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CLICKING ON THE WEB ...Responding to the World Wide Web's growing popularity as a reference tool, libraries are trying to organize its amorphous, ever-expanding mass for research through the creation of ready-reference web pages with links to metasites, compilations of hundreds, even thousands, of resources. These sites, created by individuals representing organizations, libraries, and commercial interests, provide librarians at the reference desk with direction and instant access to data.
In the selection process, therefore, librarians must remember to apply similar standards of evaluation to the larger portals that they use for individual ones. However, currency and accuracy depend on each provider, and thus quality and quantity of information vary greatly. Reviewed below are three reliable sites for librarians, as well as for students and researchers, and a selection of alternate sites, by no means inclusive.

THE INTERNET PUBLIC LIBRARY READY REFERENCE COLLECTION
http://www.ipl.org/ref/RR/
Date Visited: 10/4/99
Developer/Provider: The Internet Public Library
IPL, the first public library of and for the Internet community, offers a searchable ready-reference collection linked to a more comprehensive reference page. The uncluttered, single-column gateway furnishes sentence annotations and links to some six to 20 subdivisions connecting to approximately ten to 30 annotated resources. Unlike Refdesk.com (below), the collection is not intended to be exhaustive but instead aims for quality. Still, it remains quite extensive.
The ten broad content categories (Reference; Arts & Humanities; Business & Economics; Computers & Internet; Education; Entertainment & Leisure; Health & Medical Sciences; Law, Government & Political Science; Sciences & Technology; and Social Sciences) follow a sensible, intuitive pattern similar to traditional library classification. General sources such as almanacs, encyclopedias, and biographies are included as subdivisions of Reference, and specialized reference works are arranged by subject rather than by type, a much easier and more convenient method of organization.
Clicking on a category or subdivision leads to an alphabetical arrangement of reliable sites with titles, URLs, short annotated descriptions, authors, keywords, and subject headings. For example, choosing the topic Business & Industry, under the section Business & Economics, connects to sites including CompaniesOnline, FreeEdgar, and Fortune 500. Moreover, hypertext subject headings below each entry allow links to other works.
The homepage offers both a browse option by title and a search engine with Boolean capability that help limit the number of clicks needed. The search engine and a link to the homepage reappear conveniently on each page.
Bottom Line: Though more limited in scope than some rivals, the IPL collection offers quality resources handpicked by experienced librarians, simplicity of layout and organization, hierarchical arrangement, excellent annotations, and advertising-free design for quick, efficient searching.

REFDESK.COM
http://www.refdesk.com
Date Visited: 10/5/99
Developer/Provider: Bob Drudge
The cluttered Refdesk.com (formerly My Virtual Reference Desk) connects to a wealth of data, including an array of entertainment, consumer, and general-interest information, as well to ready-reference databases. However, three databases, available from links halfway down at right on the homepage, are most relevant to ready reference.
Fast Facts 1999--one long scrol-lable page--consists of some 375 sources organized in 21 categories by type of work. Quick Reference/Research contains 300 sites listed by title, some with brief annotations. More complete, and thus most appropriate for ready reference, My Facts Page arranges 2000 sites, some by type of work and others by subject, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, government, law, and science. The 24 broad categories lead to a single-column list, again with minimal annotations.
Created in 1995 by the son of a librarian and father of Matt Drudge of Drudge Report fame, the site reflects the ephemeral and evolving nature of the web. It continues to undergo redesign and, unfortunately, has a sponsor with advertising, which slows the loading process. For those who prefer the former design, a link to the original homepage can be found at left on the opening screen.
Those wishing an overview of the site should click on the site map or table of contents at the left. A search engine and a header subject index to ready-reference databases reappear on every subsequent page. Other worthy sections of the site include Facts Encyclopedia, 7500 sources in 73 subjects available from the right-hand side of the homepage, and Research Facts, an A-Z list of some 130 useful sites accessible from the left.
Bottom Line: This overstuffed site provides one-stop shopping for all things Internet but demands persistence because of the slow loading, confusing design, minimal annotations, and information overload. Still, experienced users should appreciate the range of resources, both academic and commercial.

STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION LIBRARY RESOURCES LIST --REFERENCE RESOURCE
http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlcl/pld/ref_res.html
Date Visited: 10/4/99
Developer/Provider: Bob Bocher,
Library Technology Consultant
The quick-loading gateway, a subdivision of Wisconsin's larger Library Resources List, offers a clear, well-organized homepage, free of advertising and graphics, easily accessible to novices. Click on or scroll down from eight content categories to a list of 140 authoritative resources, briefly but thoughtfully annotated. While the collection aims at all audiences, it seeks reliability, not comprehensiveness.
Users will locate an interesting, unusual combination of sources in a less academic, broader categorization of topics than IPL: Portals--Popular & Library; Finding People & Places; Political Sites; Business & Finance; Entertainment, Sports, Recreation; Virtual Publications; Law & Medical; and The Latest News. For example, under Finding People & Places, links to directories and databases providing an uncommon mix of location, biographical, geographical, statistical, and genealogical data may be found. Under the category Portals--Popular & Library, both popular and academic sites supply resources. Under Law & Medical, a unique grouping of two subjects, and under Business & Finance researchers will recognize an array of well-known resources, including Hoover's Online, SEC Edgar, REF-LAW, and MEDLINE. Under Virtual Publications, scholarly journals and texts of all types, such as Project Gutenberg, are obtainable.
Key navigational links are well marked; the homepage index conveniently reappears at the top of every page. Unfortunately, the site lacks a search engine.
Bottom Line: The work of a library technology consultant, this portal displays his expertise well with the clarity and usefulness of its design and organization despite one obvious flaw, the lack of a search engine.

ALTERNATE SITES
* Best Information on the Net (BIOTN) Reference Desk http://www.sau.edu/Internet/Wild/Refdesk/refindex.htm
* Quick Reference--UT Library Online http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Reference.html
* THOR--The Online Resource The Virtual Reference Desk http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu/reference/index.html
* UCSD Libraries Reference Shelf http://sshl.ucsd.edu/refshelf
Several advertising-free sites are created and maintained by academic librarians and geared to scholarly needs. Because they originate from educational institutions, some resources may be restricted by license. In general, search capability is not provided. BIOTN, founded by librarian Marylaine Block at St. Ambrose University and maintained by librarians there, furnishes a highly selective compilation of annotated sources with a preference shown to full-text. The 18 headings are geared to students, e.g., Help?; Where Is it?; Who Is It?; or When Did It? For academics, UT Library Online from the University of Texas at Austin presents a good list of minimally annotated links organized by both subject and title. The narrow column list can be hard to read. THOR, a searchable gateway from Purdue University Libraries, offers nine annotated categories arranged by type of work, with a limited number of general sources. The well-designed, accessible UCSD Libraries Reference Shelf targets basic reference with barely annotated resources listed in 18 categories.
* BUBL LINK/5:15 Catalogue of Selected Internet Resources--General Reference http://bubl.ac.uk/link/types.html
* Indiana University at Bloomington Libraries Internet Quick Reference http://www.indiana.edu/ librcsd/internet
* InfoSurf Reference Sources http://www.library.ucsb.edu/subj/referenc.html
* Martindale's The Reference Desk http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/ martindale/Ref.html
Four other academic institutional sites show specific strengths. BUBL (Bulletin Board for Libraries), a UK national information service based at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, furnishes a searchable, annotated reference collection with British flavor, arranged by subject, Dewey Decimal Classification, country, and type of work. Among 21 categories at Indiana University at Bloomington Libraries Internet Quick Reference are industry and manufacturing, health and medicine, and art and other sciences. The resources are well chosen, and the site is searchable. A link allowing reorganization in category outline form, similar to a table of contents, is a useful feature. The University of California, Santa Barbara's InfoSurf Reference Sources includes selected reference works in many areas, such as business, education, language and literature, and even religion. The site is well annotated but not searchable. Martindale's The Reference Desk, hosted by the University of California, Irvine, provides a vast collection that is particularly strong in science, medicine, weather, and Internet resources.
* Digital Librarian: A Librarian's Choice of the Best of the Web Reference http://www.servtech.com/ mvail/reference.html
* Librarians' Index to the Internet http://www.lii.org
* MEL--The Michigan Electronic Library Reference Desk http://mel.lib.mi.us/reference/REF-index.html
These nonacademic sites are aimed at the general public. While basically an alphabetical title list, Digital Librarian features excellent annotations that group similar hyperlinked resources in the same paragraph. At Librarians' Index to the Internet, links point to an extensive collection with thoughtful annotations, search capability, subject hyperlinks, and hierarchical organization. Specialized reference sources may be found under the various subject headings. A collaboration between the Library of Michigan and the University of Michigan Library, MEL's Reference Desk takes a particularly broad view of reference, with common interest fields such as astrology, parenting, bank and mortgage rates, and antiques. The homepage, a long, two-column, annotated A-Z subject index, reflects this breadth.
ADDED MATERIAL
Marilyn Rosenthal (rosentm@sunynassau.edu) is Associate Professor, Reference Librarian, and Head of Interlibrary Loan, Nassau Community College Library, Garden City, NY