Using the Web to Find Science & Technical Information
Table of Contents
Using the Web to Find Science & Technical Information
| Introduction | 3 |
| Background | 4 |
| Core Resources | 5 |
|
6 |
6 |
|
8 |
|
8 |
|
9 |
|
10 |
|
11 |
|
11 |
|
|
13 |
14 |
|
16 |
|
20 |
|
20 |
|
23 |
|
25 |
|
25 |
|
27 |
|
| Keeping Up To Date on Web Searching | 29 |
30 |
|
32 |
|
33 |
|
34 |
|
36 |
|
39 |
|
| Bibliography | 40 |
Introduction
This guide is essentially a resource list to be used as a guide for those who need to search for scientific information on the web. It has been written with scientific researchers and librarians in mind as well as for the layman with a scientific interest. It should prove useful to both those who want to regularly monitor the web and to those who just want to occasionally research a specific topic.
This guide focuses on the publicly accessible and free parts of the Internet and not on using the Internet to search on-line paid services like Dialog, Compendex, STN or any other paid services. This focus on free sources was designed so this guide could be a useful resource to general reference librarians as well as to specialized librarians and searchers. Even though access to paid services are an essential part of doing a comprehensive search these specialized resources are generally not available to general and public librarians. Also, even in those libraries where special paid services are available, there is still usually a drive to contain costs and supplement paid services with more inexpensive, quality resources, when available. Again, let me emphasize, there are many essential resources that are not freely available on the Web, and as such they are not covered by this guide even though they can be important. There are also frequently cases where the information may be available for free via the Web but where using the paid services is actually more cost effective, in terms of time and added information content, than searching through the free resources on the Web. One additional point needs to be made even though it doesn’t directly apply to this guide, it is possible with some paid services to access information on a pay-for-view basis rather than through a subscription. This is certainly worth examining in some cases for people who don’t have subscriptions but want to supplement their ‘free’ information.
In an effort to keep this set of references to a manageable level resources specifically directed towards medical and health information are excluded. While they are excluded from this report that does not mean that medical and health information is considered unimportant in the science and technology areas. Any one interested in developing resources in the general sciences and technology would generally want to also develop a collection in the medical and health areas as well.
The Internet is a world-wide network of computers that can pass information back and forth. It contains an overflowing cornucopia of information in every field imaginable. Trying to make ones way through this tidal wave of information can be overwhelming at times. This guide is an attempt to point you to resources that can guide you and support you in your hunt for information. Both traditional print resources and web resources are included in this guide.
This guide is divided into three major parts. The first part contains some basic background information and vocabulary. The second part consists of core resources, and is made up of both texts and web resources. The third section is made up of the references used to keep current in the field of researching science and technology topics on the web; journals; newsletters, and conferences. The distinction between the last two sections, core resources and the more ephemeral keeping current resources, is a bit artificial. Searching for information on the web is one area where there are no long-term core texts or references. Both the web itself and how to search it is a new, constantly evolving, and exponentially growing area. Because of this the rules and guidelines have been in a constant state of evolution. All the texts that have been written are, in some ways, out of date almost before they are published.
The Internet originated as a convenient way for scientists to exchange information between different sites, as a result, the tradition of scientific exchange on the web is very well developed in many areas. This means, for the scientific/technical researcher, that many resources are available and stable, it also means there are many older, well established, sites available. These static science data collections that were put up as files in the early days of the web have not been updated and put into html (yet). That’s because initial use of the Internet was for exchange of plain text files via the use of gopher, telnet etc. These files certainly look drier than pages coded in html but are no less informative and these old files often contain the only electronically available data. Nowadays finding something on the Internet very often means accessing web files (html) and using links.
Our culture has embraced the Internet and the exponential rate of growth of the size of the Internet means that it is no longer a tool that can be ignored and in fact we must do our best to master it so we can use it wisely.
Having a sense of the development of the web, and the different protocols, helps in orienting oneself in this sea of information, and this is especially true for scientific information. So, in addition to web training references, one of the areas this guide covers is references that give background and historical information as well as fundamental training in the older protocols. A brief overview is included here.
The Internet started as ARPANET, a group of Department of Defense mainframe computers at various sites, linked together over a high speed, stable network. This network allowed communications to switch over various paths depending on traffic. The system was originally designed as a method to allow military communication to withstand a nuclear attack.
It's important to have a little familiarity with the terminology used in inter-computer communications so a very brief description is included here. The Internet is based on the client-server model. In this model one computer acts as the client requesting information from another computer that is acting as the server. TELNET is a computer application that has both client and server components. It allows different types of computer systems to communicate in an interactive manner over the Internet. So, for example, a user sitting at a PC can access a remote UNIX system and manage files on this remote system. Use of systems built on this model allows millions of computers and their networks to be linked together for exchanging information.
Computers connected to the network communicate using standard protocols. As long as two computers use the same protocol they can understand each other. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is a common Internet protocol. Files can be transferred from one computer to another using FTP (file transfer protocol). Gopher, WAIS, etc. are expansions of FTP. Gopher and Archie were (and still can be) used as early navigation tools. These programs work well with simple text files and can work with simple image files as well. HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the common web protocol and is used for access to images, audio, text etc.. Browsers (Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer) are the software used to access the Web, they let you view web files on your computer monitor.
Historically, the use of the basic protocols allowed not just access to remote collections of records, which was very useful for libraries, researchers, etc. but it also allowed for exchange of text i.e. e-mail. Discussion groups began to form, allowing groups of people to communicate using e-mails posted to the entire group. Commonly called Listserv groups, these groups may or may not have the correspondence pass through a moderator before going out to the list. In the case of newsgroups, people post messages to a bulletin board, and group members can look at the posted messages at their convenience. The set of publicly available newsgroups is known as Usenet, there are thousands of Usenet discussion topics to choose from.
The World Wide Web - initially created by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN, is the face of the web that most people are aware of and use nowadays. It’s based on the use of Hypertext/hypermedia (links) - and allows different files to be linked together so one can readily travel from one file to a linked related file. In addition it allows links to non-text files like images, video, and audio. Using the web you can hop along links on a number of different host computers located all over the world. The mesh consisting of all the hyperlinked documents constitutes the Web and it is the easiest, most used Internet navigation system we have to date. With the advent of hypertext the rest of the world (non-research) started seeing the charms of the Internet.
The Web can be a wonderful tool for getting general or specific information on a topic, and it allows you to easily hop from topic to topic as your interests or needs guide you. However there is no over-riding order and the web is vast (> 1 billion documents at the latest count) and disorganized. It’s also not standardized so each site is set up in a different style with different features. All of this together means that guides to the web can be very valuable tools for the researcher, we hope this guide will help.
The ‘core resources’ are texts and websites you should carefully consider putting in your arsenal. As stated previously the web is very fluid and still evolving so it’s not necessary to purchase all of the listed books because very soon there will be fresher references to worry about. However you should definitely start by choosing several of these books and checking out the listed websites to see which ones best suit you. Having said that I will point out that each of these books and sites were chosen because they were considered very valuable.
There are numerous resources available to those who want to jump start the learning curve or to those who want some refresher training. The Internet has only recently become a major source of information and it is expanding and evolving at a seemingly exponential rate. This is an area that, for the moment, is like quicksand; it is constantly changing. Therefore it is critical to make sure that reference sources are current. Even a book published today is probably out of date in several respects by the time it actually hits the shelves. In this area it does not pay to invest heavily in a broad book selection all at once. The books will often be out of date very quickly so a better strategy is to concentrate on adding a couple of very good books a year.
These books cover different aspects: from getting a basic familiarity with the Internet, to lists of specific sites, to techniques for searching, to guides to site evaluation. A good foundation in each of these aspects is essential. The books are divided into the following categories:
HOW TO USE THE WEB
HISTORY
GENERAL REFERENCES
SCIENCE
GOVERNMENTHOW TO USE THE WEBTECHNOLOGY
OLDIES BUT GOODIES
The Extreme Searcher's Guide to Web Search Engines : A Handbook for the Serious Searcher Hock, H., 1999, 240p. Information Today Inc., Medford, NJ.
This book starts with an introductory section which contains background on web searching in general and then the book goes on to devote single chapters to individual search engines. With each chapter focusing on the strengths and best search techniques for that particular search engine you get a very thorough training. There’s an associated web site containing links and updates on the search engines.
Harley Hahn Teaches the Internet 2nd ed., Hahn, H., 1999, 501p. Que, Indianapolis, IN.
A hefty web overview and guide to making your way around the web, for the beginner. Only one of the 17 chapters deals with searching for information directly but the remaining chapters will give you a very thorough grounding in the concepts used for living on the Internet starting from mail to Usenet to creating your own web site.
