Serials in Cyberspace (http://www.uvm.edu/∼bmaclenn/) is a starting point for anyone wanting to find journal collections, resources, and services. This detailed page is organized into four distinct categories: (1) sites with electronic journal collections and services; (2) selected e‐journal titles; (3) associations, societies, organizations, and programs; and (4) other useful sources, not e‐journal specific. Each category lists various links to specific organizations or electronic publications. At first glance, this page looks like something useful only to those in the academic world; but, on a closer look, the general public is just as likely to find this site helpful; even if the population at large may not enjoy reading about the latest modifications to the MARC format, they definitely will be pleased to be able to find information on French fashion or current events of a particular city. The display of the page is basic in format, dark blue on light blue. It has a minimum of graphics which enables efficiency in navigation. Although there weren’t too many dead ends from the main home page to impede navigation, there were a number of them emanating from the links — enough to make one frustrated at times.
The web site for the Association of Research Libraries (http://arl.cni.org/) provides an overview of this academic organization. The purpose of this association, which is to “shap[e] and influenc[e’] forces affecting the future of research libraries in the process of scholarly communication,” is carried out by its functions. The ARL web page provides informational links to its member libraries: ARL career resources; information, collection development, and diversity policies; ARL statistics; and its publications. The electronic publications are numerous. They cover several universities’ collections and projects, ranging from those of Boston College Library to Johns Hopkins University Press.
Les Journaux sur le Web (http://www.webdo.ch/webactu/webactu_presse.html), of Swiss origin, includes links to periodicals all around the world. This page lists titles that correspond to those in print media as well as other formats such as radio and television programs. One of the links I looked at was the site for Webdo: Swiss News On‐line, originating from Lausanne (wysiwyg://15/http://www.webdo.ch/). Webdo includes in its sections of interest politics and current events, sports, business, culture, and food. The main home page as well as the page for Webdo are appealing to the eye, using color, font size, and space very effectively. Unlike some other web pages, this one does not overwhelm the eye.
The MIT Libraries home page (http://nimrod.mit.edu/) is what one would expect of any library’s page. It has links to its online catalog, library services, administration, reference tools, databases, branch libraries, and electronic journals. The electronic journals that one can access from this site cover architecture and design, the social sciences, environmental studies, science and technology, and the arts. One can go so far as to see the table of contents of each journal title. In order to read specific articles, authorization is required. I found the search engine difficult to employ. While browsing the journal titles, I came across the site for Postmodern Culture, which links to Project MUSE.
Project MUSE (http://muse.jhu.edu/) is a compilation of links that lead to humanistic journal web sites, especially those of literature and culture. It originates from Johns Hopkins University Press. Currently, the database holds about 30 titles. The search engine for this site is very easy to use. It allows for the standard Boolean capacities. Though the search itself takes a while, it is not an unreasonable wait.
The American Library Association’s web page (http://www.ala.org/) includes information about the organization’s news, events, advocacy work, education, job market, membership, publications, and general organization information. ALA has many periodicals that are in electronic form as well as in print (http://www.ala.org/work/pubs_home.html). Among them are American Libraries, Booklist, Choice, Library Administration and Management, and Public Libraries. The online form of American Libraries (wysiwyg://61/http://www.ala.org/alo/index.html) generally corresponds with the print version. The only major difference is that the electronic companion abridges the original in its departments section. The departments that are missing are the Reader Forum, Editorial, Technically Speaking, Currents, Librarian’s Library, Datebook, and Career Leads. Also missing are advertisements, and therefore no Advertiser Index. The Career Leads department is understandably not included in AL since there is a separate link to the job market from the ALA home page. The Reader Forum and Editorial departments are probably omitted because of their subjective nature. The rest of the departments not included are probably left out since the information can be arrived at through other links from the home page.
On the Serials in Cyberspace home page, in addition to the resources for electronic publications, there is one final link to miscellaneous sources, unrelated to serials. I fail to see the relevance of putting something like this onto this page. Otherwise, the content is appropriate. Most links I went to were updated in 1997 or late 1996. Although this site is geared toward the academic world, anyone will find it useful. Despite the number of navigation problems, I highly recommend this site.
