Models for organizing Web reference sites

[Note: this page was prepared six years ago for a specific purpose, and in the meantime a large proportion of the sites have changed URLs, changed designs or vanished. Noting that fact makes more sense than trying to correct this.]

Many libraries and individuals are trying to organize lists of Web-based reference resources (and sometimes lists of print tools too), to provide better access than simple bookmarking.  Here are some schemes or models for this, from the Internet:

A) Sites organized around existing subject classification schemes (Dewey Decimal System or Library of Congress Subject Headings)

• A1: "Canadian Information by Subject" (National Library of Canada) http://www.collectionscanada.ca/caninfo/ecaninfo.htm
  This site offers a Subject Order approach based on the numerical Dewey system, plus a title keyword option.
• A2: "Expanding Universe: A Classifed Search Tool for Amateur Astronomy" (Toronto Public Library) http://vrl.tpl.toronto.on.ca/expanding universe/
  Another Dewey-based site, limited to astronomy. Note that it has an "alphabetical term list" as well.
• A3: "WWW Virtual Library" (World Wide Web Virtual Library) [formerly at http://www.w3.org/pub/DataSources/bySubject/LibraryOfCongress.html but apparently offline]
  This one follows the LC classifications, though doesn't show anything like call number stems.  The same site displays other approaches too: alphabetical order, and a "Category Subtree".
• A4: "Browse Link by DDC" [formerly "BUBL Link"] (University of Bath) http://link.bubl.ac.uk/linkbrowse/
  Originally called "BUBL WWW Subject Tree - Arranged by Universal Decimal Classification (UDC)." UDC is the "international" version of Dewey. This is another page with an "Alphabetical Arrangement" option.
• A5: "The Internet Resource" (Napier University) [formerly at http://www.napier.ac.uk/depts/library/intres/ir000999.html this appears to be offline]
  Dewey again. Plenty of unfilled lines, which raises a question: is it more effective to leave them that way against future growth, or is it distracting?

B) Lists of Web sites grouped as "kinds" of reference tools

• B1: "Internet Reference Center" [formerly "Virtual Library"] (University of Albany) http://library.albany.edu/internet/reference/
  Many library reference departments have written these kinds of pages that collect ready reference Web tools: ZIP code directories, currency converters, and so on. This is a pretty good one.
• B2: "Resources" [formerly "Reference Shelf"] (University of Pennsylvania) http://www.library.upenn.edu/cgi-bin/res/sr.cgi?resourcetype=(2,3,5,6,10,11,12,13,16,30,33,34,35,37,44,46,47)
  Another strong collection of ready reference sites from a content perspective, though without breaking new ground in terms of organizing the material or guiding the user through it.
• B3:  "Reference Sources on the Internet" (Michigan State University) [formerly at http://www.lib.msu.edu/vansant/Intref/index.html but now offline]
  This page, by MSU's own Susanna Van Sant, began as a demo for a proposal of 4 April 1997.
• B4: "Internet Reference Shelf" [formerly "General Reference Resources"] (Stanford University) http://www-sul.stanford.edu/guides/genrefs.html
  The Stanford libraries chose to combine Web resources with locally owned resources, in print and paper.
• B5: "Quick Reference" [formerly "Online Reference Tools"] (Earlham College) http://www.earlham.edu/~libr/more/quickreference.htm
  Reference pages that build on free tools on the Web don't have to originate with large institutions.
• B6: "Internet Quick Reference Shelf" (Indiana University) http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/resource/ready/ 
  Another reference page that is part of a larger collection of bookmarks and guides.
• B7: "Reference Desk (Where the Wild Things Are)" (St. Andrews University) [formerly at http://www.sau.edu/cwis/internet/wild/Refdesk/refindex.htm but apparently offline]
  Another collection of scattered web sources.
• B8: "Ready Reference: Selected Internet Sites" [formerly "Ready Reference: Using the Internet"] (Winsor School) http://www.winsor.edu/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=426  
  While prepared for a K-12 audience, this site is fast to use because it offers fulltext resources and is simply organized (in alphabetical order).