How the Internet Works: Millennial Edition Gralla, P., 1999, 323p. Que, Indianapolis, IN.
This is a basic, simple illustrated guide to using the Internet. It describes how the Internet works and how the various pieces work together. It includes discussions on ISP’s, IRC, Usenet, Java etc.
The Information Specialists Guide to Searching and Researching on the Internet & the World Wide Web Ackerman, E., Hartman, K., 1999, 444p. Franklin, Beedle & Associates, Inc., Wilsonville, OR.
This text acts as an introduction to the web and the resources available on the web and then delves extensively into using the proper tools to do effective research on the web. It covers browsers, protocols, search tools, specialized databases and libraries and then goes on to cover evaluation guidelines, citation styles, and legal issues.
Internet Power Searching: The Advanced Manual Bradley, P., 1999, 228p. Neal-Schuman Publishers, NY.
The beginning of the book concentrates on search tools and the remainder of the book deals with how to be a good searcher. It’s not just in knowing how to use search engines, there are lots of other resources available. There’s a companion web site
Mining the Internet: Information Gathering & Research on the Internet Clegg, B., 1999, 147p. Kogan Page, London, UK.
A brief, simple, introduction to finding information on the web and to the tools that are used for getting to the info. It’s very general in nature but builds the basic skills to navigate the web. There’s an associated web site for getting updated information.
Neal-Schuman Authoritative Guide to Evaluating Information on the Internet Cooke, A., In Press, 192p., Neal Schuman Publishers, New York, NY.
This book covers the methods for selecting high quality web sites and includes specific guidelines and checklists for evaluating many types of web sites, including Usenet groups, databases, FAQ sites, current awareness sites, homepages, organizations, and publications. It initially goes over the use of various search tools and then devotes the remainder of the book to assessment of coverage, validity, accuracy, ease of use of the sites.
Official Netscape Guide to Internet Research 2nd ed., Calishain, T., Nystrom J.A., 1998, 560p. The Coriolis Group, Scottsdale, AZ.
This is a comprehensive guide to finding information on the web, for all levels of users. It gives an overview of the Internet and Internet tools and then gets into specifics of specific classes of resources and different types of research areas. Finally it gives guidance in ancillary areas like archiving, copyright, and citing electronic resources. There is a companion web site with excerpts from the book.
Researching Online for Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us Basch, R., 1998, 333p. IDG Books Worldwide Inc., Foster City, CA.
Covers all types of information on the web and the required skills and tools. Has chapters on searching for business, sci-tech, news, etc. There’s also a chapter on ways to keep your skills current.
Rough Guide Internet 2000 Kennedy, A. J., 1999, 499p. Rough Guides, Short Gardens, London, UK.
A detailed guide to the internet covering the initial connection to the internet, selecting a browser, searching for information, connecting while on the road, to creating web pages. The text contains general advice and trouble shooting guides, as well as a large descriptive directory listing thousands of sites, as well as newsletters, Usenet groups and Internet service providers. There are about 30 types of categories from Art to Weird including small sections listing sites for science and space and telecommunication sites but the primary reason this book is listed here is because of the basic guidance it offers on using the Internet. This is a very easy to follow guide for all levels of users.
The Original Proposal of the WWW, HTMLized Berners-Lee, T.,
http://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html
The decision was made to place a web site in a section ostensibly for books because it is the location of a core document in the history of the web. This is the original proposal for a distributed hypertext system as a way to manage information for the physicists at CERN.Weaving the Web Berners-Lee, T., Fischetti, M., 1999, 226p. Harper, San Francisco, CA.
Co written by the ‘inventor’ of the web, this book details the development of the web and the communication protocols for use of the web. Since it’s his own story about this amazing tool we all live with now this is a very important account of the story and should make for fascinating reading. His vision of the future should be well worthwhile since he’s the one who is responsible for getting us to this point.
Where Wizards Stay up Late: The Origins of the Internet Hafner, K., Lyon, M., 1998, 304p. Touchstone, New York, NY., (Original pub. 1996 Simon & Schuster, San Francisco, CA.) Companion web site at
http://www.simonsays.com/titles/0684812010/index.htmlThis is another book that covers the history of the development of the Internet and the web. This book focuses on the early days with the emphasis on the people, politics and technology of the early 1960’s. It’s based on interviews with many of the participants.
(with sections on science included)
Building Electronic Library Collections: The Essential Guide to Selection Criteria and Core Subject Collections Kovacs, D., 2000, 250p. Neal Schuman Publishers, New York, NY.
This text is designed as a guide for librarians to help them in building web based information collections. Each chapter is devoted to a different subject area and the text includes chapters on bioscience, physical science, and technology as well as other subject areas. Each chapter covers evaluation, selection criteria, and collection methods for web based resources in that subject. There is a password protected associated web site with links to core collection sites.
Gale Guide to Internet Databases Zakalik, J., Burak, S., eds., 1995, 478p. Gale, Detroit, MI.
Over 2000 annotated Web site listings. There is a 1999 version by Faerber, M., ed. But I was not able to find it to get detailed info.
Great Scouts! Cyberguides for Subject Searching on the Web Paul. N., Williams, M., 1999, 343p., Information Today, Medford, NJ.
This book features the best subject specific sites of compiled links in 25 different broad subject areas. Some of the chapters are as follows: history, medicine, government information, news, ready reference, computing, Internet, environment, and science. Each chapter starts with a topic introduction and then features a couple of top notch sites giving information on what each site is about, its features, why the site was selected and then giving briefer descriptions of other worthwhile sites for that subject. The sites were selected based on evaluations of their link collections in terms of quality, link evaluation method, site stability, ease of use, up-to-date content, and site descriptions. There is an associated web page found at
http://www.infotoday.com/greatscouts!/ where the links to featured sites are kept up to date and links to new sites are added.
Internet Yellow Pages, Millenium Edition Hahn, H., 1999, 908p. Osborne McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, CA.
This is an extensive guide to Internet web sites and covers topics from agriculture to zoology and everything else in between. There’s an enclosed CD with hyperlinks to all the sites.
Online, A reference Guide to Using Internet Resources Harnack, A., Kleppinger, E., in press, (not available yet), Bedford & St Martins, Boston, MA.
This text gives extensive guidance on citing Web resources and it also contains numerous links. The links can all be found at the publishers web site for the book
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/ and additionally have been annotated and sorted into useful categories including the science categories like biology, mathematics, and physics etc.Que’s Official Internet Yellow Pages, Millenium Edition Turner, M.L., Seybold, A., 1999. 1180p. Que, Indianapolis, IN.
This is an even larger listing of web sites than the Internet yellow pages however it does have some gaps in the sciences.
SCIENCEFoust, J., LaFon, R, 1999, 350p. No Starch Press, San Francisco, CA.The Astronomer's Computer Companion: Wander the Stars with Your Personal Computer
Covers web sites as well as software. Gives information on using the Internet as an information sharing tool for amateur and professional astronomers. Includes a companion CD-ROM
Chemical Guide to the Internet 2nd ed., Lee, C.C., Lee, E., 1999, 250p. Government Institute Division, Rockville, MD.
Has over 600 listings for chemical sites on the web
Environmental Guide to the Internet 4th ed., Murphy, T., Briggs-Erickson, C., 1998, 556p., Government Institutes, Rockville, MD.
This is a handy guide to environmental resources on the Internet. For experienced Internet users. There is a companion web site at
http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~cbriggs/environ_murphybriggs2.htmlInformation Sources in Science and Technology
3rd ed., Hurt. C.D., 1998, 346p. Libraries Unlimited, Inc., Englewood, CO.This text covers numerous resources in science and technology, with 21 chapters, each focused on a specific topic like; biology, astronomy, electrical engineering, agriculture, zoology etc. At the end of each chapter, after the annotated entries for all types of print resources, is a list of web sites for that particular topic along with a brief descriptive sentence for each site.
Internet Resources for Engineers: a Practical Handbook for Engineers and Students
Jimin, H., 1998, 298p., Butterworth Heinemann, AU.
Starts out by covering basic information on the Internet, then on searching, and then goes on to extensive coverage of specific resources for engineers.
The Internet for Scientists and Engineers: Online Tools and Resources 3rd ed., Thomas, B.J., 1997, 496p., Society of Photo-Optical Engineering Press, Bellingham, WA.
This text contains a large section on introductory Internet material including file formats, discussion groups, and even e-mail. In addition the text features large lists of links to sites in aeronautics and aerospace, agriculture, artificial intelligence, astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, electronics & electrical engineering, energy, engineering, geology, imaging technologies, mathematics, medicine, meteorology, oceanography, optics, physics, security, and virtual reality.
Searching the Internet: An In-Depth Guide for Professionals, Scientists, and Researchers Salehi, J., 1999, 350p., Morgan Kaufman, San Francisco, CA.
