Locating Holocaust Information on the Internet

Summary

The Internet, being a global tool capable of supporting multi-media format, can provide a venue for information in ways that traditional resources cannot. There is an abundance of information on the Internet regarding various aspects of the Holocaust. Responding to the broad disparity of the quality of information, political agendas of information providers, and the multi-disciplinary nature of the topic, this article is designed to provide an overview of available resources, and a spring-board for further research using the Internet as a medium.     

Internet Reference Service: General Sources and Trends

Summary

Providing quality reference services is more challenging than ever. In addition to traditional print sources, the information professional now has a dazzling array of databases, both free and expensive, readily available. Internet reference service has evolved quickly over the last decade, moving from a place of last resort to a mainstream application. Librarians have responded in many innovative ways to connect their customers with information available on the Internet. However, superior Internet reference service requires substantial investments in equipment that administrators will have to consider. Staff and customer training have become pressing needs. Providing access to appropriate databases and materials will become increasingly challenging.     

Historical Fabrications on the Internet

Summary

Although the Internet provides access to a wealth of information, there is little, if any, control over the quality of that information. Side-by-side with reliable information, one finds disinformation, misinformation, and hoaxes. The authors of this paper discuss numerous examples of fabricated historical information on the Internet (ranging from denials of the Holocaust to personal vendettas), offer suggestions on how to evaluate websites, and argue that these fabrications can be incorporated into bibliographic instruction classes.     

Taking Control

Abstract

Libraries are at a crossroad. Down one road are the traditions long accepted by libraries as the proper way to run a library. The other way leads the libraries into the challenges and chaos of the Internet. There are innovative attempts to use the potential of the Internet to redirect traditional patterns of access to information and services.     

Expert Googling

Abstract

Google is the search engine of choice for most Internet users. For a variety of reasons, librarians and other expert searchers do not always use Google to its full potential, even though it provides capabilities not possible in traditional bibliographic databases and other search engines. Applying expert searching principles and practices, such as the use of advanced search operators, information retrieval strategies, and search hedges to Google will allow health sciences librarians to find quality information on the Internet more efficiently and effectively.     

Cataloging the Congressional Serial Set

ABSTRACT

Many librarians question the usefulness of the traditional cataloging of difficult historic sets in a time when more and more information moves either to the Internet or is digitized outright. One of the most challenging sets to catalog is the United States Congressional Serial Set, a 14,000+ (and growing) mega serial comprised of five monographic sub-series. The Congressional Serial Set is an anomaly since it is both monographic and serial in nature. This article examines the intricacies in cataloging government publications in an electronic atmosphere using one House document in the Serial Set as a guide and examines the two commercial digitization projects currently underway.¹     

Open All Night

Abstract

Archives can successfully use the Internet to enhance the level of access to information about their holdings, programs and services. The Internet can be used to improve the efficiency of traditional reference services and enable the institution to expand the level of use without an increased burden on existing resources. This essay reviews the experiences of the New York State Archives and Records Administration (SARA), which operates a variety of Internet services using Gopher and the World Wide Web. The essay focuses on how SARA selected and prepared information for Internet access, and how it has incorporated the Internet into its routine operations.     

Effect of Multiculturalism and Automation on Public Library Collection Development and Technical Services

SUMMARY

The Internet, as well as the proliferation of online resources available for purchase, has significantly changed collection management from selection to acquisitions to cataloging and processing. The nature of this work has become much more complex as our communities have become more culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse, as the number of information delivery mechanisms has increased, and as library consumers' expectations for speed of receipt of information have accelerated.     

Reference Services in Rural Libraries

Abstract

The information age has changed libraries of all types and sizes in ways that no one could have predicted. For a rural library, though, changes have been fast and furious and have made a dramatic impact on the very nature of the library and the services the library offers. Rural libraries went from a gathering place for community activities to fully wired information centers in a matter of a few years. The article addresses what these changes mean for reference services-one of the most basic functions of a public library. While people are consuming more information than ever, will the rural library be able to keep up with this demand even with the Internet? The article explores reference services in rural public libraries, using examples from libraries in central and northern Illinois, giving consideration to the nature of reference services, how they have changed over time, and how this compares to small libraries in a metropolitan setting.     

