to information research, released as FAQ, shareware, Web site and
for publishing on other Web sites. The information is organized as a collection of research
strategy articles covering topics like patent research and country profiles. The work is prepared
by David Novak, a professional researcher and manager of Community Networking (Australia),
with his wife Fiona. Contact: David Novak david@cn.net.au
SRBUSECON, The Scout Report for Business and Economics – Bi-weekly e-newsletter
distribution which publishes reviews of Internet resources of interest to researchers and
educators in the business and economics fields. Subscribe: fill out the form at http://scout18.
cs.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/lwgate/listsavail.html Archives:
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/archive/index.html Contact: SRBusEcon-request@cs.wisc.edu
SRSCIENG, The Scout Report for Science and Engineering – Bi-weekly e-newsletter
distribution which publishes reviews of Internet resources of interest to researchers and
educators in the physical and life sciences fields. Subscribe: fill out the form at http://scout18.
cs.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/lwgate/listsavail.html Archives:
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/archive/index.html Contact: SRSciEng-request@cs.wisc.edu
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ )
SRSOCSCI, The Scout Report for Social Sciences – Bi-weekly e-newsletter distribution which
publishes reviews of Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators in the social
sciences. Subscribe: fill out the form at http://scout18.cs.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/lwgate/listsavail.html
Archives: http://scout.cs.wisc. edu/report/sr/archive/index.html Contact: SRSocScirequest@cs.wisc.edu
STS-L – Discussion of science and technology librarianship. Subscribe: Send e-mail to
listserv@utkvm1.utk.edu with the command: subscribe sts-l yourname Contact: Marty Courtois
mpc@gwu.edu
Web4Lib – Discussion of the practical use and philosophical issues of the World Wide Web in
library contexts. Archives: http://sunsite. berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive.html Subscribe: send email to listproc@sunsite.berkeley.edu with the message: subscribe Web4lib yourfirstname
yourlastname Contact: Roy Tennant rtennant@library.berkeley.edu or Thomas Dowling
tdowling@ohiolink.edu.