Starts out with an introduction to searching and then goes into specific areas like, government data, people, newsgroups, mailing lists etc. Lists resources.
Internet Blue Pages : The Guide to Federal Government Web Sites : 1999 (Internet Blue Pages, 1999) Andriot, L., 1999, 368p. Information Today Inc., Medford, NJ.
Organized by agency the text gives a brief overview of each agency and lists URL’s and links. The book has an associated web site that contains a table of current links to the sites covered in the text.
Government Information on the Internet 2nd ed., Notess, G.R., 1998, 800p. Bernan Assoc., Lanham, MD.
Contains background and links to over 1,500 federal, state, and international governmental sites. The site information also includes lists of available on-line publications from each site.
How to Access the Federal Government on the Internet, 1999: Washington Online Maxwell, B. 1998, 328p. Congressional Quarterly, Washington, D.C.
After an initial chapter on accessing government information the book is broken into 20 additional chapters for specific areas like agriculture, computers, demographic data, health, science & technology, transportation, etc. The book contains annotated descriptions to over 900 government sites.
2nd ed., Hitchcock, D., 2000, 208p. Nolo Press, Berkeley CA.Patent Searching Made Easy: How to Do Patent Searching on the Internet and in the Library
This book is designed for the novice interested in learning how to research patent information on the web rather than in hiring a patent attorney. The author starts out by discussing fundamental computing requirements and then covers basics like patent classification, determining if an idea is patentable, and Internet resources. The book then goes into the details of searching on the web and web resources and covers additional sources of information on ‘prior art’ aside from patent database. The book is geared towards inventors and business owners with no prior patent searching experience but it does go into advanced searching in the second half of the book.
Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Searching on the Internet Sharpe, C.C., 2000, 240p. McFarland & Co., Jefferson, NC.
Each of the title topics is covered in a separate section of the book. Each section starts out with basic background information defining the topic and the laws governing the topic. Then each section goes on to guide the reader in the process of the Internet search. A good 40% of the book is made up of 24 appendixes containing examples, tutorial information, guidelines etc.
OLDIES BUT GOODIES
The process of searching for information on the web is still undergoing phenomenal growth and change. Because of this older references to web searching are likely to be contain a lot of out of date information. However, these older sources may still be valuable, especially in areas where a more up to date reference is not yet available. Some important ones are listed here, just keep in mind, as you use them, that they are more than a couple of years old.
http://www.ccc.nottingham.ac.uk/~mbzsrs/IFTMB.HTML).Free Stuff for Science Buffs Young, B., 1996, 302p., Coriolis Group Books, Scottsdale, AZ.
The focus is on astronomy and the geosciences, many of the links are to AOL sites. The book is out of print.
The Internet: A Guide for Chemists Bachrach, S.M., 1996, 360p. ACS, Washington, D.C.
Contains a brief background on the Internet and then covers Internet resources from ftp to the web. It contains lists of Internet resources for chemists.
The Internet Compendium : Subject Guides to Health and Science Resources (The Internet Compendium, Vol 2) Rosenfeld, L.B., Janes, J., Vander Kolk, M., 1995, 529p. Neal Schuman Publishers, New York, NY.
This is an annotated directory of health and science resources on the web. The text includes introductory material on the Internet and covers a number of scientific areas like AIDS, genetics, mathematics, veterinary science, etc.
Internet for the Molecular Biologist ed. Swindell, S.R., Miller, R.R., Myers, G.S.A., 1996, 187 p. Horizon Scientific Press, Norfolk, UK.
The introductory chapters cover historical information on Internet access as well as basic introductory Internet material for those who without computer skills. In addition there are several chapters with annotated web links that address very specific areas for molecular biologists; molecular genetics, fungi, invertebrates, plant molecular biology, microbiology. There was an associated web site containing the links found in these chapters but it no longer exists at the address I had (
The Internet Science, Research, and Technology Yellow Pages Stout, R., Davis, M., 1996, 362p., Osborne McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, CA.
Covers sites in basic and not so basic science areas; biology to physics to UFOlogy to virtual reality.
Key Guide to Electronic Resources: Agriculture ed. Drew, W., 1995, 124p. Information Today Inc.,
Medford, NJ.
Not just Internet sources, this book serves as a guide to all electronic sources for agricultural information. Covers electronic bulletin boards, gopher and other servers, online library catalogs (ag), CD-ROMs, on-line databases, etc.
Key Guide to Electronic Resources: Engineering ed. McBurney, M.,1995, 162p. Information Today Inc., Medford, NJ.
An evaluative directory covering online databases, CD-ROMs, library OPACs, bulletin board systems, and electronic journals in engineering.
Manufacturing and the Internet Mathieu, R.G., 1996, 480p. Engineering & Management Press, Norcross, GA.
The book contains introductory material on the Internet and then goes on to give annotated links to sites on different manufacturing processes, process engineering, production, quality control, robotics, CAD, etc. The author (mathieur@uncwil.edu ) also publishes an electronic newsletter containing manufacturing related Internet information. There is also a companion listserve to the book at LISTSERV@MSU.EDU (subscribe MFG-INFO yourname).
Science and Technology on the Internet: An Instructional Guide (Internet Workshop Series, No 4) Clement, G.P., 1996, 228p.Library Solutions Press, Berkeley, CA.
A resource for training users on finding science and technology resources on the web. Includes instructions and exercises. It’s divided into four sections: instructional modules, factsheets for different services on the Internet (archie, telnet, e-mail etc.), finding resources in your area of interest, and a bibliography. There is a companion web site to the book at
http://www.fiu.edu/~clementg/scitech/updates/ but it was last updated in 1996.Science on the Web : A Connoisseur's Guide to over 500 of the Best, Most Useful, and Most-Fun Science Web Sites Renehan, E.J.Jr., 1996, 300p. Springer Verlag, New York, NY.
This book is a guide to interesting science sites, including, journals, images, programs, there are sites for the researcher as well as sites for the layman. The book is outdated but still has some neat info.
Secrets of the Super Net Searchers : The Reflections, Revelations and Hard-Won Wisdom of 35 of the World's Top Internet Researchers Basch, R., 1996, 338p. Pemberton Press, Wilton, CT.
The book is a set of interviews with the best known Internet searchers of the time. While out of date it is still frequently referred to and is considered a classic. While the web has changed immensely the basic principles behind good searching remain the same.
The Online Deskbook: Essential Desk Reference for Online and Internet Researchers Bates, M.E., 1996, 261p. Information Today Inc., Medford, NJ.
This reference book covers the major online/Internet services and has lots of helpful hints along with the guides.
Web Search Strategies Pfaffenberger, B., 1996, 427p. (with CD), IDG Books Worldwide, Foster City, CA.
This guide takes you through the seven steps of effective searching. The book describes how to do specialized searches and gives background information on the technology behind web searching.
Many searches will be done starting with one of the search engines. This method is particularly good when you are looking for answers to specific questions. However there will be other times when the request may be for more general resources or background information. In those cases the following web resources will come in handy. These resources are broken down into five categories:
LINKS TO ON-LINE JOURNALSVIRTUAL LIBRARIES
SUBJECT GUIDES
REFERENCE SITES (includes Patent and Standards sites)
ORGANIZATIONS
The distinction between the first two categories is somewhat arbitrary and very
subjective, so they can also be considered as a single category by the reader.
VIRTUAL LIBRARIES
These are major collections of sites pulled into directories by librarians. These sites have been evaluated by librarians (or specialists) who collect only the best sites. This is a great place to start a search on a new topic or to look for good sites to collect. The collections tend to be very small but worthwhile. The emphasis was on directories with a strong scientific focus. Thus, many excellent directories, like Yahoo, are not mentioned.
Argus Clearinghouse
http://www.clearinghouse.net/
The Science and Mathematics section (
http://www.clearinghouse.net/cgi-bin/chadmin/viewcat/Science___Mathematics?kywd++)contains the following categories: agriculture, animal sciences,
astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, earth sciences, general science, math and statistics, and physics. Each of these is further broken down into subcategories. There are only one or two evaluated links in each subcategory but each of the links is a major resource in the area with links to many other resources.
Digital Librarian
http://www.servtech.com/~mvail/home.html
You can select from agriculture, animals, astronomy & aerospace, chemistry, dinosaurs, directories, education (with science resources), electronic texts, environment, geology, insects, magazines & journals, marine sciences, mathematics, physics, reference, science, and statistics. Within a category you can find lists of numerous alphabetical links to databases, university departments, metasites, history, museums, organizations, etc. you’ll also find direct links to related Digital Librarian metasites.Engineering Library Resources
University of Cincinnati Engineering Library
http://www.engrlib.uc.edu/resources/resources.html
There are valuable resource metasites for each of the following areas: aerospace engineering, AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) Papers, bioengineering/biomechanics, chemical engineering, chemical engineering business, civil engineering, computer engineering and computer science, databooks, electrical engineering, engineering profession, environmental engineering (with subcategories for air and water), industrial engineering, materials science (with subcategories for ceramics, metals, and plastics), mechanical engineering, nuclear engineering, robotics, a self-help guide to electronic databases, society papers, technical reports, transportation, and Web statistics.
