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Internet Resources Newsletter, Issue 35, August 1997 (Section D)
Digital Library News: a publication of the IEEE Computer Society Task Force on Digital Libraries
Notices of ongoing events and new developments in one
short, periodic publication. Coverage: Conference
announcements, substantive conference reports, new
technology, new and ongoing digital library projects,
stable sources of information on digital libraries.
To subscribe to Digital Library News, send email to
ieeedln@cimic.rutgers.edu with the contents:
subscribe ieeedln Your Real Name
http://cimic.rutgers.edu/~ieeedln/
INTERNET INTERN via mailing@intern.de
News form the Internet - German language only. Distributed biweekly! Aktuelle Informationen zum Thema Internet. Alle 2 Wochen neu! To subscribe, send the following command in the BODY of mail to MAILING@INTERN.DE SUBSCRIBE
Online Marketing This Week via FreeNewsletter@wmo.com
"Online Marketing This Week" is a free email newsletter delivered every Friday. Practical online marketing tips, how-to articles, links and descriptions of the best online marketing resources, business site reviews, interviews, etc. send mail to FreeNewsletter@wmo.com and type SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
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In the course of finding sites of interest for this Newsletter, we sometimes come across Web sites which we feel deserve slightly more than a passing mention. Each month we will try to pick out one or more such sites, and give them a short review. The sites will normally be UK based, may be small or large, and be of interest or potential interest to academics. After lengthy discussions we have decided, with incredible creativity, to call these: Nice Web Sites. Details of previous Nice Web Sites are available in the Nice Web Site Archive.
URL: http://chemweb.com/alchem/home.html
This e-journal is part of the ChemWeb.com service. ChemWeb requires registration, which is free, but The Alchemist appears to be currently available without the need to enter a password. For those who have not visited ChemWeb before, it calls itself the internet club for the chemical community, and is an impressive resource with a large amount of information. The Alchemist is its weekly chemistry magazine.
The Alchemist contains industry news from the UK and abroad, news of current research, information about Web sites of interest, software reviews, a conference diary, and comments from well-known authors.
Covered recently have been items about how Japanese scientists made mice glow in the dark, how microscopic gels swell to aid oil recovery and medicine, Lethal Plastic, and Marijuana as medicine.
Not only is this e-journal informative, but it is also presented in an attractive way, and is easy to navigate. Altogether a Nice Web Site.
Roddy MacLeod
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Publisher: Medialoisirs, 5-7, rue Raspail, 93108 Montreuil Cedex, France
Frequency: Monthly
ISSN: 1272-9388
Subscription: F35 cover price
Email: redac@netsurf.fr
Web: http://www.netsurf.fr
Language of content: French
This is an informative French Internet magazine which is aimed at the reasonably serious net user, as opposed to the business user. It includes industry overviews, news items, reports on software applications, book reviews, and basic HTML guides. The July issue included a pocket-size directory which listed about 100 sites of interest, with ratings for each one. The sites in the directory were very varied, ranging from Jazz in Belgium to Paris Duty Free to Finance Net. The Web site for netsurf is still under construction.
Publisher: Net Press, 191 avenue Aristide-Briand, 94230 Cachan, France
Frequency: Monthly
Subscription: F30 cover price
Email: editor@netpress.fr
Web: http://www.planete-internet.com/
Language of content: French
This is the major French magazine about the Internet, although its circulation of around 15,000 is reported to be falling (according to Internet World). It is quite similar in content and style to netsurf, with general interest items and news for French Internet users. It seems to be directed at no sector in particular, and includes articles on a variety of topics. The July/August issue had sections on art, education, property purchasing, tourism (a feature on Quebec), plus a report on the outcome of the legal action taken against Georgia Institute of Technology for making their Web site available only in English (the verdict supported the Institute's right to do so). The monthly site selections included Nautiweb, Cold Case (crime investigation site in English), and several sites which I could not get to work. More of a general interest magazine than a solid content one.
