User's Guide to the Internet
A User’s Guide to the Internet was compiled by Vivian Hutchison, an ALIC student library technician from the College of Information Science at the University of Maryland.
Contents:
- History of the Internet
- Internet Tutorials
- Search Engines
- Categorized Internet Resources
- Tips for Searching the Internet
- Finding New Web Sites
- Evaluating Web Sites
- Creating Web Sites
- Web Policies
History of the Internet
- History of Weblogs
- This article from Wired discusses the history of blogs and the outlook for the future.
- Hobbes’ Internet Timeline
- A history of the Internet through a timeline design and various links to further information.
- Internet Archive
- Archives web pages back to 1996 and includes special collections dating back to 1903.
- The Evolution and Revolution of Search Engines
- This site discusses the evolution of search engines.
Internet Tutorials
- Bare Bones 101: A Basic Tutorial on Searching the Web
- University of South Carolina
The information contained in this site is designed to get users started in the right direction with a minimum amount of time and effort.
- Choose the Best Search for Your Information Need
- This site suggests best search engines for various information needs, including specific disciplines and types of media.
- Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial
- (University of California, Berkeley)
This site contains information about search strategies for the Internet, search engines, and evaluating web sources.
- Internet 101: Beginner’s Handbook
- This website contains links to a variety of informational pages that are designed to help beginners navigate the online world.
- Using the Internet
- (Library of Congress)
This Library of Congress site contains Internet guides and courses, Internet glossaries, and resourses for Internet trainers.
- Web Searching: A Tutorial on Search Strategy and Syntax
- (Power Reporting)
A tutorial on search strategies.
Search Engines
Choose a Search Engine:
Websites devoted to Search Engines:
- Pandia Powersearch All-in-One List of Search Engines
- Users can either search using the site's own search engine, or choose from a list of search engines divided into various categories..
- Search Engines
- This site describes individual search engines, meta search engines, and search engine collections.
- The Search Engine List
- This comprehensive list of search engines divides sites into categories and provides a description of each one.
Categorized Internet Resources
- Best Information on the Net
- This website is maintained by the St. Ambrose University Library. It highlights research resources in an effective and informative manner.
- Internet Quick Reference Shelf
- This Indiana University Bloomington Libraries website has Internet information resources categorized by topic. Topics include historical collections, electronic journals and texts, and societies and associations.
- Subject Portals
- Cleveland State University has created subject trees as an effective research starting point. The history subject site, for example, provides links within headers such as Journals, Internet Sites, Primary Resources, Research Tools, and Selected Interest Areas.
Tips for Searching the Internet
- Search Engine Chart
- This chart shows the relationships among many different search engines.
- Search Engine Guides
- This page provides memory aids to the syntax rules and features of four of the leading search engines.
- Search Engine Showdown
- This website describes search engines by features, reviews, analysis, learning, and a blog.
- Search Engine Watch
- This website provides information about search engines through tutorials, a blog, forums and webcasts.
- SreeTips.com
- This web site was created by Sree Sreenivasan, a journalism professor and technology reporter for WNBC, New York. The site features Smarter Surfing, tips on various technology topics, workshop links, and blogs.
- Tips to Effective Internet Searching
- Created by the Lenn and Dixie Hannon Library of Southern Oregon University, this site gives users "simple keys to search the Internet more effectively."
- Top 10 Internet Search Tips
- Melissa S. Barker describes the steps that will help "greatly increase your chances of quickly and easily locating what you want on the Internet."
Finding New Web Sites
- The 25 Most Influential Personal Finance Bloggers
- A list of blogs dealing with personal finance issues such as debt, consumer culture, goals, and investing.
- The New York Times Newsroom Navigator
- The New York Times created this page to provide a collection of links to information that would be useful to its reporters. Links are divided into categories such as Government, Commerce, Publications on the Net, Sports & Recreation, and more.
- PC Magazine’s Top Web Sites of 2010
- This site offers the top 100 classic and top 100 undiscovered web sites in a variety of categories, including Info, Apps, Shopping, News, and Technology.
- Research Buzz
- News about search engines, databases, and online information collections.
- ResourceShelf
- Contributors discuss new web sources, changes in existing sources, and current developments.
- Scout Report
- The Scout Report began in 1994 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It continues to spotlight worthy new web sites to date. Each weekly report contains four sections: Research and Education, General Interest, Network Tools, and In the News. An ALIC favorite.
- Top 25 Librarian Bloggers
- Online Education Database (OEDb) has created a list of blogs authored by librarians.
Evaluating Web Sites
- Evaluating Internet Research Sources
- Guidelines to help the user assess the reliability of web sites.
- Evaluating the Quality of Information on the Internet: A Checklist
- A checklist for evaluating websites with examples and in-depth explanations. Includes a printable version.
- Evaluating Web Content
- (University of Albany)
This guide offers tips for evaluating the quality of content on the Web. A printable version is available in PDF format.
- Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools
- Olin & Uris Libraries of Cornell University present guidelines for evaluating web sites taking context into account as the "primary factor."
Creating Web Sites
- 4 Creating a Website
- Step by step advice for creating a website, including choosing a domain name and web host, making money, and attracting visitors.
- Easiest Web Design Tutorial on the Web
- A site designed to teach HTML and CSS to people who use wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) web editors.
- How to Start/Create Your Own Website: The Beginner’s A-Z Guide
- This guide takes a tutorial approach and includes such topics as domains, HTML, Cascading Style Sheets, blogging, and much more.
- HTML Tutorial
- W3Schools tutorial "teaches you everything about HTML." The site also includes tutorials on CSS, XML, JavaScript and more.
- Website Design Tutorials
- This is "an HTML help site featuring standards-based HTML tutorials, CSS tutorials and other website design help and resources."
Web Policies
- Copyright on the Web
- Guidance that will help users understand how copyright law affects internet content.
- Introduction to Web Accessibility
- Discussion about the ability of persons with disabilities to access web sites. The site also contains articles about The User’s Perspective; HTML Accessibility; Rich Media Accessibility; Standards and Laws; and Policy, Coordination, and Training.
- Laws, Policies, and Performance Measures Relating to Federal Agency Web Sites
- The Law Librarian’s Society of Washington D.C. has compiled this list of laws pertaining to Federal web pages.
- Top 10 Best Practices for Government Websites
- Guidance to help government agencies meet all laws, requirements, policies, and other directives for public websites.