Need to provide Internet instruction? Need to learn about the Internet and how to search for information yourself? Do not reinvent the wheel! This site, located at http://www.lib. berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/ FindInfo.html, provides a more than adequate tutorial that progresses “from beginning information to advanced searching and beyond”.
The tutorial encompasses the substance of the free Internet workshops offered year‐round at the University of California‐Berkeley Library. The tutorial is structured so that one may follow it linearly, skip parts that are familiar, or start anywhere. On any page one may click and jump to the glossary of Internet and Netscape terms and definitions. This is a two‐part tutorial. The first part provides basic information on the Internet; no computer experience is required. The second part covers searching in detail. Both parts contain handouts used with the workshops, as well as the scripts for the presentations and practice exercises.
The objectives of the tutorials are clearly spelled out:
- 1.
provide a current, up‐to‐date remote and local learning resource for anyone interested in finding information on the WWW;
- 2.
provide a platform for beginners to the Internet, the WWW, and the Netscape browser;
- 3.
recommend and explain effective,state‐of‐the‐art search strategies applicable to any research interest.
Mr Barker, the Teaching Library Internet Instruction Program co‐ordinator at the University of California‐Berkeley Library, clearly meets these objectives in a comprehensive, straightforward, well‐maintained Web site.
- 1.
Among the specific areas covered are:
- 2.
Recommendations for a search strategy based on the topic, along with a worksheet for analyzing the topic.
- 3.
A recommended five‐step search strategy and strategies not recommended.
- 4.
Analysis of the “best” five big search engines (Google, AltaVista Advanced Search, Northern Light, Infoseek, and FastSearch) with a comparison table of features.
- 5.
Analysis of five subject directories (Librarians’ Index, Infomine, Britannica, Yahoo!, and Galaxy) with a comparison table of features.
- 6.
Detailed searching instructions for the five search engines along with sample searches.
Useful links to virtual libraries and related topic areas are provided. I did not encounter any broken links.
The page goes beyond general Web searching. Locating peers, finding people and E‐mail addresses, the international Web, and grants are additional topics added for those who have mastered general searching.
If asked to provide instruction on the Internet and searching, I will be sending my students.
