This book addresses the growing problem of how to sort the quality sites from the mass of junk available. Uniquely, it suggests a system of criteria and guidelines, developed through empirical research, for selecting and evaluating high-quality information resources. It also advises on devising checklists and rating schemes for numerically evaluating the quality of information. This edition updates the user on the latest developments in Internet-based search tools for locating quality information including: search engines subject catalogues and directories rating and reviewing services subject-based gateway services virtual libraries. Information and guidance about the new Resource Discovery Network, the potential role and usefulness of metadata in locating quality information, and using web 'citations' for retrieving quality material have also been added to this edition. Step-by-step examples have been included on how to evaluate particular types of resources available via the Internet.

Online Searching is your complete guide to becoming a superstar searcher, wielding advanced searching features, strategies, and tactics for answering questions on any topic under the sun as well as finding answers in trusted, quality sources.

Based on the book A Guide to Finding Quality Information on the Internet (ISBN 1-85604-267-7), this course addresses the problem of how to evaluate information on the Internet in order to identify quality sites. Trainees will take away a system of criteria and guidelines for selecting and evaluating quality information services which they can then apply to their own information work.

Every profession now uses the Internet to research data. Most of the data is junk and users need a plan for organizing, hunting, and eliminating data efficiently. This book covers all aspects of gathering, organizing, and efficiently using the millions of bits of "super" information.

Written by a professor of computer science and a reference librarian, this guide covers basic browser usage, e-mail, and discussion groups; discusses such Internet staples as FTP and Usenet newsgroups; presents and compares numerous search engines; and includes models for acquiring, evaluating, and citing resources within the context of a research project. The emphasis of the book is on learning how to create search strategies and search expressions, how to evaluate information critically, and how to cite resources. All of these skills are presented as within the context of step-by-step activities designed to teach basic Internet research skills to the beginner and to hone the skills of the seasoned practitioner.

We live in an information-saturated environment and spend far too much time searching, surfing, skimming, contributing, and organizing the information in our lives. We spend too little time immersing ourselves in reliable high quality information. We are often so buried in information and strapped for time that we grab information like it was fast food, without bothering to evaluate its quality. Finding Reliable Information Online: Adventures of an Information Sleuth uses stories or “information adventures” to illustrate the best approaches to searching for information and to help us develop our aptitude for locating high quality resources in a rapidly changing digital environment that is becoming proficient at monopolizing our attention with useless or unreliable information. This book is about taking charge of the search process and not handing over the reins to search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo to dictate what information we consume. Each chapter focuses on a quest for different types of information while digging deeper into the complexities of finding credible places to look for information and ways to think about evaluating it. As the Internet evolves and becomes more sophisticated, our strategies for finding and evaluating information need to evolve as well. The stories in this book range from investigating challenging research questions to exploring health issues and everyday life questions like finding a reliable restaurant or product review. These chapters go beyond the simple and more mechanical checklist approach to evaluating information, though these factors are also discussed.

The Web is always moving, always changing. As some Web sites come, others go, but the most effective sites have been well established. A Subject Guide to Quality Web Sites provides a list of key web sites in various disciplines that will assist researchers with a solid starting point for their queries. The sites included in this collection are stable and have librarian tested high-quality information: the most important attribute information can have.

This book introduces readers to the principles underlying digital libraries, illustrating these principles by reference to a wide range of digital library practices throughout the world. Individual chapters deal with issues such as: digital library users and the services that are offered to them, the standards and protocols with which digital libraries must operate in order to cooperate with other institutions, and issues such as the administration of digital libraries, including discussion of intellectual property rights and preservation issues. A final chapter comprises eight case studies drawn from all over the world, used to illustrate points made in earlier chapters. Throughout the book, the challenges of developing and implementing digital library systems in multilingual and multicultural environments are explored.

How can the Internet and world wide web improve my long-term competitive advantage? This book helps answer this question by providing a better understanding of the technologies, their potential applications and the ways they can be used to add value for customers, support new strategies, and improve existing operations. It is not just about e-commerce but the broader theme of e-business which affects products, business processes, strategies, and relationships with customers, suppliers, distributors and competitors. To cover future trends, the editors have collected papers from authors operating at the frontiers of the developments so the reader can more appreciate the directions in which these technologies are heading. The resulting 165 essays have been collated into ten sections, which have been grouped in three parts: key issues, applications areas and applications, tools and technologies. A business rarely makes radical changes but is constantly making adjustments to circumstances. Businesses must now adapt to the global implications of the Internet and world wide web. This book hopes to aid awareness of the implications so that the changes are managed wisely.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.