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Archive-name: books/library-faq/part9
Posting-Frequency: Every 3 months Version: 2.1 See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Libraries FAQ 2.1 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1107 Anthony Wilson paw@iglou.com Libraries FAQ Section 8.0 The Cyberstacks 8.1 Where can I get answers to difficult reference questions through the internet? 8.2 What library-related web resources are available? 8.3 What library-related newsgroups are available? 8.4 Are there e-mail discussion groups for librarians? 8.5 Where can I find library-related online journals 8.6 Are there any library-related IRC channels or chat forums? 8.7 Who are some of the prominent librarians writing about the Internet and digital libraries? 8.8 How can I become more comfortable using the Internet? 8.1 Where can I get answers to difficult reference questions through the internet? "STUMPERS-L is a networking resource for reference questions that have people, in essence, stumped. It is assumed that all questions posted to this list have been thoroughly researched through the usual sources; library, specialists, other Internet resources, etc. After failing to find a satisfactory answer, you should turn to the people on STUMPERS-L!" The Stumpers-l web site is http://www.cuis.edu/~stumpers/intro.html. To subscribe to the listserv, send the message "SUBSCRIBE STUMPERS-L" to mailserv@crf.cuis.edu . The Toronto Reference Library Answerline provides free quick reference service, by phone or e-mail: http://www.mtrl.toronto.on.ca/centres/answer/index.html Try the real-time online reference at the Internet Public Library (IPL) reference desk. For more information, visit the IPL at: http://ipl.sils.umich.edu or telnet to their MOO (Multi-user Object-Oriented) at: telnet://ipl.sils.umich.edu [logon as "iplmoo" and, when prompted, type "connect guest".] 8.2 What library-related web resources are available? It would be impossible to list all the web sites that might interest librarians, but here are some of those sites many librarians cite as being the most useful: AcqWeb Besides providing links to acquisitions and collection development information, Acqweb features the Diversion of the Month & a Hot Topics section. http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/law/acqs/acqs.html BUBL Information Service The extensive Internet-based information service run from the Andersonian Library at the University of Strathclyde. http://bubl.ac.uk/ Info Connect for Librarians A searchable, alphabetical directory of resources for librarians and information scientists. http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~kush/Page1.htm Internet Library for Librarians "A comprehensive Web database designed to provide a one-stop shopping center for librarians to locate Internet resources related to their profession" http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/index.htm Internet Public Library The IPL, hosted by the School of Information & Library Studies of the University of Michigan, is working to create a strong, coherent sense of place on the Internet by finding, evaluating, selecting, organizing, describing, and creating quality sources of information. http://ipl.sils.umich.edu The Librarian's Bookmarks One of my favorite places to browse. http://www.conknet.com/hhs/library/Librarian.html Librarians' Index to the Internet This was formerly known as the Berkeley Public Library Index to the Internet; possibly the most comprehensive site on the net. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/InternetIndex/index.html LibraryLand, Resources for Librarians The well organized site of the Ramapo Catskill Library System. http://ansernet.rcls.org/libland/ Library-Oriented Lists and Electronic Resources A compilation of electronic discussion lists, distribution lists and electronic serials, which are of interest to library professionals and staff. http://info.lib.uh.edu/liblists/liblists.htm Librarian's Home Page Directory Librarians listed by name and specialization; this page can be helpful in locating esoteric information. http://www.he.net/~libdir/index.html Librarians' Site du Jour Part of Jenny's Cybrary to the Stars. http://sashimi.wwa.com/~jayhawk/sitejour.html Libweb - Library Servers via WWW An excellent directory of Library home pages; lists over 1700 pages from libraries in over 70 countries. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Libweb/ UK Public Libraries Page The aim of these pages is to present the most complete and up to date picture of public library internet activity in the United Kingdom. Interesting ideas for exploiting the Net in promoting your library can be found in the Net Notions section. http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/ac940/ukpublib.html 8.3 What library-related newsgroups are available? Soc.libraries.talk is the only Usenet group specifically aimed at librarians. Some library related listservs (e-mail distributed discussion groups) are converted to the newsgroup format and can be read on Usenet. These listservs include: bit.listserv.advanc-l (Geac Advance Library System) bit.listserv.arie-l (RLG Ariel Document Transmission System) bit.listserv.asis-l (American Society for Information Science) bit.listserv.autocat (Library Cataloging and Authorities) bit.listserv.axslib-l (Project EASI: Library Access for Persons with Disabilities) bit.listserv.buslib-l (Business Librarians) bit.listserv.cdromlan (CD-ROM LANs) bit.listserv.circplus (Circulation and Access Services) bit.listserv.cwis-l (Campus-Wide Information Systems) bit.listserv.govdoc-l (Government Documents) bit.listserv.hytel-l (HYTELNET Updates Distribution) bit.listserv.innopac (Innovative Interfaces Users) bit.listserv.libref-l (Discussion of Library Reference Issues) bit.listserv.lis-l (Library and Information Science Students) bit.listserv.medlib-l (Medical and