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From: [e-mail] (Anthony Wilson)
Newsgroups: soc.libraries.talk,soc.answers,news.answers
Subject: Libraries FAQ, v. 2.1. part 9/10
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Libraries FAQ 2.1
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1107


Anthony Wilson
[e-mail]

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 [e-mail] .

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, [e-mail] , has the channel set up on
Dalnet.

#safranim, created by Steve Bergson,
[e-mail], 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, [e-mail], 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, [e-mail] , 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, [e-mail] , 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
[e-mail]

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/