Librarians' Web Finds

Librarians are dedicated to the service of sharing information with their patrons. They are passionate about books and comfortable with "magazines, newspapers, audio and video recordings, maps, photographs, archives, databases, and the internet in general." When the internet became popular, librarians were among the first to jump on the bandwagon. They work to provide high quality and up-to-date answers to library users and those who do research online. This is why some of my favorite websites are authored by librarians.

I subscribe to Marylaine Block's weekly website review, Neat New Stuff on the Net. Marylaine, a librarian, spends about four hours each week searching through new websites to find the gems. She picks sites that serve a wide audience..."children, men, dog-lovers, businessmen, stay-at-home moms, people of other cultures and religions." She finds this one of the most enjoyable acts of public service she has ever done. You can go directly to her website, Neat New Stuff..., or subscribe to the email version.

I also subscribe to El Dorado County Library's website guide, What's Hot on the Internet This Week. This newsletter describes a good variety of sites and I usually find at least a couple to bookmark for future investigation. I'm searching high and low for the "subscribe to" form for your convenience, but I haven't found it. You can go directly to the website and maybe you'll have more luck than I. Don't miss the "Hot List" archive. It includes links to four months worth of pages.

For more "websites you can trust", head on over to the Librarian's Internet Index. Every Thursday morning they send out their free newsletter, New This Week. It features carefully selected websites which are described and organized by a team of librarians. The main index has over 20,000 entries, organized into 14 main topics and nearly 300 related topics. You can subscribe to the newsletter via email or RSS. Or you can read it on the web.

"Librarians are not just good at internet searching because we understand how to play word games. We're good because we know where we need to go and the quickest routes for getting there; we are equipped not just with compasses, but with mental maps of the information landscape." Marylaine Block