User's Guide to the Internet
A User's Guide to the Internet was compiled by Vivian Hutchison, an ALIC student library technician from the College of Information Science at the University of Maryland.Contents:
- History of the Internet
- Internet Tutorials
- Search Engines
- Categorized Internet Resources
- Tips for Searching the Internet
- Finding New Web Sites
- Evaluating Web Sites
- Creating Web Sites
- Web Policies
History of the Internet
- History of Weblogs
- This article from Wired discusses the history of blogs and the outlook for the future.
- Hobbes' Internet Timeline
- A history of the Internet through a timeline design and various links to further information.
- Internet Archive
- Archives web pages back to 1996 and includes special collections dating back to 1903.
- Search Engines: Evolution and Revolution
- This site discusses the evolution of search engines.
- Bare Bones 101: A Very Basic Web Search Tutorial
- University of South Carolina
The information contained in the following lessons is designed to get you started in the right direction with a minimum amount of time and effort.
- Choose the Best Search Engine for Your Information Need
- This site suggests best search engines for various information needs, including specific disciplines and types of media.
- Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial
- (University of California, Berkeley)
This site contains information about search strategies for the Internet, search engines, and evaluating web sources.
- Internet 101: Beginner's Handbook
- This website contains links to a variety of tutorials that are designed to help beginners navigate the online world.
- Internet Tutorials
- (WebReference.com)
This site contains a myriad of links to various introductory Internet tutorials.
- Using the Internet
- (Library of Congress)
This Library of Congress site contains Internet guides and courses, Internet glossaries, and resourses for Internet trainers.
- Web Searching: A Tutorial on Search Strategy and Syntax
- (Power Reporting)
A tutorial on search strategies.
- Web Treasure Hunt: 10 Questions to Test Newsroom Literacy
- (Power Reporting)
Ten internet questions to test newsroom literacy.
Choose a Search Engine: Websites devoted to Search Engines:
- Major Search Engines and Directories
- This web page lists the major search engines available and the strengths of each.
- Search Engine Directory
- This web site allows uses to browse topical search engines by category.
- Search Engines
- This site describes individual search engines, meta search engines, and search engine collections.
- Searching the Net? Here are Places to Start
- The New York Times Navigator's selection of the best information resources on the web. Includes a selection of the best search engines, online directories, reference sites, and magazines.
- Best Information on the Net
- This website is maintained by the St. Ambrose University Library. It highlights research resources in an effective and informative manner.
- Internet Quick Reference
- This Indiana University Bloomington Libraries website has Internet information resources categorized by topic. Topics include historical collections, electronic journals and texts, and societies and associations.
- Power Reporting: Resources for Journalists
- Thousands of free research tools for journalists.
- Subject Portals
- Cleveland State University has created subject trees as an effective research starting point. The history subject site, for example, provides links within headers such as Journals, Internet Sites, Primary Resources, Research Tools, and Selected Interest Areas.
- Search Engine Chart
- This chart shows the relationships among many different search engines.
- Search Engine Guides
- This page provides memory aids to the syntax rules and features of four of the leading search engines.
- Search Engine Showdown
- This website describes search engines by features, reviews, analysis, learning, and a blog.
- Search Engine Watch
- This website provides information about search engines through tutorials, a blog, forums and webcasts.
- SreeTips.com
- This web site was created by Sree Sreenivasan, a journalism professor and technology reporter for WNBC, New York. The site features Smarter Surfing, tips on various technology topics, workshop links, and blogs.
- Tracking Changes on Web Pages
- This article by Gary Price discusses ways to track changes to web page content.
- The 100 Most Influential Personal Finance Bloggers
- A list of blogs dealing with personal finance issues such as debt, consumer culture, goals, and investing.
- Digital Librarian
- This site sends e-mail updates to users about new authoritative resources on the Internet, as well as listing new sites on their website.
- New York Times Navigator
- A selective guide to the best resources on the Internet.
- PC Magazine's Top Web Sites of 2008
- This site offers the top 100 classic and top 100 undiscovered web sites in a variety of categories, including Info, Search, and Reference; Health and Science; and Technology.
- Research Buzz
- News about search engines, databases, and online information collections.
- ResourceShelf
- Gary Price and Shirl Kennedy's weblog for Information Professionals. An ALIC favorite.
- Scout Report
- The Scout Report began in 1994 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It continues to spotlight worthy new web sites to date. Each weekly report contains four sections: Research and Education, General Interest, Network Tools, and News. An ALIC favorite.
- Top 25 Librarian Bloggers
- Online Education Database (OEDb) has created a list of blogs authored by librarians.
- Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
- (Johns Hopkins University)
This document discusses the criteria by which scholars in most fields evaluate print information, and shows how the same criteria can be used to assess information found on the Internet.
- Evaluating the Quality of Information on the Internet: A Checklist
- A checklist for evaluating websites with examples and in-depth explanations. Includes a printable version.
- Evaluating Web Content
- (University of Albany)
This guide offers tips for evaluating the quality of content on the Web. A printable version is available in PDF format.
- Getting It Right: Shortcuts for Busy Practitioners to Evaluate Web Content
- This March 2002 article by Paul Petruccelli, Chief Marketing and E-Commerce Counsel for Kraft Foods North America, discusses website authenticity using legal sources as examples.
- Getting It Right: Verifying Sources on the Net
- This March 2002 guide provides strategies and tools to assist you in the task of evaluating website content. When considering whether to use a site with confidence, consider that the criteria for evaluating web site content has similarities to the methodology used for print publications, including newspapers, magazines and newsletters.
- What Makes a Web Site Credible?
- An in-depth report on the authenticity of websites.
- 101 Link Building Tips to Market Your Website
- Ideas for building a web site or blog that attracts users.
- Congress Online: Assessing and Improving Web Sites
- The purpose of this web site is to assist government offices in developing effective Web sites. Five building blocks that are most critical to building effective Web sites are discussed.
- Fitt's UI Law Applied to the Web
- This article about web site design discusses Fitts's Law as it is applied to the way people interact with a mouse or other pointing device.
- How to Design Library Web Sites to Maximize Usability
- This pamphlet offers guidelines to help librarians design usable web sites. The guidelines are based on surveys of literature, usability reviews, and established best practices.
- Keeping Your Users Happy
- There are many facets to Web usability. This article skims the points found by the authors to be the most overlooked and the most valuable.
- The Role of Flow in Web Design
- This article by Scott Berkun of Microsoft discusses the concept of flow as it applies to web site design.
- Web Site Strategy
- This site is maintained by Bruce Clay Internet Business Consultants. This article describes in-depth steps involved in optimizing a web site, focusing on designing for promotion.
- Laws, Policies, and Performance Measures Relating to Federal Agency Web Sites
- (Law Librarian's Society)
The Law Librarian's Society of Washington D.C. has compiled this list of laws pertaining to Federal web pages.
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