Health Sciences Library Students) bit.listserv.mla-l (Music Library Association) bit.listserv.nettrain (Internet/BITNET Network Trainers) bit.listserv.notis-l (NOTIS Users) bit.listserv.pacs-l (Public-Access Computer Systems) bit.listserv.vpiej-l (Publishing E-Journals: Publishing, Archiving, and Access) 8.4 Are there e-mail discussion groups for librarians? Usenet is drowning in a sea of flames, spam and porn (and flames about spammed porn), but lively, intelligent discussions can still be found on private e-mail discussion groups. Some examples are: AUTOCAT is an electronic forum for the discussion of all questions relating to cataloging and authority control in libraries. http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/autocat/ Libsoft is devoted to discussing software of particular interest to librarians. http://www.orst.edu/groups/libsoft/ NewJour is the New Journal and Newsletter Announcement List for new serials on the Internet. http://gort.ucsd.edu/newjour/ PubLib is a list for the discussion of issues relating to public libraries; its subset, PubLib-Net is for discussions of the Internet in public libraries. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/PubLib/ Web4lib features discussions relating to the creation and management of library-based World Wide Web servers and clients. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/ See the web pages below for complete listings of Library Science (and non-LIS) discussion groups: Library-Oriented Lists and Electronic Resources http://info.lib.uh.edu/liblists/liblists.htm Diane K. Kovacs' Directory of Scholarly and Professional E-Conferences, http://www.n2h2.com/KOVACS/ Liszt, http://www.liszt.com/ , is a popular searchable mailing list directory. If you sign up for an e-mail discussion group, I strongly suggest you download a copy of "Discussion Lists: Mailing List Manager Commands" by James Milles of the St Louis University Law Library, http://lawwww.cwru.edu/cwrulaw/faculty/milles/mailser.html . This document outlines the essential commands for most mailing list software (listserv, majordomo, mailserve, etc.) in a clear and concise manner. Avoid embarrassment and impress your colleagues by knowing the proper way to unsubscribe from a list. 8.5 Where can I find online library science journals? Steve Bergson has compiled a list of all major online LIS periodicals that provide a table of contents, abstracts or full-text articles. See Library and Information Science Periodicals on the Internet, http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/gates/18/libpers.html PICK, the excellent Internet resource page by the Thomas Perry Library, has an extensive list of electronic journals in LIS (with an emphasis on those in the UK) with descriptions as to whether they are full-text or abstracts. http://www.aber.ac.uk/~tplwww/ej/intro.html You'll also want to check out the LIS section of BUBL's list of 220 current journals and newsletters: http://bubl.ac.uk/journals/ Some of the interesting online LIS journals available are: Ariande, a bimonthly newsletter published by the UK Office for Library and Information Networking, describes and evaluates sources and services available on the Internet, and of potential use, to librarians and information professionals. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/ Booklist has been the librarian's leading choice for reviews of the latest books and (more recently) electronic media. http://www.ala.org/booklist/ Educom Review explores the changing ways we will work, learn, and communicate in the digital world of the 21st century http://educom.edu/web/pubs/pubHomeFrame.html . Internet Trend Watch for Libraries is a Web-based newsletter highlighting innovative Internet applications in libraries. http://www.itwfl.com/ . The Katharine Sharp Review, a peer-reviewed e-journal devoted to student scholarship and research within library and information science. http://edfu.lis.uiuc.edu/review/ The Library Journal contains late-breaking news, InfoTech updates, and book reviews not in the magazine. http://www.ljdigital.com/ . The Minnesota Library Association Social Responsibilities Round Table (MSRRT) Newsletter: Library Alternatives, http://www.cs.unca.edu/~davidson/msrrt/ , provides information on library staff unionizing, internet censorship, price gouging by vendors, zine news, new books and journals, and much more. 8.6 Are there any library-related IRC channels or chat forums? IRC: Internet Relay Chat. See the mIRC homepage http://www.mirc.co.uk/ for general information on IRC and the necessary software. IRC Channels: #academiclibrarians , is an IRC channel for academic librarians. Bill Drew, drewwe@snymorva.cs.snymor.edu , has the channel set up on Dalnet. #safranim, created by Steve Bergson, safran-can@geocities.com, is on Undernet. MOO:Multi-user Object Oriented environment based on the MUD -(Multi-User Dungeon) concept. MOOs are an interactive system accessible through telnet by many users at the same time. See the Internet Public Library Moo Introduction, http://www.ipl.org/moo/ , and the Lost Library of MOO, http://lucien.berkeley.edu/moo.html , for more information. MOO communities: The Internet Public Library MOO, telnet://ipl.sils.umich.edu:8888 Steve Bergson, safran-can@geocities.com, invites you to visit the library in the Jewish section of the OISE MOO at telnet://noisey.oise.utoronto.ca:9696 or http://noisey.oise.utoronto.ca/mooca/MudClient3.html Enter the Jewish Library by selecting option 3 after you first enter. If you want to do your own search for library, Internet or cybertech IRC channels, see the Liszt, http://www.liszt.com/chat/ , IRC search engine. Liszt has created a multi-network IRC search engine where you can search for a chat forum across all the major IRC networks at once. If you want to locate web based discussion forums try Forum One, http://www.forumone.com/ , the search engine for over 117,000 online forums. 