Infomine: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections
University of California
http://infomine.ucr.edu/
Covers biological, agricultural, computing, engineering, government information, math, medical sciences, and physical sciences as categories. If you browse by subject you will get annotation for each entry.
Internet Public Library: Reference Center
University of Michigan
http://www.ipl.org/ref/
Known as the first public library of the Internet, the Internet public library contains a wealth of information. In addition to the reference section there is a collection of texts, magazines and serials that may be of interest in the context of searching for science and technology resources. The reference section contains annotated reference sites for the following areas: agriculture, astronomy, biology, chemistry, controversial topics, energy, engineering, environmental sciences and ecology, geology/geophysics, horology, mathematics, meteorology/climatology, news, oceanography/hydrology, paleontology, physics, and transportation.Librarian’s Index to the Internet: Science
Berkeley Public Library
http://lii.org/search/file/science
The science section covers the follow topics: agriculture, animals, anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, bermuda triangle, biology, botany, chemistry, cloning, dictionaries, , environment, evolution, exobiology, genetics, general resources, geography, geology, marine biology, mathematics, natural history, nobel prizes, nuclear power, optical illusions, paranormal, physics, plants, radiation, science projects, standardization, taxonomy, technology, time, UFOs, and weather. Each item in the collection has a one paragraph description with the link.LookSmart Science Directory
http://vweb.sau.edu.bestinfo/
This is a commercial site/directory but it has an interesting agglomeration of information. This site has general links to science suppliers, chat, newsgroups, and books etc. on the first page and also contains a number of science categories. The subject categories are: aerospace, animals, astronomy & space, biosciences, chemistry, cognitive science, earth & environment, engineering, health sciences, mathematics, models & simulations, physics, reference shelf, science for K-12, science multimedia, and virtual exhibits. These categories are broken into further subcategories e.g. earth & environment breaks into: earth from space, ecology & habitats, exploration, geology, marine science, meteorology, natural disasters, seismology and volcanology. There are numerous other directories like Yahoo that have sites sorted into science categories and subcategories. On big drawback is the fact that you have to follow a chain of subcategories to the end before getting to a list of sites.Martindale’s The Reference Desk
Hosted by University of California - Irvine
http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/Ref.html
This site belongs to Jim Martindale, a physicist with wide ranging interests, he created it in 1994 and still keeps it current. It contains links to sites of interest, databases, tutorials, etc in a large number of science areas, including special centers for astronomy, space, bioscience, biotechnology, chemistry, engineering, geoscience, materials science, mathematics and physics. The organization of the site takes some getting used to but there is an amazing wealth of information available to the persistent visitor. For example in the area of chemistry (http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/GradChemistry.html ) the sites have been sorted into an extensive list of categories covering all sorts of niche topics like computer chip chemistry, safety manuals, patent searching, etc.. More general topics are covered as well, for example, there are about 10 sites for general periodic tables in addition to links to sites for specific atomic properties like scattering propertiesNN/LM Biosites
National Network of Libraries of Medicine
http://www.library.ucsf.edu/biosites/
Selected, annotated, Internet resources in the biomedical sciences. There are sites in biochemistry, occupational medicine, virology and dozens more categories.Scout Report Signpost
Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison / NSF
http://www.signpost.org/signpost/
Has thousands of reviewed sites classified by topic, look at science, technology or agriculture. This is a premier source of science links and reviews. They also have a weekly newsletter that gives lots ~20 newly reviewed links.World Wide Web Virtual Library
http://www.vlib.org/
Initially started by Tim Berners-Lee (creator of the web) this catalogue is maintained by volunteers and generally contains links to some of the best resources in a given area. Broad categories of interest in the sciences include: Agriculture, Computer Science, Engineering, and Science. Each of these very broad categories is broken down into sub-categories, often going down into several layers. Each sub site is maintained by volunteers who have selected a topic of interest to them. Because of this each topics site will have a completely different style and method of organization and presentation. Generally there’s not much annotation, just a collection of links that the owner considered valuable!
Very often it might be worthwhile to go the library web site of a university that specializes in your area of interest. Many university library or department web sites have compiled listings of resources on the web and/or textual resources which can be used as guides for finding information in a science area you are not familiar with. Similar sites may also be maintained by professional organizations or may be produced commercially. Alternatively, very often one can just type in a search for guides in a specific area. You may find bibliographies (often annotated) of reference texts in the subject of interest. For example, a search for guides to electrical engineering may give a link to the Gelman Library of George Washington University (
http://www.gwu.edu/~gelman/collsservs/bibliographies/beleceng.htm). This is an alternative way to find comprehensive electronic and/or textual guides to resources in the area of interest.AgNIC
Maintained by a consortia of universities, organizations, and the National Agriculture Library
http://www.agnic.org/
This site contains links to AgDB (searchable list of >1000 agriculture related links), AGRICOLA (NAL bibliographic database of >3,000,000 records), AgCal (conferences, meetings, seminars with an emphasis on those with web links), DirAgIR (directory of Internet agricultural resources, contains annotated lists of links to numerous metasites with agricultural links), AgEXP (directories listing experts in various areas of interest, often can find experts in a very narrow field), OnREF (links to web centers for excellence in selected agricultural areasCHEMINFO, Chemical Information Sources
Indiana University
http://www.indiana.edu/~cheminfo/index.html
A set of links of interest to chemists it contains all the separate chemistry related databases at Indiana University. Many are award winning and this top layer just gets you a link to each database. Within each database are numerous other links. The site also contains lists of links to other free, searchable, chemistry databasesChemistry Metasites
Brock University
http://www.brocku.ca/library/research/chem/meta.htm
Lists over 20 chemistry metasites broken into three categories; comprehensive chemistry metasites, annotated chemistry metasites, and subject specific chemical metasites (i.e. NMR, medicinal chemistry, etc.)EELS (Engineering Electronic Library, Sweden)
The Swedish Universities of Technology Libraries
http://eels.lub.lu.se/
This site has annotated links to ~ 1,500 sites concentrated in the following areas: computer science and engineering, energy technology, general engineering, light and optical technology, mathematics, nuclear technology, physics, polar research and cold region technology. There are an additional 300,000 engineering files collected automatically but not annotated.EEVL (Edinburgh Engineering Virtual Library)
Edinburgh University
http://www.eevl.ac.uk/
Acts as a gateway to engineering information on the web and serves as the World Wide Web Virtual Library for Engineering. Based in the UK it collaborates with similar gateways internationally. It catalogues engineering resources at various, mostly UK, engineering libraries and professional associations. It has links to thousands of annotated links to specialized engineering resources including special engineering search engines.Gelman Library
George Washington University
http://www.gwu.edu/~gelman/subjects/subjects.htm#scitech
Each of the following science topics has its own metasite containing annotated links in a directory structure; anatomy, biological Sciences, chemistry, civil engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, environmental engineering, environmental & resource policy, environmental studies, general engineering, geography, geology, hominid paleobiology, mathematics, mathematical statistics, mechanical engineering, microbiology, operations research, pathology, physiology, speech & hearing. The chemistry, biology, computer science and electrical engineering sites contain a larger number of links than some of the others. Future planned sites include; biochemistry, forensic sciences, genetics, pharmacology, physics, and science, technology & public policy.
Geo-Information Gateway
University of Leicester, UK
http://www.geog.le.ac.uk/cti/info.html
This metasite has a subset of links to geology and environmental sites. Subdirectories include links to organizations, library collections, research centers, online-courses and journals.Hot Spots
New Scientist Magazine
http://www.keysites.com/keysites/hotspots/hotspots.html
Contains links collected for the last several years on: chemistry, earth sciences & geology, internet, mathematics, physics, space sciences, technology & computing, archaeology, anthropology & paleontology, biology, botany & agriculture, health & medicine, environment & ecology, psychology, zoology, fun, general science, history & biography, media, museums, science centers & aquaria, reference, and science for kids. These resources tend to be slanted towards educational sites.Internet Directory for Botany
Botanical Museum, Finnish Museum of Natural History
http://www.helsinki.fi/kmus/botmenu.html
Links to 4000 botany sites Last updated 12/98 so may have many dead links.Links For Chemists
University of Liverpool
http://www.liv.ac.uk/Chemistry/Links/links.html
This site contains almost 7,500 chemistry related links. Topics include: analytical, career information, companies, conferences, databases, electrochemical, journals, MSDS’s, newsgroups, organic chemistry, organizations, patents, references, software, suppliers, university departments, web metasites, and many more topics as well. Although this is a UK site it has an international scope, for example they list chemical organizations in 33 countries.LSU Library Science Guides
Louisiana State University
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/weblio.html#Science
Covers 18 broad science areas from Agriculture to Wetlands. Each subject contains a list of links sorted into subject specific categories as well as more general categories like current awareness, journals, resources, references, indexes, news groups, etc. Includes a site for Science Fair Projects and another for History of Science.Physics, Astronomy, Math World Wide Web Resources
Special Libraries Association (division of Physics, Astronomy & Math)
http://pantheon.yale.edu/~dstern/pamtop.html
This site has links for the following topics: electronic journals, institutions, Internet physics resources, people, reference, and societies.
