PBS Online, the Public Broadcasting Service’s Internet site, is designed to help television viewers make the most of what public television has to offer.
The site, located at http://www.pbs.org, provides information about popular television shows from Sesame Street to NOVA. Internet searchers hoping to find out more about their favorite PBS celebrities will not be disappointed. PBS Online provides biographies of everyone from Mr Rogers to the detectives showcased in Mystery. Schedules of some PBS series are also offered here.
Special programs and series are highlighted. Those doing research on a topic covered by a show or series may find some of the information they need on PBS Online. A feature of the “History” section may capture everyone’s imagination. It encourages browsers to see what happened on any day in history.
Other categories include: the “Online News Hour,” “News & Views,” “Kids,” Adult Learning,” “Science,” “Technology,” “Arts,” “TeacherSource,” and “shopPBS,” where avid viewers may purchase videocassette copies of their favorite programs. The “Kids” section provides games and information for young viewers. The “Online NewsHour” and “News & Views” sections contain transcripts of a variety of news programs. A “TeacherSource” section offers tips for educators seeking to integrate PBS programs into their study plans.
PBS Online also offers more general information about the Public Broadcasting Service: company news, an annual report, and links to related sites. It encourages visitors to find out more about their local public broadcasting affiliates. Another feature offers screen savers and link icons for visitors’ home pages. The site invites viewers to send in comments and questions, asking them to read the Frequently Asked Questions page before sending in queries.
A detailed site index will help most people find what they need. The additional basic search mechanism works fairly well. Searchers type in terms separated by commas. The multimedia search, which is supposed to search for pictures, audio clips, and video clips, as well as text, would be wonderful if it worked, especially since it allows for Boolean, truncation, and proximity searching. The server offering this feature, however, was not accessible at the time of this review. All of the other links on the site appear to be in working order.
My other major concern with this site is how many of its features use an audio program which must be downloaded from another page, http://www.real.com The most advanced of these programs is not free. It costs nearly $30. I could not properly load the free version onto my computer; so I missed out on the Online NewsHour’s news update broadcasts, among other offerings.
This site will prove useful to those who want to know more about PBS and what it has to offer. It will also serve educators seeking to use public television programs in their classrooms. It does have some advertising; but the ads’ content does not compete with site content in most cases. PBS Online is updated daily. I recomend it for anyone with an interest in public television.
