ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Online resources for Internet trainers

By Nancy J. Weissinger and John P. Edwards Nancy J. Weissinger is electronic information resources librarian, and John P. Edwards is manager, Library Network Services, at the Milbank Memorial Library, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York; email: Weissinger: njw4@columbia.edu and Edwards: jpe9@columbia.edu

As the Internet and its wealth of resources proliferate, academic librarians continue to be confronted with the challenge of training staff and users. The new or inexperienced trainer may find the charge to conduct Internet training somewhat daunting. However, many resources are available both in print and electronically. This bibliography is a selective list of some of the training materials available over the Internet itself. Since the Internet is everchanging, additional sources frequently become available and existing sources are often modified, moved, or deleted.

It should be noted that the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) and ACRL’s Instruction Section (ACRL-IS) are currently attempting to locate a site to house a virtual collection of Internet user education and training materials. This should provide a much needed and useful mechanism for identifying and providing access to Internet training materials.

Course materials

This section includes a variety of course materials that may be helpful in planning and conducting local Internet training sessions or programs. It includes syllabi and course outlines, as well as general and subject-oriented handouts that have been used in academic settings.

• Columbia University Libraries Internet Training Program Notebook.Course materials from Columbia’s comprehensive, semester-long Internet training program designed to teach librarians skills for using the Internet. Access: ftp://ftp.cc.columbia.edu/pub/cul/itp. (Note: All files are Macintosh Word format. Use binhex 4 to de-binhex, then each file is a Mac self-expanding archive.)

• Conducting User-friendly Internet Workshops.Based on Urban A. Lejeune’s programs for Stockton State College, this guide includes suggested formats for Internet training sessions and workshops. Access: ftp:// pilot.njin.net/pub/Internet-course/userworkshops.txt. Also available at this site are documents on the emacs editor: emacsleaming.txt and using-emacs.txt.

• George Washington University Internet Workshops.Designed by Scott Stebelman, these are detailed guides to the Internet for social sciences and humanities faculty. Access: ftp://gwuvm.gwu.edu. (Note: These files can be transferred without changing the directory. They are BINARY WordPerfect files, not plain ASCII text.); bitwork.fac (“Electronic Communication on the UNIX”); gwis.hum (“Humanities Databases and Resources on the GWIS”); intemet.ss (“Advanced INTERNET Functions: A Guide for Social Scientists”); gwis.ss (“Social Science Databases and Resources on GWIS”).

• Internet: Resource Discovery, Organization, and Design.Syllabus (fall 1994) for the University of Michigan SILS course. Student assignments for this course are the foundation of the Clearinghouse for Subject-Oriented Internet Resource Guides. Access: http:// http2.sils.umich.edu/~lou/60694. html.

• Internet Web Text.Created by John December as the required Internet “text” for a course in computer-mediated communication at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Includes links to information about Internet orientation, guides, reference materials, and tools. Access: http://www.rpi.edu/Internet/Guides/decemj/ text.html. Also: The syllabus for the course is available: http://www.rpi.edu/Internet/Guides/ decemj/course/cmc.html.

• Introduction to the Internet.Developed by University of Michigan SILS students, this Web page provides an overview of the major tools of the Internet, including tutorials and links to general and Internet reference sources. Access: http://www.sils.umich.edu/ ~fρrefect/inet/.

• Network Training Materials Gopher.This initiative of the Network Training Materials Project ( a joint project of Mailbase and the Information Technology Initiative), based at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, provides access to a range of network training materials. Includes a useful bibliography, tms-list.txt. Access: gopher://mailbase.ac.uk:7070/ll/. Note: As we go to press, there are plans to move this to: http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/.

• University of Texas at Austin General Libraries Internet Handouts.Topics include ftp, gopher, file compression programs, Internet for Mac and PC users, and others. Access: http://rowan.lib.utexas.edu/Pubs/ InternetHandouts/InternetGuides.html.