C) Expanded bookmark systems, with materials grouped by type

• C1: "Reference Desk" (Michigan Electronic Library) http://mel.org/viewtopic.jsp?id=53
  Some sites include far more material than "ready reference." MEL is one of the best of these approaches, because it is so extensive.  Unfortunately, the better a site becomes in terms of size, the harder it is to find your way around in; deciding which sites belong in reference and which do not can be arbitrary.
• C2: "Scholars' Guide to WWW" http://tigger.uic.edu/~rjensen/index.html
  Faculty members are trying their hand at this, too: out of a thousand possible examples, this one is from Richard Jensen, the founder of H-Net. Because he's a historian, the history portion here is prominent.

D) Sites that guide the user through automated forms, links or dialog boxes instead of passive lists

• D1: "Academic Guide to the Internet" (formerly  on a server at InterNIC, now at  Aldea Communications, Inc.) http://www.aldea.com/guides/ag/iagitext.html
  This site's search box feature (an alternative to decision trees or list-browsing by users) has been removed (as of 2/8/99), but there seem to be plans to restore it: the whole site is under revision.  Such a keyword search allows fast access across a larger site; this one is still under construction, and too limited to evaluate on that issue.  It also solicits evaluative feedback.  This URL is the faster text-only version, which connects to a frames version.
• D2: "Social Work Term Paper Helper" (Wright State University) http://www.libraries.wright.edu/cgi-bin/ref.pl?Social+Work
  Scott Burright used PERL script for this site, which asks the user to check a few boxes that show the scope of her or his project, then directs the reader to lists confined to relevant print and Web sources. He demonstrated this page at ALA Midwinter 1997.
• D3: "Chemistry Reference Helper" (Wright State University) http://www.libraries.wright.edu/cgi-bin/chemref.pl
  Another PERL-scripted page from Scott Burright, again using boxes to include only relevant titles in the list that the user must inspect.
• D4: "Reference Expert" (University of Houston) [formerly at http://lib-04.lib.uh.edu/cgi-win/reweb/reweb.exe but apparently offline]
  The University of Houston has prepared several Web-based systems. This tool began with a Windows version running from disks on PCs: I can show you a copy in my office, courtesy of Judy Myers. Users choose a subject and the kind of tool they want, to reach lists of print titles.  UH also provides:
• D5: "Libraries Research Strategy Advisor" (University of Houston) [formerly at http://info.lib.uh.edu/rsa/rsa.htm but apparently offline]
  This one, also from UH, leads to sources that could help users narrow and define their topics.
• D6: "Research QuickStart" (University of Minnesota) http://research.lib.umn.edu
  Here, users make a series of choices about the subject and scope of their work, to reach lists of relevant paper or Web resources. It is based in part on:
• D7: "Gateway to Information" (Ohio State University) http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/gateway/
  Again, by indicating their subject area and the kind of information they need, users direct themselves to relevant lists of sources.
• D8: "MSOLAR System" (Michigan State University) http://www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/msolar/ms003.htm
  This is a prototype of my own: it has a question-and-answer format to mimic the reference interview, and uses forced answers to guide the user through a decision tree to shorter lists of relevant sources.  I think users are more likely to succeed following such a structure, than by browsing long lists of titles or navigating a maze of Web sites. The present version mixes print and electronic tools; some areas have not been filled in. MSOLAR (Michigan State On-Line Assistant for Reference) is the descendant of SCHOLAR (Swarthmore College Hypertext On-Line Assistant for Reference), which had a much better acronym.

Page created 4 April 1997; revised 20 January 1998; last modified 27 July 2004 to fix broken URLs where possible (some present sites are only similar to those online in 1997).

Page editor: Steven Sowards, MSU Libraries.

URL = http://www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/staff/readyref/webref.htm