• Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk (Review Available)
• Australia's Cultural Network (Review Available)
• BBC Online (Review Available)
• Direct Search (Review Available)
• Directory Of Union Catalogues (Review Available)
• Findtutorials.com (Review Available)
• Harley Hahn's Master List of Usenet Newsgroups (Review Available)
• HealthWeb (Review Available)
• Librarianship And Information Science Subject Gateway - Pick (Review Available)
• LUII: Library User Interface Issues (Review Available)
• Northern Light (Review Available)
• Open Directory Project (Review Available)
• Ozlit (Review Available)
• Search Engine Colossus (Review Available)
• UK museum information (Review Available)

Free resources

• American Film Institute's America's Greatest Movies [Review Available]
• Asia Foundation (Review Available)
• Asia Society (Review Available)
• A Calendar of Authors (Review Available)
• Gallery of Data Visualization - The Best and Worst of Statistical Graphics (Review Available)
• House Of Commons (Review Available)
• Photobank Online Image Gallery Database (Review Available)
• Understanding Science (Review Available)
• UNESCO documents (Review Available)
• UK gateway to government information (Review Available)
• UK National Library of Women (Review Available)
• Welsh Assembly (Review Available)

Reference

• Digital Reference Services: A Bibliography (Review Available)
• Gale Group Reference Reviews (Review Available)
• Hennepin County Library's Guide To Authors And Genres (Review Available)
• Information please (Review Available)
• Refdesk.com (Review Available)
• Your Dictionary.Com (Review Available)

• KidsClick! (Review Available)
• Librarian's Guide to Cyberspace for Parents and Kids (Review Available)
• Net-Mom (Review Available)

Aside from being a means to purchase books, the sites also have a research value for busy writers and editors. They are the fastest means of verifying most citations to monographs published in the English language. Much used by this reviewer for they are quicker to access than most library catalogues, contain bibliographic details for most items checked, and the screens are not cluttered (unlike many library catalogues).

Provides a gateway to Australian cultural organisations, resources and events. It has a Website Finder which provides direct and easy access to hundreds of Australian cultural organisations online. A national Events Calendar outlines cultural events around the country. Quick to download - and a beautiful site. Of interest to librarians, educators, students, cultural workers - and the growing number of people going Down-Under in 2000 for holidays and the Olympic Games. Has links to Australian libraries and a collection of useful papers and information about libraries - including a section on library management.

An extensive site full of useful information for all ages. The categories of information are: news, sport, weather, arts, audio/video, education (a growing feature), entertainment, food, health, history, home and garden, kids, live chat, nature, radio, science, teens, what's on, World Service and corporate information. Good design, easy to navigate, a goldmine of information and a means for Anglophiles to keep up with detailed news - and their favourite soaps!

There is a growing part of the Web unavailable through standard search engines for various reasons (often because they are accessed by non-HTML interfaces) ironically, this "invisible Web" includes the majority of traditional high quality databases, such as OCLC, Dialog, LEXIS/NEXIS and the like. This directory, maintained and compiled by Gary Price of George Washington University, attempts to remedy the problem by providing a subject-classified and searchable directory to such sources. Unfortunately, the classification is a bit difficult to use; while the classified entry has a hot link to the database or service or Web page involved, the entry found by a search does not; and there is no good access to general sources. Even so, since well over half of the Web may be invisible to the HTML-oriented search systems, this is a useful source, and at present appears to be more comprehensive that commercial competitors.

Part of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) page, this is also part of the Universal Availability of Publications Core Programme. Arranged by nation, it purports to be a directory, with hotlinks where available, of all catalogues which are both national (or international) and currently published, regardless of format. It includes both general catalogues and specific subject catalogues as well. While this listing is handy, it is unfortunately incomplete for example, for the USA it lists only the WorldCat of OCLC, which is online, but does not list the National Union Catalog series, such as NUC:Books, produced by the Library of Congress on microfiche. However, the detailed information about each catalogue listed, which includes formats catalogued, approximate percentage of material lent, date and subject coverage and the like, makes this a useful site even as it is.

This site could be of interest for libraries serving students. It is a subject index and search matching with emphasis on textbooks and tutorials in subjects like arts and humanities, business and finance, computer science and internet, social sciences among others.

This site more or less proves that there is a newsgroup for nearly every interest imaginable. Created and maintained by the author of Harley Hahn�s Internet & Web Yellow Pages, this site makes it very easy to discover newsgroups related to specific hobbies or interests. Newsgroups are listed by category and topic. With a newsreader installed, the provided link will take the searcher directly to the messages. A keyword search engine is also provided, with options to match whole or partial words and to exclude or include adult groups in your search.

Originating in 1994, this is a collaboration of the health sciences libraries of several networks, based in the Midwest of the United States. As with many similar sites, this is classified, with such categories as "User Guides" (links to sites, for example, where one can search medical databases), and a subject list of topics. Each topic leads to a series of subtopics, and so on, including web pages, and even the text of entire books. For the most part, the information is aimed at the general public, rather than the medical professional. Unlike a number of other similar sites, every link is non-commercial, and has been evaluated both for technical quality of information, and usefulness. There is also a search engine available.