Publisher: Digipresse, 44-50 avenue du Capitaine Glarner, 93400 Saint
Ouen, France
Frequency: Monthly
Subscription: F299 (F30 cover price)
ISSN: 1262-4233
Email: digipres@imaginet.fr
Language of content: French
This French magazine has reappeared after a break of six months. The graphic designers have been busy on this one, and it may appeal especially to those involved in art, multimedia and the Internet. The whole magazine is very arty, and it includes current affairs information, techno-culture features, items about electro-art and music, etc. It's definitely not aimed at the business sector.
Publishers: MCB University Press, 60/62 Toller Lane, Bradford, West
Yorkshire, DB8 9BY
Frequency: Quarterly
Subscriptions: £759.00, Plus Vat UK
Email: Clive_L@compuserve.com
Web: http://www.mcb.co.uk/cgi-bin/mcb_serve/table1.txt&sr&journal1.htm
This journal includes an Internet Page, which lists and describes important resources on signal processing and sensors.
Publishers: MCB University Press, 60/62 Toller Lane, Bradford, West
Yorkshire, DB8 9BY
Frequency: 10 issues per year
Subscriptions: £ 2999.00, Plus Vat
Email: jstock@bsn01.bsnusf.edu
Web: http://www.mcb.co.uk/cgi-bin/mcb_serve/table1.txt&ijpdlm&journal1.htm
Natasha Wilson , from Wye College, edits the Internet section of the IJPD&LM which highlights resources of interest, giving descriptions and comments for those mentioned.
Publishers: MCB University Press, 60/62 Toller Lane, Bradford, West
Yorkshire, DB8 9BY
Frequency: 11 issues per year
Subscriptions: £2199.00, Plus Vat
Email: John.fernie@stirling.ac.uk
Web: http://www.mcb.co.uk/cgi-bin/mcb_serve/table1.txt&ijrdm&journal1.htm
Dr Jonathan Reynolds, from the Oxford Institute of Retail Management writes a regular section in this journal entitled 'Retailing on the Net' which reviews important retailing-related Internet resources.
Publishers: MCB University Press, 60/62 Toller Lane, Bradford, West
Yorkshire, DB8 9BY
Frequency: 6 issues per year
Subscriptions: £1999.00, Plus Vat
Email: amr.imr@dial.pipex.com
Web: http://www.mcb.co.uk/cgi-bin/mcb_serve/table1.txt&imr&journal1.htm
Dr Jim Hamill from the University of Strathclyde is the Internet editor of International Marketing. Marketeers are very interested in the commercialisation of the Internet, and the regular Internet editorials discuss some important resources of interest. Dr Hamill also maintains Internet Export Resources: A Guide to the Best Internet Resources for Small and Medium Sized Exporters.
Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 345
East 47th St., New York, NY 10017-2394
Frequency: bimonthly
ISSN: 0890-8044
Subscriptions: Non-members $115
Email: ieee.network@ieee.org
Web: http://www.comsoc.org
As a member of the Internet Society (ISOC - whose mission is to ensure the beneficial, open evolution of the global Internet and its related technologies through leadership in standards, issues, and education) I occasionally get sent interesting publications, and a sample issue of IEEE Network arrived recently in an ISOC envelope. IEEE Network is a publication of the IEEE Communications Society and is weighted towards the technical side of networking. It deals with such issues as security, PGP, network operations centers, network management, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), all-optical networks, and such like. Way over my head, but of great interest to those who understand such things.
Publisher: Metal Bulletin, plc, 16 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RJ
Frequency: 10 issues per year
ISSN: 0746-729X
Subscriptions: £120
Email: mwoof@wme.com
Web: http://www.wme.com/
The June issue of World Mining Equipment (Vol 21 No 5, pp. 35-38) carried an article entitled 'Net Gains' which discussed developments in the mining sector's use of the Internet. In it the Web addresses of a number of mining companies, research organisations, equipment and software suppliers are listed. According to the editor, another Web update will appear in the near future.