SciCentral
http://www.scicentral.com/
Acts as a gateway to science and technology information on the web. At the top level the site is divided into the following categories: analytical tools, biological, earth & space, engineering, health, physical & chemical, science in the news and science policy & ethics. Under each of these categories are any links to products, conferences, career info, databases, funding resources, scientist directories, journals, discussion groups and software. The categories are further subdivided into areas of specialization. The site contains links to over 50,000 sites organized into 120 specialty areas. One of its great features are the weekly News Alerts in areas you select (see the e-mail newsletter section of this paper).Science Resources
Mansfield University
http://www.mnsfld.edu/depts/lib/mu-sci.html
Contains sites in the following categories: animal science, biology, chemistry, energy/fuels, geology, health/medical, organizations, professional resources, reference, starting points, and zoology.Science Reference Room: Index to Physical, Chemical and Other Property Data
Arizona State University's Noble Science and Engineering Library
http://www.asu.edu/lib/noble/chem/property.htm
This site lists standard references, both on paper and on the web, for chemical, physical,thermodynamic, mechanical, toxicological, and safety data. It lists several broad primary sources first and then contains an alphabetical index to a large number of fairly technical, specific topics (e.g. abrasion resistance, flammability, odor, toxicity, Wilson’s Constants). Each one of these topics contains a list of standard reference resources with links to web resources.
Subject Guides
The University of Sydney Library
http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/Guides/
This site contains guides in the following science subject areas: agriculture, architecture, engineering, health sciences, medicine, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, environment, geosciences, mathematics and statistics, and physics. Then within each subject there are additional links. For example, in chemistry, the following links can be found: chemical databases, chemistry departments, chemistry electronic journals, chemistry email groups, chemistry news groups, conferences, directories, FTP Sites, guides to online databases, images & models, institutes & societies, jobs, other chemistry sites, patent information, pre-prints, and print sources.WWW Virtual Reference Sites - Science
http://www.virtualfreesites.com/reference.science.html
Contains annotated links to many different kinds of sites, frequently to indexes or metasites in specific scientific areas, it has some interesting offbeat areas like fuel cells 2000.
REFERENCE SITES
What follows are some special classes of sites, Patent and Standards resources on the web and referral to a third class of special sites called ‘news sites’. These special sites are given their own section because while these can fall under Science and Technology searching they really fall into a different category and can touch on every area of science and technology. Generally finding web resources in these areas are not well covered under the literature given in the sections above. It’s therefore easiest to go directly to these resources if that’s your interest.
Patents are useful in several areas; to see if an idea is unique, to become knowledgeable about patents in general, or to get ideas for use in an area of interest. These free sites can give you a very good start in these areas. For testing ideas, one of the best uses is to determine if your idea falls under an already existing patent. In this way you can save yourself a great deal of expense. However, if you don’t find your idea in the literature you should hire professionals to do a thorough search. Also note that since the patent sites only cover patents for the last few decades, if your idea doesn’t involve recent technology, than your invention might have been patented earlier than the 1970’s. In this case you can still do the preliminary search yourself, but not on the Web. You will need to go to one of the governments Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDL). There is at least one in each state and they are located within public and university libraries.
In addition to saving money by doing the preliminary search yourself, the patent sites can be used to familiarize yourself with patent requirements, terminology, and classifications and as a source of ideas when you’re stuck in a research area. A patent search can also be used to as a refining tool in giving you ideas on how to make your idea better.
What follows is a list of sites that can be used as resources for background information or directly for patent searching.
Biotech Law Web Server
Foley & Lardner Law Firm
http://www2.ari.net/foley/
While this site is geared to biotechnology researchers it serves as a good resource in general because in addition to its very focused and advanced topics it covers the fundamentals like; record keeping, preparing to make the application, an overview of patent law and legal standards for inventorship and links to other patent related sites.
Engineering Library Resources for Patents
University of Cincinnati Engineering Library
http://www.engrlib.uc.edu/guide/patent.html
The patent site gives background information and links on patent types and then gives descriptions and links to sites for information on patents inside the US as well as internationally. It has a section on obtaining copies of patents and a bibliography listing paper and web references. There is a sister site on standards described in the following standards section. The parent site for these two sister sites is Engineering Library Resources
http://www.engrlib.uc.edu/resources/resources.html, which was discussed above in the Virtual Library section of this paper.EPO Patent Search
European Patent Office
http://ep.espacenet.com/
Allows a search to be conducted for patents from The European Patent Office , The World Intellectual Property Org., and from Worldwide or Japanese patents with abstracts in English.
Intellectual Property Mall
Franklin Pierce Law Center
http://www.ipmall.fplc.edu/
While designed for the use of the schools Law students this site contains a wealth of freely available information of use to the rest of us as well. There is extensive internal information on the site like faculty papers with titles like "So You Have an Idea", "Avoiding Patent, Copyright & Trademark Problems", "Seeking Cost-Effective Patents". There is a fairly large connection of links to patent resources on the Web sorted into various categories such as the Patent Searching Academy, resource directories or pertinent briefing papers. The site also covers some copyright issues.
One subsite has an extensive list of reference links related to patent searching on the web. This site put up by Philip Boxel,
http://www.ipmall.fplc.edu/ipcorner/bp98/boxell.htm, has links to sites, databases, tutorials, directories, organizations, newsgroups, patent offices and authorities, international patent info, depositories etc..Intellectual Property Network (IPN)
IBM
http://www.patents.ibm.com/
This site is now owned by Delphion, a joint venture of IBM and the Internet Capital Group. This site has the complete text and images for all US patents issued since 1974, and for European Patent Office patents and applications since 1980. It has bibliographic information (in English) for Japanese patents since 1977 as well as some more extensive multi-country patent databases. There is also a set of links to other Web patent resources.
Links to patent and other intellectual property information resources
British Library Science Technology and Business (STB)
http://www.bl.uk/services/stb/etalmenu.html
Patent Café
GibbsGroup Inventors' Resources
http://www.patentcafe.com/
This site links to ~5,000 patent related sites and also has channels for setting up a strategy, advice, FAQ’s chat, articles, and various types of resources. There are even sections for children and teachers.
PTPLP
Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program
http://www.uspto.gov/go/ptdl/
This site contains background information, manuals, guides and listings and links for all Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries.
USCD Libraries, Science & Engineering Patent Site
http://libnet.ucsd.edu/se/list.html?type=3
University of California, San Diego - Science & Engineering Library
This page contains annotated links to about 20 assorted high-quality patent sites. Links range from broad interest (US Patent & Trademark Office) to very narrowly focused sites (Fullerene Patent database). They also have a very brief tutorial for patent searching on the web at
http://scilib.ucsd.edu/electclass/patsearchUSPTO and CNIDR Patents Database
US Government
http://www.uspto.gov/
This is the home page to the US Patent and Trademark Office. There are numerous links to different parts of the sites two of which are described below.
http://patents.uspto.gov/patbib_index.html
The US Patent and Trademark Office/Center for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval has provided this site. It contains bibliographic and full text records for US patents issued since 1976. The site also contains TIFF images of the actual documents. There is a fairly extensive Help file for both full-text and bibliographic searching.
http://www.uspto.gov/web/menu/search.html
This page is the lead page for searching the PTO web server. It links to the search engines for all databases not just the patent full-text database.
Established standards are followed in every aspect of established technology. Standards are guidelines that are written and maintained by various organizations. They cover almost every area you can think of. There are electrical standards, chemical standards, communication standards, computing standards, manufacturing standards, etc. The following quote was taken from the documentation of one of those organizations ISO (the International Organization for Standardization
http://www.iso.ch/infoe/intro.htm#What are standards)."Standards are documented agreements containing technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines, or definitions of characteristics, to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose.