Online courses and tutorials

Several online courses and tutorials have been developed and made available on the Internet. In addition to their usefulness as models, these courses provide structured support for the independent explorer and an opportunity for follow-up practice after formal instruction.

• Electronic Mail Using Pine.An interactive course in using the Pine e-mail program designed by Ken Hensarling at Honolulu Community College. Access: http://kawika.hcc. hawaii.edu/issl01/pine/pmast.html.

• “Explore the Internet Now!”Users are invited to “start your Internet journey here by exploring concepts and techniques” in a course developed by Mansfield University reference librarian Larry Schankman. Topics include e-mail, listservs, Usenet news, ftp, telnet, gopher/veronica, www searching, and moral and ethical issues. Access: http://www.clark.net/ pub/lschank/explore/explore.html.

• Internet Explorer’s Toolkit.A self-contained hypertext system about using the Internet. Access: ftp://hydra.uwo.ca/libsoft/ explorer.zip. Note: Several other goodies for librarians are in the libsoft directory including: network_knowledge_for_the_neophyte.txt.

• The Internet Hunt.Developed by Rick Gates, this monthly series of questions is useful for developing and practicing Internet search skills. Previous hunts and answers are archived. Access: http://www.hunt.org/.

• Internet Public Library.Developed by the students of the SILS at the University of Michigan, the Internet Public Library contains introductory tutorials covering computer and Internet topics, as well as tools and resources. Access: http://ipl.sils.umich.edu/classroom/ userdocs/userdocs .html.

• Internet Searching: A Carleton Tutorial.A hypertext introduction to Web searching tools maintained by Reuven Steinberg of Carleton College. Includes Webcrawler, Info Seek, and Lycos. Access: http://www.carleton. edu/campus/library/studentworkers/tutorial/ intro.html.

• Introduction to the Internet II.The Global Network Academy, a nonprofit corporation having the long-term goal of creating a fully accredited online university, offers this online course about how to use the Internet. Some of the course material is a hypertext version of what was formerly the “Big Dummy’s Guide to the Internet.” The course features consultants with office hours. Access: http://uugna. mi t.e du: 8001/uu-gna/t ext/internet/ index.html.

• Let’s Go Gophering.This classic online course first offered on a listserv is, naturally, available on a gopher. It is indexed by the listserv at SUNY-Buffalo. Access: gopher:// cwis.usc.edu:70/1 l/Other_Goρhers_and_ Information_Resources/Gopherin. To obtain specific sessions, send mail to listserv@ ubvm.buffalo.edu with the command: “index gophern” in the body of the message. Find the session you want, and send the command: “get gophern 93-XXXXX”.

• Navigating the Internet: An Interactive Workshop.This classic introductory course was designed by Richard J. Smith in November 1992. The files in the training directory represent a sequential course. Topics include finger, hytelnet, ‚mailrc file, ftp. Access: ftp ://ftp.sura.net/pub/nic/training/.

• Patrick Crispen’s Internet Roadmap.Neil Enns’s HTML version of the self-paced workshop developed by Patrick Crispen of the University of Alabama. Lessons are designed for new users. Includes guest lectures, homework, and quizzes. Access: http://www. BrandonU.ca/–ennsnr/Resources/Roadmap/ Welcome.html.

Guides

Numerous guides to the Internet and its resources are available in print and on the Internet itself. Trainers may find the following selections useful as reference sources when developing their programs.

• Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).FAQ compilations for many of the Usenet newsgroups, including news, newusers. Access: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/ usenet/news.answers/. Individual files include: emily-postnews (a sarcastic stab at explaining “netiquette”), intemet-services, gopher-faq, internet-access. Subdirectories include: wais-faq, what-is-usenet, www.

• Bulletin Board for Libraries.Designed for library and information science professionals, this page provides information on network resources and services and training materials. Access: http://www.bubl.bath.ac.uk/BUBL/ home.html.

• EFF’s Guide to the Internet.Formerly Big Dummy’s Guide to the Internet, prepared by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Access: ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide; netguide.eff; netguide.faq.