The information available at this site is prepared by the staff of the Thomas Parry Library at the University of Wales Aberystwyth which holds one of the largest collections of documents on ILS in the world. It provides Library Web sites, directory type information and pointers to information sources, plus full text documents on libraries and related organisations, librarianship and information science, LIS education and libraries' use of networks, plus the full text of many LIS documents. PICK invites feedback.

Library User Interface Issues is a list aimed at librarians, "user experience strategists" and other professionals to discuss usability issues of "online subscription resources in the library environment". Launched by an electronic resources librarian at a US tertiary institution, the goal of LUII is to improve the usability of existing and future services. The URL includes list information and a link to message logs and subscription instructions.

This is by far and away the best of the search engines to use to find your way around the Internet. It seems to have the highest number of index terms, and recall and relevance are excellent. Your reviewer tries other services from time to time, but they never touch Northern Light for speed and accuracy. If you haven't visited try it! And if you see the staff of Northern Light at an exhibition - go and talk with them. They are great too!

Originally known as NewHoo, this directory was taken over by Netscape in 1998. However, it retains the flavour of its origins, with section editors still volunteers. With some considerable effort in selection of experts for the editorship, this directory has the attraction of listing only sites actually visited, reviewed, and selected by human beings, most of whom appear to know something about the subjects in question. ODP has received much good press, and has been licensed or otherwise connected with many of the more popular search engines on the Web. Similar in some ways to YAHOO, ODP is a detailed classified listing of sites, plus a search engine. The collection of sites under a given subject is quite large (about 2 million total sites are listed) and this reviewer, at least, found the classification scheme more detailed and easier to use than YAHOO�s.

This is an independent site devoted to Australian literature which includes a fully searchable books and writers database, reviews and links to other literary sites.

Although a commercial site, this is still free, and lacks most of the bells and whistles of most commercial ventures. Primarily a listing of nationally-oriented search engines (including national variants of standard commercial engines), this also includes a dozen subject-oriented sections. After selecting the nation, you receive a set of hot links, with logos, of the relevant sites. Color coding distinguishes between sites which are based on human selection, those based on use of bots or spiders, and a one-sentence annotation provides some guidance. Hardly the most complete list of search engines, but helpful in organizing by location rather than subject.

The Museums & Galleries website can be found at www.museums.gov.uk It provides a global gateway to UK museum information, and a range of public figures including Dame Judi Dench have chosen museum objects of significance to them. Dame Judi nominated the safety pin. "This has been a life saver to me on many occasions and if it is not already in a museum, I think it should be." A different celebrity object will be featured on the site each week. The site provides a link to UK Designated museum collections at www.cornucopia.org.uk

A controversial list of the 100 most important films produced in the United States, with brief descriptions and credits, plus the ranking and criteria used. An interesting additional feature is a listing of votes by those who have accessed this site, again giving the ranking. The site includes a simple search engine, and clips from the 100 films (which don't always load correctly). This is part of the AFI's site, which also includes links and general information on film preservation.

The Asia Foundation is best known for its book donations to libraries in Asia, but it does offer other programmes as well. The Web site has three main sections: programs, new and events, reports and publications. The information is about the Foundation itself rather than about Asia, so this is a means of keeping in touch with the Foundation rather than with developments in the region. This is not a bad thing, as the Foundation is a source of grants to individuals and projects with an information/library/books/literacy focus.

The Asia Society is a non-profit NGO dedicated to fostering understanding of Asia and communication between Americans and people in Asia and the Pacific. The site reflects the Society's interest in four fields: arts and culture, business and economics, education, politics and society. A key resource here is the full text of speeches made by notable people from Asia and the US; this gives online access to speeches by Prime Ministers, ambassadors, media leaders, government officials, etc. The arts and culture section is an attractive guide to such information as exhibition catalogues and details of publications. With ShockWave installed one can view graphics on Asian artefacts. The business section contains useful information for business people, students, teachers and government officers in Asia. The links to other Internet sites is a valuable resource for business travellers. The section promotes the Society's Asian Educational Resource Center (AERC), which creates and distributes resource materials and other information for classroom use. The final section on politics and society is the fullest, with many online resources, including 'Asian updates' (reports on Asia from experts in the field).

A writer for each day in the year. This Finnish website has biographies and selected bibliographis of fiction writers from all over the world. They are arranged according to their birthday. You can also seek the authors by name. The idea is great and the author biographies appear to be fine. It is a great source for a library if it wants to promote authors and writers in relation to a calendar.

If you want to study examples of statistical manipulation by means of graphical presentation this is the site. The site gives you the pictures and a short note explaining what is wrong. The site also contains examples of good statistical presentation. Very useful for finding examples for a lesson in research methodology.

The UK Parliament has led the way in providing information to the community at large. One valuable source of information available on its site is the Research Papers that it produces. These are carefully researched, impartial documents on issues receiving attention in the Commons. Recent papers cover elections to the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, economic indicators, wind power and buses. Good sources of information that are quick to access.