8.7 Who are some of the prominent librarians writing about the Internet and digital libraries? All the LIS journals mentioned in section 8.5 feature articles on new developments in library and information technology. The authors below are some of the more well known columnists: Reva Basch, http://www.well.com/user/reva/ was the Cybernaut columnist for Computer Life from mid-'95 until that column's cessation in August 1997. Her articles can still be found at the Computer Life archive, http://www1.zdnet.com/complife/ . Basch is also the author of "Secrets of the Super searchers" and "Secrets of the Super Net Searchers", http://www.onlineinc.com/pempress/super . Mary Ellen Bates is the principal of Bates Information Services, a research and consulting business, http://www.batesinfo.com/ . She is a contributor to Online and Database, http://www.onlineinc.com/index.html Michel Bauwens, Internet Consultant /Cyber-marketer. He is the author of the "Cybrarian's Guide to Cybermarketing", http://www.radikal.be/guide/ Some of his articles on cyberculture and the business of the Internet can be found at http://www.KYBERCo.com/articles.htm . Cynthia N. James-Catalano, jamcat@jamcat.com , is no longer writing for Internet World, but you can still find her excellent columns on librarians and information science at the IW site, http://www.internetworld.com/ , and at James-Catalano's homepage, http://www.jamcat.com/ . Be sure to read James-Catalana's article "Look to the Librarians": http://www.internetworld.com/1996/08/cyberlib.html It's a good overview of how librarians are quietly taming the net. Laverna Saunders, saunders@noblenet.org , is a contributing editor to Computers in Libraries, http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/ciltop.htm . The ALA's Cyberlib.net, an online extension of its hardcopy Cybrarian's Manual, has articles written by some of the most knowledgeable librarians on the net: http://www.ala.org/editions/cyberlib.net/index.html 8.8 How can I become more comfortable using the Internet? The Internet has been described as a library with all the books tossed on the floor (note: can anyone provide the actual quote?) Fortunately, there are online courses, discussion groups, and books (both digital and hardcopy) to help you work effectively on the net: ROADMAP "If you're looking for a free, easy way to learn a lot about the Internet, look no further." --The Washington Post, 4/6/95 (talking about the Roadmap series) "Roadmap96 is a free, text-based, 27 lesson Internet training workshop designed to teach new "Net travelers" how to travel around the rapidly expanding (and often-times confusing) 'Information Superhighway' without getting lost." You can access Roadmap through its e-mail distribution list or the Roadmap96 Web archive. For directions, go to: http://www.mobiusweb.com/~mobius/Roadmap/ L.O.S.T. "The Librarians' Online Support Team (LOST) is a group of geographically remote librarians meeting online for instruction and discussion with the goal of professional development. The group regularly sponsors online workshops and is building a set of online resources to share." Excellent site, great programs. Find it at http://www.gnacademy.org:8001/~lost/ WEB4LIB Quoting from the web4lib web site at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/: Purpose: The Web4Lib electronic discussion is for the discussion of issues relating to the creation and management of library- based World Wide Web servers and clients. Particularly appropriate issues for discussion include, but are not limited to: - Web resource selection and information mounting in relation to existing acquisition and collection development procedures - cataloging and metadata issues regarding Web information - in-house patron access to Web servers (e.g., Netscape on patron-accessible computers) - training staff or users to use the Web or to create Web resources Audience: Web4Lib is specifically aimed toward librarians and library staff involved in World Wide Web management, but anyone is welcome to join the discussion. Those not interested in a library-oriented Web discussion may wish to join one of the general Web discussions hosted by the W3 Organization. There are presently over 3,400 subscribers world wide and an average of 18 messages every day (as of April 29, 1997). The discussions on Web4lib range from the Sacred (the ethics of cyberfilters) to the Profane (mouse ball theft). It is a wonderful resource. To subscribe to web4lib:: Send the message "subscribe Web4Lib your name" to listserv@library.berkeley.edu EFF's BIG DUMMY'S GUIDE Everyone should have a copy of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (Extended) Guide to the Internet. http://www.eff.org/papers/bdgtti/eegtti.htm BOOKS Interesting offer from Macmillan: The Personal Bookshelf at Macmillan Computer Publishing, http://www.mcp.com/personal/, gives you free, unlimited access to more than 150 complete computer books on the Internet, web publishing, programming and more. Registered users of this "library" may select up to five Ebooks to view online. Secrets of the Super Searchers & Secrets of the Super Net Searchers by Reva Basch published by Online, Inc./8-Bit Books, 1994. It has tips for experienced surfers as well as net newbies. How The Internet Works by Joshua Eddings (Ziff-Davis Press). Like all the "How It Works" books by ZD, it has a has an easy to grasp graphical presentation. The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog-2nd Edition by Ed Krol (O'Reilly & Associates) A classic. Internet Connections: A Librarian's Guide to Dial-Up Access and Use by Mary Engle, et al. (American Library Association) For more information on Internet guides visit the Yahoo site: http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/ Information_and_Documentation/Beginner_s_Guides/ User Contributions: |
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