Chapter 5 Economics of International Research Resources

ABSTRACT

The last decade has witnessed an exciting resurgence in poetry, which is due in part to its increasing accessibility on the Internet. The Web provides the text and criticism of well-known poems within the established canon as well as contemporary experimental verse that often challenges the notions of what a poem can be. This article discusses the development of traditional or academic poetry on the Internet while also covering the new cutting-edge verse that is expanding the genre into new poetic forms, and includes information on websites and databases that facilitate access to poems and poetry criticism.     

Internet Reference Resources for the Life Sciences

Abstract

A virtual cornucopia of resources is available for biologists on the Internet. Many have been put up by biologists themselves; others have been mounted by organizations, government agencies or commercial businesses. In some cases, the best or only way to obtain the information is via the Internet (e.g., the gene sequence information from Genbank). Over sixty Internet biological resources are reviewed in this report in which the life sciences have been defined to include all areas of biology, agriculture and veterinary science except those which pertain to the environment or human medicine.     

Internet Resources for Reference

Abstract

Thanks to the Internet, the average investor today has access to more information about potential investments and their performance than has been available at any time in the past. When called upon to aid in filtering through this information, the business reference librarian is also faced with the challenge of knowing what is “out there” and how to find it. This article identifies sites that provide information about stocks and their exchanges, mutual funds, bonds, company annual reports, and taxes.     

Virtually Yours

Summary

The world of the reference librarian is changing. As more and more patrons go to the Internet first to meet their information needs, libraries must be there to help them locate and obtain relevant information. Libraries have been experimenting with virtual reference tools for some time. This paper will provide a brief overview of the development of virtual reference services, examine the need for and provide lessons learned from implementing virtual reference services in a major research library.     

The Philosopher's Web

Summary

The objective of this article is to examine some of the valuable philosophical resources available on the Internet, especially for librarians who need to determine what resources to provide to faculty, students, and staff. Some main uses of the Internet for philosophical research are: accessing texts, using search strategies to examine the texts, reading and writing electronic journal articles, accessing information from encyclopedias and dictionaries, browsing through paths of interlinked Web sites, searching the Internet for sources, and participating in online discussion forums. This article examines the Internet as a source of primary and secondary texts, journal literature, research databases, reference works, specialized limited area search engines, organizational information, and discussion lists. The article ends with a philosophical reflection on the transformative effect of information technology on the growth of knowledge.     

Are Information Seekers and Users Among the General Public at a Crossroads?

Abstract

Presently, eating disorders affect millions of people. Today, the media and the Internet are major publishing channels for consumer health information. Much research has found that the media may offer insufficient information on eating disorders. This research examines the quantity of adult consumer health publications on eating disorders in magazine articles and on the Internet in 1998 and investigates the effectiveness of Internet search engines. The results indicate that the resources found in popular magazines and on the Internet are not adequate, and that the Internet search engines are not effective in searching for information.     

Richness vs. Reach

Summary

The ability of reference librarians to bring library services into new electronic arenas has been constrained by the inherent conflict within traditional approaches between the reach (number of users that can be served) and the richness (complexity) of its services. Increased use of information technology has brought with it increases in traffic at the reference desk without increases in staffing. Through the application of information technology used in electronic commerce and available on the Internet, libraries may be able to offer customizable electronic reference services to their users that increase both the richness of these services and the number of persons who benefit from them.     

HealthWeb

Abstract

Organizing and evaluating information available to library patrons on the Internet is a constant challenge for librarians. Academic health sciences librarians faced this challenge in an innovative and collaborative way when trying to organize and evaluate web sites providing medical information. Their project, called HealthWeb, can serve both as a prototype for public librarians trying to organize sites in other subject areas, and as a resource for patrons looking for high quality medical information available on the Internet.     

News You Can Use: Contemporary SDI and Anticipatory Reference for Government Information

ABSTRACT

Government information is becoming available to citizens more quickly than ever before due to electronic dissemination via the Internet. Two projects that rapidly capture, organize, and publicize regionally relevant government information are examined: Government News for Montana and New Mexico News Plus. These news-based sites serve as tools for collection development and digital archiving, proactive reference, content alerting services, information literacy, promotion, and outreach. Issues to consider and suggestions for the application of these services at other libraries are discussed.     

Politics by Other Media

Abstract

Librarians have long relied on printed directories and ephemera stored in vertical files to provide access to national political information. The Internet seems an ideal medium for evanescent political information because it allows for continuous updating of information directly by political organizations, enables the creation of large collections of diverse materials, frees librarians from the labor of ordering and updating materials, and permits remote access. There follows a list of political Internet resources that have proved to be valuable for reference in academic and public libraries.