If you know of other journals which have a significant section on Internet resources, please let me know at: R.A.MacLeod@hw.ac.uk
Roddy MacLeod
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The Latest BIDS News Bulletin (Summer 1997) is available at:
URL: http://www.bids.ac.uk/news.html
A week-by-week listing of new information resources on the NISS (National Information Services and Systems) Information Gateway selected by experts in the subject area is available at:
URL: http://www.niss.ac.uk/welcome/whatsnew.html
BUBL has retained a strong library element, but now provides a subject-based service to the academic and research community more generally, this via the BUBL LINK Subject Tree. The latest news from BUBL is available at:
URL: http://bubl.ac.uk/news/
The latest Additions and Updates to EEVL (Edinburgh Engineering Virtual Library), The Gateway to UK Engineering Information on the Internet, are available at:
URL: http://www.eevl.ac.uk:4321/whatsnew/
The latest additions to SOSIG (Social Science Information Gateway) are available at:
URL: http://sosig.esrc.bris.ac.uk/roads/whats-new.html
The latest issue of Edina (Edinburgh Data & INformation Access) Newsline (Spring/Summer 1997) can be found at:
URL: http://edina.ed.ac.uk/newsline/
CHEST aims to obtain quality commercial software, datasets, training materials and other IT products for the Education and Research Community at low prices and attractive licence terms. The latest news from CHEST is available at:
URL: http://www.chest.ac.uk/news.html
MIDAS (Manchester Information Datasets and Associated Services) is a National Datasets Service based at Manchester Computing and funded by JISC, the ESRC and the University of Manchester. It provides UK academics with online access to strategic datasets such as UK Population Censuses, large government and other surveys (including the GHS, LFS, FES, BHPS), macroeconomic time-series databanks, spatial data including satellite images and digital map data, and scientific databases including the Beilstein Crossfire System.
The latest news from MIDAS can be found at:
URL: http://midas.ac.uk/news.html
RUDI (Resource for Urban Design Information) is a multimedia information resource for research and teaching in the field of urban design in the Western cultural context. The latest news from RUDI can be found at:
URL: http://rudi.herts.ac.uk/new.html
Netskills aims to help the UK HE community make effective use of the Internet for teaching, research and administration. The latest news from Netskills can be found at:
URL: http://www.netskills.ac.uk/publicity/updates/
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621.382 PIT Introduction to ATM by J M Pitts and J A Schormans Wiley, 1996 658.05 ELL The new Internet business book by Jill H Ellsworth and Matthew V Ellsworth John Wiley, 1996 659.14 BAR Advertising on the Internet by Neil Barrett Kogan Page, 1997
(just arrived) The Internet Handbook for Writers, Researchers, and Journalists by Mary McGuire, Linda Stilborne, Melinda McAdams, and Laurel Hyatt Trifolium Books,1997 Web: http://www.pubcouncil.ca/trifolium/features.html#book1
Brief review
This book is written for information professionals, especially writers, researchers, editors, and journalists. Although aimed at those new to the Net it contains much of interest to people with more experience, and it assists in making sense of the vast number of available resources. It is only too easy to spend fruitless, if often enjoyable, hours aimlessly cruising from Web site to Web site. Many directories, both online and in print, exist, but it is always good to see the arrival of more focused texts. Recent titles have included The Construction Net (Bridges, A H), Internet for the Molecular Biologist (Swindell, S R), and Oil and Gas on the Internet (Crowley, W) and joining them comes this book written by an associate professor of journalism, a writer and Internet trainer, an editor, and a reporter. All four hail from the US, and my only real criticism of their work is that they have not included enough .uk and '.elsewhere' resources. For example, I think that OMNI is missing from the list of health-related resources, and SOSIG from the social sciences list. HOWEVER they DO include the Internet Resources Newsletter, for which I award them a gold star. They write that we "...provide an amazing list of resources of interest to professional researchers. Unfortunately, the list is not easily searchable". Hopefully something will be done about that last bit in the not too distant future. In actual fact, it was one of the authors (Stilborne) who originally contacted me by email about this book, itself impressive in that she obviously uses the resources listed in order to conduct research and promotion.