• ILT Guide to Information about the Internet.The Institute for Learning Technologies at Teachers College, Columbia University, has compiled a useful entry point with links to resources on the Internet, indexes on the Internet, and the Woild Wide Web. Access: http:// www.ilt.columbia.edu/gen/ref/ILTguide. html#toρ.

• Internet Resources on the Web.Developed by Neil Enns at Brandon University, this page includes links to numerous resources, including Internet guides and resource lists; ftp archives; gopher sites; Usenet newsgroups; mailing lists; drafts, RFCs, and FAQs; Internet course descriptions and examples; collected search engines; and other resources. Access: http://www.brandonu.ca/~ennsur/Resources/ Welcome.html.

• Internet Timeline.A timeline of the development of the Internet through 1994 compiled by Robert H. Zakon. Includes some growth statistics. Access: http://www.umd. umich.edu:80/~nhughes/htmldocs/.

• Introduction to BITNET.A first look at this venerable network. Access: e-mail to: listserv@bitnic.educom.edu with SEND BITNET INTRO in the body of the message.

• Introduction to Internet for Trainers.Based on EFF’s (Extended) Guide to the Internet. Includes e-mail, telnet, gophers, veronica, archie, ftp, www, and search engines. Access: http://www. magi .com/~aim/ train. html.

• Learning/Charm Net Inc.This hypertext guide includes books, tutorials, and hint sheets related to the Internet. Access: http:// www.charm.net/learning.html.

• Newbie’s New (and Old) User’s Guide to the Net.Created by Steve Franklin, this guide includes links to Internet documents and services, as well as to UNIX and programming guides. Access: http://ug.cs.dal.ca:3400/ newbie.html.

• The Online World Resources Handbook.This guide by Odd de Presno “. . . deals with the practical sides of using the GLOBAL online information resources as seen from an international perspective.” Available in different formats, the Handbook is not just about the Internet, but also covers BBSs, conferencing systems, and online databases. Access: http:// login, eunet. no/~presno/index, html.

• SURAnet Guide to Selected Internet Resources.A guide to a variety of Internet resources. A complete description of the available files and directories is included in the 00-README.FIRST file. Access: ftp://ftp.sura.net/ pub/nic/infoguide. ‹month›-‹year›.

The “WEB about the WEB”

Over the past year, the explosive expansion of the World Wide Web has considerably altered the terrain of the Internet. Web browsing software has alleviated some pressure on librarians to learn and teach a full complement of Internet tools, but we are now being asked to become Web publishers. Fortunately, there are many learning tools available to help us get up to speed with the Web and Hyper Text MarkUp Language.

• About the World Wide Web FAQ.The World Wide Web Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is intended to answer the most common questions about the WEB.” Maintained by Thomas Boutell and mirrored on several sites around the world. Access: http://sunsite.unc. edu/boutell/faq/about.html.

• Bare Bones Guide to HTML.A fourpage guide to HTML tags that includes compatibility (HTML 2.0, 3.0, or Netscape) information for all the listed tags. Access: http://www. access, digex. net/-werbach/barebone .html.

• A Beginner’s Guide to HTML.A good hypertext introduction to the foundations of HTML. Access: http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/demo web/html-primer.html and to URLs: http:// www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/demoweb/url-primer.html.

• Entering the World Wide Web: A Guide to Cyberspace.Kevin Hughes’s guide to the Web includes links describing the Web and how it works. Includes statistics on Web usage. Access: http://www.eit.com/web/ www.guide/.

• Running a WWW Service.A handbook by Brian Kelly of the University of Leeds. Access: http://scholar2.lib.vt.edu/handbook/ handbook.html.

• University of Toronto Instructional and Research Computing Group World Wide Web home page.This contains hyperlinks to locally stored and maintained information about HyperText Mark-Up Language (HTML) style and editors, HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP), HTTP servers, and a hypertext version of the compilation of answers to WWW Frequently Asked Questions (WWW FAQs). Access: http://www.utirc.utoronto.ca/.

