Web Wanderings

by Ana Arias Terry

Welcome to the first edition of the Web Wanderings department. The purpose of this Web review service is to help educate our readers and subscribers on the pluses and the minuses of relevant Web sites.

URLs reviewed will range in scope from academic to commercial and cover features from content quality and Web design characteristics (i.e., purpose; appearance; ease of use; use of technology, etc.) to usefulness.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) sports a simple but attractive presentation. The response time is quite good. The navigational tools are useful and the information presented is sound. The purpose of the site is clearly outlined, and the information presented backs this claim. Through a well organized content listing, the reader is able to see exactly what one can expect to find. At no time does the reader forget what URL is being visited, as the Institute's logo and name are featured on every page.

Training the Library Staff to Adapt to the Internet Environment. The title of this paper says it all. Librarian Yan Lei of Zhongshan University from the People's Republic of China shares a no-frills article on ways to help librarians make a transition to the world of the Internet. Included are links to other sites where librarians can go to improve upon their Netizen skills. What this URL lacks in design dazzle it more than makes up for in content.

Journal Subscription Price Increases at SIO Library. For readers looking to do a little comparison analysis between their own organization's experience with journal price increases and those of another library, this site will provide a good stopping point. Library Director Peter Brueggeman, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library, presents the background and details of his institution's dilemma in the battle of high journal price increases and flat budgets. While it is mostly a text-heavy site, Brueggeman makes wise use of a Web capability that expands information in a separate window at the click of a button. This reduces the level of visual clutter. A few links are included along the way, and print and electronic subscription issues are also raised.

Earth Interactions Home Page. A joint publishing effort by the American Geophysical Union, the Association of American Geographers, and the American Meteorological Society, Earth Interactions is an e-journal on earth system sciences that reportedly allows authors to use animation and a series of visualization techniques.

The journal's home page is attractive in design and presentation with its logo, watermark and button graphics. Response time is on the slow side. While some portions of the Table of Contents are still under construction, the listing is easy to follow. The "Subscribe" item, however, did not contain any specifics on pricing at this point, even though it allows the reader to submit a subscription request via email or via a faxable text version of the form. The overall date of last update on the title page was 31 October 1996, which gives the reader the impression that the site has received no updates since then.

Substantial information on the journal's capabilities is provided under the "Information" ToC item. However, it would be helpful if the journal's home page was updated with subscription details under the item expected to carry this information or the feature was disabled and labeled so.

Copyright & Fair Use: Stanford University Libraries. Because of the high value of the information presented in this site, the plain aesthetics of its Web design do not detract from its effectiveness. By using Excite's search engine, readers are given the opportunity to search for information on copyright and fair use issues. The site is comprised mainly of links to sources such as recent court decisions (e.g., Princeton University Press vs. Michigan Document Services), primary reference sources, other useful Net sources, and copyright law overview.

If you'd like to submit your Web site for consideration, or have come across ones that you have found particularly helpful, interesting or innovative, feel free to email your suggestion to the reviewer.

IP News Fall 1996 Table of Contents

IP News Title Page