ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


9 2 /C & RL News

Selection criteria for 
Internet resources

By R achel Cassel

Trial usage can enhance selection 
policies and procedures

F aced with the ever-growing richness o f re­sources on the Internet, Binghamton Uni­
versity (BU) librarians realized that we needed
to provide public access to the Internet and
develop guidelines for selecting/deselecting ap­
propriate resources. In the spring o f 1993 the
libraries began providing public access through
Internet One, a locally designed system which
uses x-windows, a multiple session system run­
ning on a UNIX platform. The system integrates
several locally designed applications with free
Internet software to provide “point and click”
access to resources including CARL UncoverlI, 
th e  BU  G o p h e r S e rv e r (B U G S ), OCLC
F irstSearch, Eureka/RLIN, o th er lib ra rie s ’
OPACs, the C hron icle o f  H ig h er E du cation , and
WAIS. Multiple windows which can be open
concurrently provide ease in searching and
downloading from several resources. Internet
One is only available through selected sites on
campus; it cannot be reached remotely because
o f its dependence on x-terminal hardware.

Librarians work in conjunction with Univer­
sity Computer Center staff to suggest sources 
to mount on the library-related menu items on 
BUGS; those items are Resources by Academic 
Discipline, General Reference Works, and Other
Library Related Sources. While gopher is avail­
able on Internet One, it can also be accessed 
through personal computer accounts on sev­
eral campuswide platforms.

Guidelines were needed for selecting and 
deselecting resources from both Internet One 
and the campus gopher. A search of the litera­

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

ture revealed that although articles on the In­
ternet were growing exponentially, their focus 
is primarily on the mechanics o f navigation, 
bibliographies o f subject-specific sources, and 
some articles relating to reference concerns. As 
o f this writing, collection development issues 
relating to Internet resources have yet to be 
addressed in the literature, although some dis­
cu ssion has occu rred  on COLLDEV-l@vm. 
usc.edu (Feb. 21, 1994). The consensus on this 
discussion group seems to be that sources are 
selected, not collected, and colleagues differ 
on whether a separate Internet resource selec­
tion policy is needed. Our institution has cho­
sen to develop a distinct policy, incorporating 
criteria used to collect traditional materials, 
while recognizing the unique criteria needed 
due to the scope o f the two Internet systems 
we maintain.

Because o f the different nature of these two 
systems of public access to the Internet, selec­
tion guidelines differ for each. A working com­
mittee known as ACID (Advisory Committee 
on Internet [One] Development) was established 
to d ev elo p  the g u id elin es fo r selectio n /  
deselection and to monitor the Internet for new 
resources to consider. In addition, this com­
mittee developed procedures for trial periods 
o f fee-based sources. This article summarizes 
key points from both of these policy statements.

Selection criteria
ACID decided that the selection of electronic 
resources for placement on either Internet One 
or BUGS should adhere to the general criteria 
used to select print materials: the item supports 
the curriculum; it supports faculty research in­
terests or grants; it is useful and pertinent for 
reference service.

R a c h e l C a ssel is w o m en ’s stu d ies lib r a r ia n  a t  the B in g h a m to n  University L ibraries, B in g h a m to n , N ew  York; 
e-m a il: rca ssel@ bin g s u n s.cc.b in g h a m to n .ed u

mailto:rcassel@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu


F eb ru a ry  1 9 9 5 / 9 3

The following criteria are used to determin
whether an electronic resource should be adde
to Internet One. For inclusion, the item shoul
meet the general criteria above and at least som
o f the following: the source is of general inter
est and utility; it is comprehensive in coverage
including breadth and depth; it is projected t
be heavily used by the university community
it is developed and maintained by an estab
lished authority.

For inclusion on BUGS, the item should mee
the general criteria established for all materi
als, but may not necessarily meet the broade
characteristics used to select Internet On
sources: the source is of interest to smaller num
bers of users; it is less comprehensive in cover
age but still o f utility; it has been develope
and maintained systematically but not neces
sarily by an established authority.

An item will be considered for deselectio
from either system when any of the followin
criteria are met: it is out of date; no longer o
utility; no longer meets the appropriate crite
ria; is superseded by more current information.

As long as the sources are available with
out charge, duplication will not be considere
problematic. For example, the same resourc
may be on the gopher and on Internet One, o
may be accessible through gopher or WAIS. I
is often desirable to increase visibility of a sourc
by mounting an item on Internet One in addi
tion to “burying” it in a gopher hole. Similarly,
source records that provide WAIS keyword
searching of documents on the gopher are als
loaded into WAIS on Internet One to allow mor
sophisticated searching of multiple sources.

Trial periods of fee-based sources
Fee-based sources that become available on 
free trial basis are considered for selection on
Internet One or the gopher, based on the con
nectivity specifications of the source provider.
Suggestions for items to include on either sys
tem will come from library faculty and staff,
teaching faculty, or ACID members who moni
tor the Internet for new developments. Subject
specialists are encouraged to suggest any ap
propriate items to ACID for consideration. Speci
fications for mounting the source as a trial (i.e.,
length of trial, number of simultaneous users
allowed, amount of lead time needed to estab­
lish the trial period) and for mounting the fee-
based source (i.e., what the fee would be and
how it would be determined, whether it would
be based on a specified number of users, length

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of time connected, unlimited time/number of 
users, or password/IP address based) are gath­
ered by ACID and the assistant director for sys­
tems. Certain sources may be unacceptable for 
selection at this time because of their connec­
tivity specifications and the public nature of 
Internet One and BUGS.

The committee determines which system is 
more appropriate for the trial item and recom­
mends the menu name and explanatory phrases 
that will appear. As an example, to the novice 
the term CARL UncoverII is unclear and some 
type of explanatory information may be re­
quired; on the gopher menu we have chosen 
to use “CARL UncoverlI Index to 15000 peri­
odicals.” The committee also determines the 
wording o f information to be provided on first- 
and second-level menus to make it clear to the 
users that the source is available only on a trial 
basis. Discussions are held with appropriate 
departmental faculty regarding the eventual cost 
o f the item, if selected for retention after the 
trial period, and what possible methods are 
available to cover the cost. Evaluation forms 
for monitoring user satisfaction are tailored for 
the source and mounted either as a lower-level 
window on Internet One, or as a separate docu­
ment on the gopher.

After the trial period has ended, ACID gath­
ers the following information: departmental 
faculty and librarians’ opinions on the perfor­
mance, scope, and usefulness o f the source; 
comments from completed evaluation forms; 
and usage statistics. If the trial is deemed suc­
cessful and the subject librarian would like to 
consider mounting the source, she follows the 
standard procedure for requesting an electronic 
or expensive item.

Conclusion
Free sources available on the Internet are in­
creasing and, with them, popularity and ease 
o f access, due mainly to free gopher software 
and public access systems such as Internet One. 
Also, more advanced tools are being developed, 
including Mosaic and other WWW clients. It’s 
very tempting to indiscriminately select sources 
for these systems, simply because they are avail­
able. But we must be careful to maintain qual­
ity of service to our patrons by subjecting these 
sources to similar collection development cri­
teria as we employ for nonelectronic sources. 
We must also ensure systematic evaluations of 
trial sources to determine those most appropri­
ate to provide to our patrons.



9 4 /C & R L  News