For example, the format of the credit cards, phone cards, and "smart" cards that have become commonplace is derived from an ISO International Standard. Adhering to the standard, which defines such features as an optimal thickness (0,76 mm), means that the cards can be used worldwide.
International Standards thus contribute to making life simpler, and to increasing the reliability and effectiveness of the goods and services we use."
There is additional introductory material at the site given above.
There are organizations for the development and review of national standards as well as similar organizations for the promulgation of standards internationally. The national organizations are represented in the international organizations with the charter to look after the interests of their home country. The international organizations (primarily International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)) try to convert the national standards into a single international standard.
Standards are generally only available for a fee. Nevertheless, because they are such a fundamental part of technology this section is included here. Also, at the minimum , these sites can often be used for background information or for information on what standards might be pertinent. Apparently there is some discussion about making standards information freely available and an interesting, though one-sided, essay on this, by Andrew Bank, can be found at
http://www.techstreet.com/essay.html.The following are generally sites of some national and international standards organizations of particular interest to researchers in the United States. One exception, TechSavvy, is a commercial site with links to many organizations. It’s listed because it is a very convenient source for ‘free’ searching through standards from multiple sources, as described in its entry below.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
http://www.ansi.org/
This standards organization is based in the US and promulgates voluntary standards both nationally and internationally. Areas covered include science, technology, and engineering. The site contains numerous links allowing you find out some background information, access publications, and search for standards. Bibliographic information on standards is available for free. It has a daughter site NSSN (described below) that covers worldwide standards.
British Standards Online
British Standards Institution (BSI)
http://www.bsi.org.uk/
BSI develops national (British) standards and product specifications, it also, separately, does quality control testing. The Online site allows free access to 36,000 bibliographies of publications although access to full text documents requires a subscription. Publications include specifications, methods, codes of practice, guides, and glossaries.
Engineering Library Standards, Specifications and Code
University of Cincinnati Engineering Library
http://www.engrlib.uc.edu/guide/stand.html
The Standards site contains links to about 70 organizations that are involved in setting or using standards. These range from the industry standards from Aerospace Industries Association of America to the Underwriters Laboratories industry standards. Many of the standards referenced on this site are only available at the university library but there are still links to the organizations.
IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission
http://www.iec.ch/
This site covers international electrical and electronic standards. The standards are searchable but there are no abstracts. There is some limited background information on standards at the site.
ISO Online
International Organization for Standardization
http://www.iso.ch/
ISO covers all areas except for IEC’s electrical and electrical engineering standards. ISO aims to develop worldwide standards to allow for standardization across the globe. ISO is comprised of 130 national standards organizations. There are 30,000 participating experts and thousands of committees meet each year. You can search through their available standards but you only get bare-bones information.
NIST
National Institute of Standards and Technology
http://www.nist.gov/
NIST is a US government agency that works with industry in developing standards. You can search in their technical standards database for recent or future publications and get bibliographies and abstracts for free. The site contains links to the various technological divisions like biotechnology (found under chemical science and technology) or manufacturing engineering etc. with information on publications and products.
NSSN: A National Resource for Global Standards—ANSI
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
http://www.nssn.org/
Bibliographic and ordering information for a quarter of a million approved industry, US, and international standards from many sources can be found here. It has links to related government sites and international contact information. You can search for standards at this site.
Standard Reference Data Products
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
http://www.nist.gov/srd/index.html
Standards in biotechnology, chemistry, materials science, and physics,
TechSavvy
http://www.techsavvy.com
This is a commercial site with a number of engineering resources. The reason it made it to this list is because it has a Standards section where you can search through ANSI, ASTM, UL, IEEE, ASME, SAE, EIA, BSI, AFNOR, DIN, ISO and IEC standards and read the abstracts for free. This is a good source to scope out what standards exist before going to individual sites.
There are a number of web sites that focus on current science news, on hot science topics, etc. Some of these sites have regularly scheduled newsletters that you can sign up for. Some of these sites require you to visit to see the news. Since there is a section of this guide devoted to newsletters and keeping current those science news sites with newsletters were placed in that category. And, likewise a good case could be made for setting ‘science news’ sites as a special category like standards or patents. However it seems inefficient to sort ‘science news’ sites into two separate sections of this guide based on the existence of a newsletter or not. So the decision was made to combine all of the news sites and place them in the ‘keeping current’ section of this guide but to also mention the existence of this special category if site and point to the actual location of the content.
LISTS OF ON-LINE JOURNALS/ARTICLES
Just because you can locate a journal that has an electronic version on the Internet does not mean you can see the articles for free, but often you can see an abstract of an article or at least the contents of an issue. The sites have been sorted into areas of concentration, with broadly focused sites listed under the broad umbrella of Electronic Journals.
Bioscience Journals
Biolinks
http://www.biolinks.com/index/journals.html
In addition to links to what appears to be thousands of journals this site also has links to hundreds of associations in the sciences. A significant portion of these sites are medical but there are still plenty of non-medical sites listed.
Chemistry Journals
ChemConnect
http://www.chemconnect.com/news/journals.html
This is one of the best lists for chemical journals. The site has links to over 600 journals.
Earth Science Journals
Journals of Earth Sciences
http://pinti.geol.u-psud.fr/Homepage/Journal.htm
There are over 600 links to various journals in the Earth Sciences
Electronic Journals
Harrazowitz E-Journal Services
http://www.harrassowitz.de/ms/ejresguide.html
This is more a site about e-journals rather than providing direct links to e-journals. Contains a list of sites providing lists of e-journals as well as providers
MagPortal/Science & Technology
http://magportal.com/c/sci/
This site is a little different in that it helps you find recent individual journal articles available on the Web rather than entire journals. You can add notes to the articles and file them or you can search for similar articles.
NewJour
http://gort.ucsd.edu/newjour/
This site lists 8000 electronic journals. It gives descriptions, links, publisher, e-mail address, often says which services the journal is available from.
Engineering Journals
The University of Kentucky, Shaver Engineering Library
http://www.uky.edu/Subject/enginjn.html#sjt
This site has links to a couple of hundred journals and newsletters.
Physics Journals
PhysicsWeb
http://physicsweb.org/resources/paw.phtml?k=News+and+Media/Journals&t=Physics+Journals&f=l
This site has links to 164 physics journals. At the top level it’s a physics metasites with links to lots of other materials (
http://physicsweb.org/resources/). A subsection is based on a merger with a previous site TipTop, The Internet Pilot to Physics, "a unified physics resource". The site is searchable and contains several bulletin boards and links to worldwide physics resources. There’s a news section with links to current news articles and archives.
These sites generally contain links to conferences, resources, and society publications. Often there will be links to other resources as well. This is just a small selection of the conference centers and associations available on the web. Many more can be found using some of the links already given in this guide or by simply searching for the organization name. Searching within directories like Yahoo is another good way to find conferences in a given area.
Agricultural Conferences, Meetings, Seminars Calendars (AgCAL)
http://www.agnic.org/mtg/
There are links to thousands of scientific agricultural conferences found at this site. These are sorted into six subsets animal, food, forestry, natural resources, plant, and soil conferences. There are also links to hundreds of other aggregate agricultural conference sites.
Association Central
http://www.associationcentral.com/
You can search for association homepages by subject areas or names. There are about 150 listing for Science & Technology, there are additional categories for agriculture and government. Each record has Address, Phone, Fax and URL information. Records for the major organizations have some annotation.
American Association for the Advancement of Science http://www.aaas.org/
American Astronomical Society http://www.aas.org/
American Ceramic Society http://www.acers.org/
American Chemical Society http://www.acs.org/
American Mathematical Society http://e-math.ams.org/
American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/
The Big List – Science, Engineering and Technology http://camtech.net.au/~plevin/scengte.html#C
This is a list of ~90 sites that list events and conferences in different areas ranging from arboriculture to clean energy to physics conferences. These sites and listed conferences are far ranging and international in scope.
Conference Calendar for Zoology http://www.york.biosis.org/free_resources/conf_cal.html
This calendar is hosted on the BIOSIS website and maintained by Zoological Record. It contains titles, dates and links to hundreds of international conferences annually. The site is browsable, searchable, and archived.
Directory of Scholarly and Professional E-Conferences http://www.n2h2.com/KOVACS/
This is a screened, catalogued listing of 7,000 scholarly and professional discussion lists, Usenet groups, mailing lists, interactive e-groups, and virtual reality text systems like MUDS, MUCKS, etc. The site can be searched or browsed. There is also a paper version of this list published by the Association of Research Libraries the most recent (7th edition) is from 1997, although the site seems to be actively maintained.
dmoz Open Directory Project - Conferences http://dmoz.org/Science/Conferences/
This contains listings for international as well as national conferences. This is just a starting point, you’ll want to make sure you travel down the branches of this dmoz directory because it seems things are tucked all over. Also although there are many, many, links to conferences here there seem to be some major gaps as well.