• Web Projects—Clarkson Technical Communications.Includes a selection of learning materials about WWW, Mosaic, and HTML. Access: http://fire.clarkson.edu/edu/tc/ tcpage.html.

• World Wide Web Home.This “web about the web,” maintained by the W3 Consortium, provides pointers to many useful web sources, including “The definitive WWW project page.” The W3 Consortium exists to develop common standards for the evolution of the World Wide Web. Access: http://www.w3.org/.

• WWW & HTML Developer’s JumpStation.Maintained by the SingNet WWW Team, this page includes pointers to useful information about being a WWW information provider. Access: http://oneworld.wa.com/htmldev/ devpage/dev-page. html.

Subject guides

The following selections provide a degree of subject access to the Internet’s resources and may be helpful in identifying resources of interest to specific disciplines and/or audiences.

• The Awesome Lists.Developed by John Makulowich. Access: http://www.clark.net/pub/ journalism/awesome.html.

• Clearinghouse for Subject-Oriented Internet Resource Guides. A joint effort of the University of Michigan’s University. Library and SILS. Includes numerous subject guides to the Internet. Access: http://www.lib.umich.edu/ chhome.html.

• EINET Galaxy. This extensive subject guide provides access to worldwide information and services. Categories include: arts and humanities; business and commerce; community; engineering and technology; government and law; leisure and recreation; medicine; reference and interdisciplinary information; science and the social sciences. Access: http:// galaxy.einet.net/.

• Global Network Navigator’s Whole Internet Catalog. Based on the Whole Internet User’s Guide and Catalog, this collection provides links to some of the best resources on the Internet through “easy-to-surf” subject areas. Access: http://www.gnn.com/wic/ newrescat.toc.html.

• The Internet Sleuth. Allows keyword searching as well as browsing through alphabetical and subject categories. Access: http:// www.intbc.com/sleuth/.

• MIDnet Gopher Jewels. MIDnet provides a Web view of USC’s Gopher-Jewels gopher. Includes subject and alpha listings as well as options to search by title, path name, directory structure, hostname, or by multi-fields. Access: http://www.mid.net/GJEWEL.

• Scholarly Societies Project. This University of Waterloo project is designed to facilitate access to information about the scholarly societies across the world. Includes web pages, gophers, subject guides, and other selected resources from scholarly societies. Access: http:/ /www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/society/overview.html.

• Scott Yanoffs Special Internet Connections. Provides subject access to Internet resources via broad categories. Access: http:// www.uwm.edu/Mirror/inet.services.html.

• Yahoo. A comprehensive Internet directory by subject. Net cognoscenti surf here first. Access: http://www.yahoo.com/.

Newsgroups and listservs

Newsgroups and listservs are useful vehicles for discovering and sharing information about the Internet itself, as well as issues related to Internet user education. The following list includes several groups that may be of particular interest to trainers and an entry for the ARL Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters, and Academic Discussion Lists. Many of the listserv lists are mirrored as Usenet newsgroups.

• BI-L.The bibliographic instruction listserv list. Access: e-mail to: listserv@bingvmb. cc.binghamton.edu with subscribe bi-1 in the body of the message.

• Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters, and Academic Discussion Lists, 5th Edition, May 1995 (gopher edition).Although this is an abridged version of the ARL publication, it includes information on approximately 2,500 discussion lists. Access: gopher://arl.cni.org:70/ll/scomm/edir.

• NET-HAPPENINGS.This list distributes announcements of interest to Internet users, including information about upcoming Internet events. Access: e-mail to MAJORDOMO@IS. INTERNIC.NET with subscribe net-happenings in the body of the message.

• NETTRAIN.A listserv mailing list for people interested in network training issues. Access: e-mail to: listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo. edu with subscribe nettrain in the body of the message.

• Archives NETTRAIN.The archives of NETTRAIN are available and searchable by author, title, and subject using BRS/OnSite. Boolean searching is supported and a tutorial covers search techniques and document downloading. Access: telnet://a.cni.org/; login: brsuser. ■