The Southern Media Resources Website (the University of Alabama)

Describes a project at the University of Alabama conceived by the bibliographer for the College of Communication as a virtual center for Southern media in which scholars from various disciplines can engage in research in communication scholarship. Details the evolution of the idea from a grant idea for a physical facility to a cyber site for regional studies. Reports on the process a School of Library and Information Studies teaching assistant used in evaluating and compiling links in relation to a detailed outline of the communication field supplied by the bibliographer. Offers insights into online collection development (principles which guide selection and implications for Internet sources used to expand library horizons) as well as major considerations for design and construction of a useful Webpage for researchers. Theory and practice are combined in a new way of collection building which allows the extension of services across local, regional, national and transnational boundaries.