Engineering Professional Societies, Organizations, Research Institutes http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/engineering/societies.html
This site from the University of Buffalo Science & Engineering Library contains links to about 75 national engineering organizations.
Environmental Sciences Conferences and Meetings http://www.cnie.org/conferences.htm
This site contains links to conferences by various groups or organizations as well as a 2-year calendar listing various environmental conferences month by month. Topics are sorted into Agriculture, Biodiversity, Energy, Environmental Policy/Advocacy, Forestry, General, Geosciences, Global Climate Change, Oceanography, Plant/Fungal Sciences, Pollution/Waste, Regional, River/Wetlands, Toxicology, and Wildlife/Birds/Insects. The EVENTS section at http://library.envirolink.org has the EnviroNews Environmental Calendar, which also lists meetings and conferences in scientific/environmental areas.
HMS Beagle – BiomedNet http://www.biomednet.com/hmsbeagle/
This e-journal for biomedical researchers has coverage of conferences and lists upcoming conferences in the biomedical sciences. It reviews major presentations and contains links to additional works and profiles of the lead researchers. It also has immediate reports from conferences and sessions.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iupac/
Materials Research Society http://www.mrs.org/
The National Academy of Engineering http://www.nae.edu/nae/nae.nsf/Homepage/
The National Academy of Sciences http://www4.nationalacademies.org/nas/nashome.nsf
NetLib Conferences Database http://www.netlib.org/confdb/
This site contains titles, dates, locations and abstracts where available for major conferences in mathematics, technology and computer sciences.
PhysicsWeb Calendar http://physicsweb.org/events/
You’ll find links to current and future international physics conferences, workshops, and announcements. The catalogue style entries contain a descriptive section as well as site and contact information. The site is browsable and searchable
Royal Astronomical Society http://www.ras.org.uk/ras/
The Royal Society of Chemistry http://www.rsc.org/
TechExpo http://www.techexpo.com/events
This site gives basic information and links and e-mail contacts to what appears to be thousands of scientific and technical conferences.
In order to maintain expertise it’s important to keep up to date in any area. It’s also very time consuming to keep up to date but that’s part of what separates the professionals from the amateurs. It is critical, and especially so in fast moving/changing areas like the Internet, to keep up with the changes. The best ways are to attend conferences, read journals, subscribe to newsletters and to practice, practice, practice.
In this first section we’ll cover some journals and paper newsletters that are worth reading regularly. If you just glance through these as each issue crosses your desk you can pick out the items of interest to you. Of course this works better in theory than in practice but you will quickly find which ones suit you and which ones have little to meet your specific needs or interests. This reference list is geared towards those interested in web searching; more specific newsletters in subject areas will often have articles or reviews geared towards finding information on the Internet as well. In addition it’s important to remember that the standard journals in a specific field will often have a regular column reviewing web sites specific to the field.
Often at least parts of these journals can be accessed for free on the web.
Choice Current Reviews for Academic Libraries ed., I. E. Rockwood, Association of College and Research Libraries, Middletown, CT published 11 times a year.
This publication regularly reviews web sites but even better it has published a special Web supplement for the last three years. The current supplement Web III: Supplement to Volume 36 reviews 600 web sites and has a thirty page section on Science and Technology web site reviews. One criterion for site selection is the appropriateness for undergraduate students so extremely technical sites will not be listed.
College and Research Library News ed., M. E. K. Davis, Association of College and Research Libraries, Middletown, CT published 11 times a year.
http://www.ala.org/acrl/c&rlnew2.html
This journal covers trends and issues in academic libraries. There is a regular "Internet Resources" feature that focuses on websites for a very specific topic monthly. There is generally an extensive list of annotated sites in the subject area. There may also be links to Usenet groups, newsletters, etc. These features are written by guest columnists with expertise in the subject area. Examples for the year 2000 follow: Botany (June), Mathematics (May), Philosophy (Apr), Physics (Mar), Disabilities (Feb), and Russian Studies (Jan). There are frequently reviews of sites in scientific areas so it is well worth glancing through the monthly issues to see if they cover a topic of interest.
Computers in Libraries ed., D. Hoffman, Information Today, Medford, NJ, published ten times per year.
http://www.infotoday.com
This journal focuses on technology issues in accessing library information. While it has a broad interest for anyone working in information services of particular interest for this report is the fact that it has a regular section called ' Internet Librarian'. There are usually two feature articles as well as a 'news' section. This news column has brief updates on new Internet services or on modified services; usually many of these are in scientific or technical areas.CyberSceptic Guide to Internet Research ed., R. Orenstein, BiblioData, Needham Heights, MA, published ten times per year.
http://www.bibliodata.com
This 8 page newsletter contains several one page articles examining a particular service or comparing several equivalent Internet services. There's an in-depth description of the site of the month, there's usually a tabular comparison of one special service on the web vs. through a vendor. There’s one page with brief annotated descriptions for two sites in each of 6 broad areas like, government, technical, news, etc. The articles are clear and concise and informative.
EContent (formerly database) ed., N. Garman, Online Inc., Wilton, CT, published bimonthly.
http://www.ecmag.net/
EContent contains several feature articles, coverage of new services, publication reviews, and 7 regular columns. A must read, with noted columnists, this journal will generally have several very handy brief articles in each issue for the searcher. It also has news briefs for industry news in 'Online Services', 'Search Tools' and Sci-Tech’, which keep you up to date on changes in engines, databases, and vendors.
The Electronic Library ed., D. Raitt, Learned Information, Oxford, UK, published bimonthly.
http://www.learned.co.uk
Since this is an academic journal it mostly has lengthy articles on various aspects of the electronic library. Some of these articles have direct application to the searcher, for example, a recent article on evaluating web resources. In addition there is a section called 'New on the Net' which has descriptions and evaluations of several new web resources in each issue. It also has a section indicating major international conferences.
Information Outlook ed., D. W. Newcomb, Special Libraries Association, Washington, DC, published monthly.
http://www.sla.org
Has articles of interest to information professionals as well as information on upcoming conferences, columns on professional development and
Information Today ed., D. Hoffman, Information Today, Medford, NJ, published eleven times per year.
http://www.infotoday.com
Covers information technology with features on various topics and announcements of new web services. Good for background info and for pointers.
Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship (ISTL), ed., A. L. Duda, Association of College and Research Libraries, Middletown, CT published quarterly.
http://www.library.ucsb.edu/istl/
This journal is geared towards librarians interested in scientific and technological areas. This is actually a freely available refereed Web journal containing several feature articles, book reviews, journal reviews and conference reports. It focuses on issues related to collection development for these special librarians. There are often articles related to the development of very specific web collections. You can sign up to be notified when a new issue is posted.
Online ed., N. Garman, Online Inc., Wilton, CT, published bimonthly.
http://www.onlineinc.com/onlinemag
This site is very similar in coverage to EContent, but with a bit less web content. This is a journal for information professionals that contains quite a few feature articles and about a dozen regular short columns in each issue. Many of the articles and columns focus on finding information on the web and the columnists are often noted experts in the field. This is a must read.Online Newsletter ed., R. S. Huleatt, Information Intelligence Inc., Phoenix, AZ, published eleven times per year.
http://www.infointelligence.com
This very brief newsletter offers international coverage of on-line (including the Internet) issues, meetings, and publications. It also covers new additions or updates to on-line database (including Internet).
Online Libraries and Microcomputers ed., G. S. Machovec, Information Intelligence Inc., Phoenix, AZ, published eleven times per year.
http://www.infointelligence.com
This small newsletter covers news and trends and includes hardware, software, and database reviews as well as upcoming meetings and publications.
Science ed., F.E. Bloom, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C., published weekly.
http://www.sciencemag.org/
This journal has a weekly section called NetWatch by Jocelyn Kaiser that has very interesting web sites with full descriptions and brief discussions of web related topics.Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals ed., B. Quint, Information Today, Medford, NJ, published ten times per year.
http://www.infotoday.com
This magazine is geared directly to the searcher as a professional. It focuses on various issues in the feature articles including; content, tools, standards, and trends. The columns offer advice, evaluation, tips and interviews.Today’s Librarian ed., K. Hundley, Virgo Publishing Inc., Phoenix AZ, published monthly.
http://www.todayslibrarian.com/
Has a section of book reviews, often books of interest to the technical searcher.
These e-mail newsletters come from many sources, but mostly from dedicated individuals who have a deep interest in what’s out there on the web and a big desire to share their treasures. Most people don’t have the time to keep up to date on what’s new on the web. These resources allow you to essentially skim off the top of someone else’s hard work. Some newsletters keep you informed about the technology or burning issues, while others just offer up annotated lists of new sites.