This Web site contains a collection of the pictures and images of UNESCO, which started in 1946. Pictures and images can be searched according to country, region, year, photographer, subject category and keywords.

This site has been developed by the Wellcome Trust and provides a gateway to up-to-date scientific information. It keeps abreast of scientific developments and is a searchable database of 250 web sites which is constantly growing. It also has a calendar of international events.

The full text database of UNESCO documents is available at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ulis/ It contains about 7,600 documents and can be searched full text, by keyword or by bibliographic references as it is linked with UNESBIB.

The UK government has set up a single entry point to government information following the lead of the US and Canadian governments at www.inforoute.hmso.gov.uk

Work has begun on the New National Library of Women based on the Fawcett Library collection at the London Guildhall University. See: www.lgu.ac.uk/fawcett/main.htm

Devolution in the UK has resulted in the setting up of a Welsh Assembly, and the proceedings are being made available at this site which can be browsed using Acrobat Reader. The site is still in its infancy and the Communications Unit, which runs the site, is seeking suggestions for improvements.

Bernie Sloan, a systems consultant at the University of Illinois, has compiled this 200+ item bibliography of material related to online/electronic reference services, an increasingly important topic. Simply arranged by author, with no annotations, in addition to being the most comprehensive list around, this site has the attractions of including both print and Web sources, and of providing a link not only to those directly on the Web, but also to those available through the Academic ASAP system.

Actually four sets of reviews, mounted by the reference publisher, but without any apparent bias toward (or against) Gale Group publications. The older material, from October 1997 through September 1999, was done by James Rettig, long-time reviewer for Wilson Library Bulletin. More recent reviews are in three sections online and CD-ROM by Peter Jacs�, children�s and youth materials by Blanche Woolls and David Loertscher, and adult material by R.M. Lawrence.

Reviews are fairly long, authoritative, and honest (i.e. there are a number of negative and mixed reviews, a rarity on most Web sites). Material can be searched by reviewer name, author, title, subject, medium, year of publication, and keyword within text of review. Reviews are also classified by subject.

Hennepin County Library in the USA has put online "a handy reference guide to authors and genres". Users can browse all the subject categories, which range from "Christian fiction" to techno-thrillers, horror, and literature for senior citizens. The database can also be searched by author or theme, and the recommendations include appropriate subject headings to search in the library catalogue. There are also links to other resources from Hennepin County Library. This is a very useful readers' advisory service for librarians and library users.

Information Please has launched a free one-stop reference site that offers millions of up to the minute facts and statistics covering a wide range of topics. It integrates the various Information Please Almanacs with the Random House Dictionary and The Columbia Encyclopedia.

Another offering by Gary McKiernan of Iowa State University (USA), this lists, under broad classifications, all live reference sites currently or recently available (with notes as to which sites are down). These are chat and similar reference sites where a real-time live reference transaction takes place. This site links to the specific home pages of the reference sites, many of which, of course, are restricted, but as this sort of service grows, it is good to have a handy listing. To date, the site does not list commercial services.

This is an extensive, searchable collection of links 'on three levels: quick, studied and deep'. Facts At A Glance is an alphabetical listing of links to reference sites with everything from rankings of US universities to a US postcode finder. Current News and Facts includes links to newspapers, magazines, news headlines,etc. Refdesk's Categories is an alphabetical listing of subject links. Facts Finders provides links to encyclopaedias and other fact sources.

A fairly recent commercial site, funded by pop-up ads, and thus free, this lists the vast majority of dictionary sites on the Web, classified by type (terms, multi-language, thesauri, grammar, etc.), and by language(s) covered. Although the site also includes the "word of the day", various news items about dictionaries, and some games, its main value is the classified listing of dictionaries online, and the search engine. Users should be aware that the main page search engine looks only in Merriam-Webster�s Collegiate Dictionary; more comprehensive sources must first be selected before search. Users should also be aware that Web versions of many dictionaries do not include the full entries from the print versions.

This is a USA based site of websites recommended for children, currently maintained by volunteers and using other children's web guides to create a base file. See: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!

Also available in pamphlet form, this is a direct response to the pressure for censoring the Web. Information includes nontechnical definitions (e.g. the difference between Usenet and chat rooms), netiquette, safety tips and a brief discussion of selection criteria. The most important and useful part of this site is the "50+ Great Sites for Kids and Parents"-links with short descriptions to sites based on the stated criteria. Aimed at preschool and elementary age kids (ca 2 -12 years old), the sites are a good selection of subjects and approaches. The page includes links aimed at parents, including other recommended lists for kids, and a help line.

A elaborate site developed and maintained by librarian Jean Armour Polly, who has been credited with inventing the term "surfing the web". Includes a weekly newsletter, and lots of links, as well as detailed information on her current books, notably The Internet Kids & Family Yellow Pages 2nd ed. Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1997. Aimed at parents of children up to about twelve years of age, provides games, links and other "child safe" sites. The whole site is clear, with a reasonable amount of graphics, and is generally reassuring to the majority of net users, who are still fairly new to all of this. An excellent site for librarians to refer parents who wish positive referrals rather than censorship of "bad" sites for their children.

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