The Internet Handbook for Writers, Resaearchers, and Journalists is very well written, avoids jargon, and is attractively set out. It mentions many good resources, explains how to use browsers and various Internet applications, gives sound advice on searching for information, provides excellent sources for further reading, is as up-to-date as any printed guide to the Internet as I've found, emphasises the importance of mailing lists, emphasises the importance of evaluating electronic information, includes a 'Resources for students' section, includes a guide to writing HTML, and is generally a valuable work. The authors do not see the Internet through rose-tinted glasses and are quite prepared to provide critical analysis of software, resources, and services - something which is always a good sign. I will certainly keep a copy of this book to hand.
RM
(just arrived) The library and information professional's guide to the Internet by Gwyneth Tseng, Alan Poulter, and Debra Hiom 2nd edition, Library Association Publishing, 1997
Brief review
In an earlier issue of this newsletter I reviewed the first edition of this book, and whilst welcoming the work I was not entirely complimentary about all of its contents. On re-examining the text I see that I erronously stated that it had not mentioned the lis-iis mailing list, the eLib Programme, and the comp.internet.library newsgroup. Well, to put the record straight, lis-iis was mentioned on page 183, the eLib Programme on page 15, and comp.internet.library on page 77. Was I blind, or just confused by the book's index? Probably both, as lis-iis was not included in the index (although its provider, the Institute of Information Scientists, was indexed under IIS)*, and while there was an entry for 'electronic - Libraries Programme' in the index, it also pointed to pages 67 and 105 where (and I have just double-checked) there are none. Comp.internet.library is in the index, and I do not see how I missed it. An own goal against me, and perhaps a corner kick against the authors, and I apologise for my errors.
After that, I hesitate to write anything but praise for the contents of the new second edition, especially as the Internet Resources Newsletter gets two mentions in the revised work. But we librarians can't half be pernickety sometimes - there's a missing 's' from 'Resources' in the index entry :-) And...erm...well how pedantic can I get...but the 'How to read the resource guide' mentions a template on page 98, but in fact its on page 96.
It takes a great deal of time and effort to write books such as The library and information professional's guide to the Internet, which is full of useful information and will undoubtedly help many people to exploit the Internet to their advantage. I can come along and in a couple of hours find one or two very minor errors, but this should not detract from the overall value of this work. If I could offer three suggestions to the authors they would be 1) to improve the book's screen dump graphics, some of which include lines where they have been merged. 2) to consider including details of other printed sources of information about the Internet, which I am sure would be of interest. 3) to not hesitate to let reviewers know if they make mistakes ;-)
* In the index LIS mailing lists have been entered under their parent bodies, such as IIS for lis-iis, and FID for lis-fid. This is explained in the book's 'How to read the resource guide'. But that seems to leave lis-link with only an entry under 'Mailbase'.
Want a second opinion? Then read the review by John Kirriemuir.
RM
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URL: http://www.ayr-racecourse.co.uk/page2.html
This is the homepage of the Edinburgh Gaelic Community association
URL: http://www.scot.demon.co.uk/cgde/
URL: http://www.ccis.org.uk/clipe/
URL: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Alastair_Kinloch/
URL: http://www.glencoe-mountain-sport.co.uk/
URL: http://www.cableinet.co.uk/users/sbooth
Scottish techno culture
URL: http://www.obsolete.com/anomaly/is
URL: http://freespace.virgin.net/ken.lawton/page3.html
URL: http://www.lords.org
URL: http://www.rwc99.com/
URL: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/scottish.ballet/index.htm
URL: http://www.sba.oaktree.co.uk/
URL: http://www.btinternet.com/~scottish.cycling
URL: http://members.aol.com/skiscot/index.html
Roddy MacLeod
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The full report is available here.
URL: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/ncihe/
URL: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/new/dearing.htm
URL: http://www.seda.demon.co.uk/ncihe.html
URL: http://www.nus.org.uk/dearnews.html
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URL: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libWWW/howto/civil.html
This guide is aimed primarily at students and staff of Heriot-Watt University, however it may also be of use to anyone looking for printed or electronic information on Civil Engineering.
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