In addition to newsletters with an emphasis on noteworthy sites or on news in science & technology there are also newsletters with an emphasis on web/computer developments. It is important to monitor both areas. For example changes in search engines can be very rapid and significant. If you are using them (as we all do in searching on the web) then it can be critical to understand the ways the search engine you used this week is not the same one you used last week. As one example one very popular engine switched overnight from automatically or-ing terms to and-ing the search terms.
The list is divided into three parts, those that tend to focus on new sites, those that tend to focus on web developments, and those that focus on current science news. This arbitrary division won’t always hold true since some ‘site’ or ‘science’ newsletters may occasionally focus on ‘developments’ and vice versa. Also, the current science news sites do not all have newsletters because it is actually a combination of both newsletter and straight news sites that have been placed in the same section rather than being divided in two and having the straight news sites be located in the web resources/reference sites section above.
These newsletters offer brief updates daily, weekly, monthly or as the mood strikes. The following lists offers many different ones and as you subscribe you should find yourself adding different ones and dropping some of these, to suit you specifically. Reading all of these and checking out sites of interest could easily take an hour or two a day so it is important to focus on the best ones for you. Since some of the news sites worth reading are not newsletters they won’t come automatically to your e-mail. One way to keep from forgetting to check these sites is to set up an electronic reminder on your e-calendar that pops up at a set frequency (daily, monthly, etc.) with embedded hyperlinks to sites of interest. In a sense this turns them into newsletters! This suggestion also works for electronic journals that you would like to check regularly.
Sometimes these newsletters are geared towards a specific resource. In that case they are useful because they keep you up to date on upcoming changes to the resource.
Focus on Top Web Links
http://www.kuca.com/join.html
A bi-monthly newsletter which selects and gives reviews of the best 20 new sites reviewed by other newsletters. It’s sort of a best-of-the best newsletter.
Neat New Stuff I Found This Week
http://marylaine.com/
Marylaine Blocks weekly newsletter with one paragraph reviews of about ten different sites.NetSurfer Science
http://www.netsurf.com/nss/
A weekly guide with annotated reviews of science and technology sites. This is a sister site and very similar in style to NetSurfer Digest (found below in development focus) which is a weekly review of Internet related news, books, etc.New at the Digital Librarian
http://www.servtech.com/~mvail/new.html
Annotated links to newly listed sites at the Digital Librarian. I think the notification is sent out roughly monthly and comprises roughly a dozen sites.New This Week
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/InternetIndex/
A weekly e-mail list containing reviews and links to the latest entries to the Librarians Guide to the Internet.Refdesk.com (new sites)
http://www.refdesk.com/newlinks.html
Annotated links to 15-20 sites a week.Sci-Tech Library Newsletter
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/fsearch
This weekly newsletter is put out by Stephanie Bianchi of NSF and contains lots of information on web sites, an article on ‘The Tip of the Week’, reviews of new e-journals, web news, and lots of descriptive material.
Scout Report for Science & Engineering
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sci-eng/current/index.html
This biweekly newsletter covers Internet resources in the life sciences, physical sciences and engineering. See also The Scout Report at
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/current/index.html
These weekly newsletters contain one paragraph reviews of Internet resources by librarians who are subject-specialists. The reviews from these (and sister) newsletters are archived at the Scout Report Signpost, which was listed in the Virtual Library section of this paper.
Web-Today
http://www.web-today.net/
This newsletter is a twice-weekly message with descriptions of 3 or 4 sites based on the theme for the day. Every day is a different theme and the themes run from toasters to space flight. Always interesting and often has noteworthy science/tech themes or web tool themes.
What’s New on the Web (Physical Sciences and Engineering)
http://www.library.uq.edu.au/Internet/new/webnew.html#physical
A monthly annotated list of new sites and tools in the sciences
About Cyber World
http://talk.about.com/newsletter/index.htm
A weekly newsletter that keeps up to date with computers and the Web.
ChemWeb.com
http://chemweb.com/
A newsletter that is sent to members of ChemWeb. It includes highlights from ‘The Alchemist’, listings of free trial journals, tidbits, hot papers, book reviews etc. Membership in ChemWeb is free, it just requires registration. There’s a section on the site called ‘Research News’ which gives a synopsis of the top two articles in major science journals. There is another section called "ChemWeb Picks’ which contains weekly links and reviews for several top science sites.
Current Cites
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/
An annotated bibliography of current journal articles related to information technology. The newsletter is monthly and contains 10-20 abstracts of articles.
Ex Libris
http://marylaine.com/exlibris/index.html
This weekly newsletter focuses on uses of the Internet, databases and computers for librarians.
Freepint
http://www.freepint.co.uk/
This UK bi-weekly newsletter has several long columns by guest columnists and goes into detail on specific types of searching and resources. It is written for information professionals and often there are articles of potential interest to technical or science searchers such as Engineering Resources on the Web, Idiots’ Guide to Chemistry Information Resources on the Web, etc. There is a fully linked index available.
Internet Resources Newsletter
http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/
This newsletter from the UK leans towards scholarly sites and features new web sites, reviews of books and journals, and discussions of other web resources. It also has a nice collection of gateway sites.
The Internet Tourbus
http://www.tourbus.com/tickets.sht
T
his semi-weekly newsletter posts links to sites and gives hints for effective use of the site. They often will have an in depth discussion of a particular site.LangaList
http://www.langa.com/newsletter.htm
A
weekly newsletter put out by Fred Langa, it focuses on getting the most out of your PC and reviews issues and evaluates services.The Naked PC: What you need to know about all things PC
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/index.html
T
his bi-weekly newsletter focuses on all aspects of your PC from bugs, to the web, to books.Neat Net Tricks
http://www.NeatNetTricks.com/
A
bimonthly newsletter with hints and help to make effective use of the Internet. It has a pretty neat web page design.NetSurfer Digest
http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/
A
weekly guide to interesting issues and news on the web. The site has extensive reviews of new sites, book reviews, and it covers all areas of science.Research Buzz
http://www.researchbuzz.com/index.html
T
his weekly newsletter contains information on sites, software and technology for researchers.Search Engine Report
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/sereport/index.html
T
his monthly newsletter keeps you up to date on changes in search engines. However, lately it has been geared more towards the positioning of sites in search engine results.Seidman's Online Insider
http://www.onlineinsider.com/html/current_issue.html
An irregularly timed newsletter that discusses the on-line world for all levels of users. It’s along the lines of an editorial written by a folksy editor. It has a very general rather than specific focus and it does focus on AOL a lot.
Web Search Newsletter (About.com)
http://websearch.about.com/Internet/websearch/
A weekly newsletter with info, sites, hints on searching the web.
1999: Best of What’s New
http://www.popsci.com/features/bown/bown99/
Popular Science
Gives an overview of the neatest new developments in Science and Technology areas. This is fascinating light reading on its own, or as a general background resource for students. Often gives links to additional sources of information on the topic.
Bubble Chamber
http://bc.tensegrity.net
This site contains science and technology news items that were selected as food for intellectual thought and can be pretty off beat and interesting.
Nature: Feature of the Week
http://www.nature.com/nature/fow/
This site features commentary on the "hot" article of the week along with links to articles and other associated materials. There is a collection of these features going back to 1998.
New Scientist Weekly Newsletter
http://www.newscientist.com/nsnlsubs.html
T
his weekly newsletter takes a folksy look at interesting tidbits in science.Nova; Science in the News
http://www.science.org.au/nova/index.htm
Australian Academy of Science
This site was established to act as a source of trustworthy information on science topics of current interest. It is geared towards the layman with a general interest rather than to the professional scientist.
PhysLink - Physics and Astronomy Online Education and Reference
http://www.physlink.com/
There are headlines and links to daily physics and astronomy related news stories at this site. The site itself contains much more than news and is geared to many different audiences – physicists, engineers, educators and students and aims to be both a community and a major resource. In addition to daily news items it has a reference section with constants, glossary, job postings, forums, essays, reviews, ask the experts, and a newsletter. It’s possible to sign up for a newsletter at
http://www.physlink.com/newsletter/signup.cfm. The newsletter is delivered weekly and contains a lead story/interview, news highlights, questions and answers and a book review. It also is posted directly on the website.The Science Behind the News
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/index.html
University of Wisconsin-Madison from National Institute for Science Education (NISE)
This site explores the science and technology behind current news stories with associated articles on various aspects of the topic; the articles contain bibliographies to the science literature. The site is geared towards the layman but very useful for inquiries about current news topics.
ScienceWise
http://www.sciencewise.com/swresearch/newsletter.htm
Made available by a commercial website that’s designed for engineers and scientists this page gives a one paragraph summary each for several news stories each month. The archived stories are available on the site. The summaries are very light but co