The Library and Information Professional's Guide to the Internet

Although many books on the Internet are available, this one concentrates on aspects relevant to library and information professionals. For those wishing to participate in the professional communication taking place on the Net, it takes the mystique out of networking and provides a manageable guide to what is on offer. Set out clearly and concisely, it should help users find their way into and about the Internet from a library and information perspective. The third edition has been comprehensively revised to keep up with rapid change in this area, including advances in technology for: connecting to the Internet; free e-mail services; dealing with viruses; real-time services such as video conferencing; Java, multimedia plug-ins; web-cams; portals; online shopping; meta search engines; and metadata. The selective and updated resource guide section provides evaluative guidance and advice on how to locate and retrieve key resources that clients and customers might need. The resource guide is regularly updated and available on the Web, providing ongoing support for the book.
Materials covered in the resource guide include: discussion lists and electronic conferences; electronic journals, newsletters and alerting services; general reference works; software; networking guides and training materials; information servers and gateways including bulletin boards, gophers and world wide web sites; subject listing and indexing services; and OPACs and library-based information servers. This guide is designed to be of use to all students and practitioners of library and information services. It serves as both a training tool and a desk book. It assumes no prior knowledge, but goes beyond the basics to offer advanced techniques for getting the best out of the Internet.