ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C & R L N e w s ■ M a y 2 0 0 0 / 4 2 5 I n t e r n e t R e v i e w s Sara Amato, editor The Institute for Global Communica tions. Access: h tt p :/ / w w w .ig c .o r g . T h e In s titu te f o r G l o b a l C o m m u n i c a tion s: C o n n e c t i n g P e o p l e W h o A r e C h a n g in g th e W o r l d is a n o n g o v e r n m e n t a l o r g a n iz a tio n that w it h s e v e r a l p a rtn ers has b e e n th e p r im a r y in fo r m a t i o n a n d c o m m u n i c a tio n s s e r v ic e p r o v i d e r at s e v e r a l U .N . w o r l d c o n f e r e n c e s . It m a n a g e s f o u r i n f o r m a t i o n n e t w o r k s f o r n o n p r o f i t a c t i v i s t o r g a n i z a t i o n s : P e a c e N e t , E c o N e t , W o m e n s N e t , a n d A n t i - R a c i s m N e t . E a c h o f t h e s e n e t w o r k s o f f e r s h e a d l i n e s o f b r e a k i n g n e w s in th e f ie l d as w e l l a s “ a c t i o n a l e r t s ” f o r p e o p l e w h o w a n t t o b e i n v o l v e d . T h e s ite c o n ta in s c h a t r o o m s , e v e n t c a l e n d a r s , a n d a d v o c a c y tip s o f in te r e s t p r im a r ily to th e s i t e ’s a c tiv is t a u d ie n c e , b u t t h e r e a re s o m e fe a tu r e s that w i l l b e u s e fu l to lib r a r y p a tron s. O n e o f th ese fea tu res is the s ite ’s su bject d ire c to ry o f m e m b e r W e b sites re la ted to a c tivism a n d a d v o c a c y , m a n y o f w h ic h are n ot listed in sim ilar d irecto ries, such as Y a h o o a n d A b o u t.c o m . T h e s e m e m b e r s ra n g e fr o m o rg a n iz a tio n s to in divid u als. T h e IG C site o f fers an e x c e lle n t search e n g in e o f its m e m b e r s ’ p u b lic ly a c c e s s ib le W e b p a g e s a n d o f its o w n o n lin e d o c u m en ts. N o t a b le fu n ction s are th e ab ility to c h e c k s p e llin g o f search terms, to b r o w s e k e y w o r d lists, a n d to sele ct re la te d term s. A third fea tu re o f the site that librarians w ill w a n t to n o te is th e jo b / v o lu n te e r o p p o rtu n itie s sectio n , o f use to students lo o k in g fo r a jo b o r internship in activist fields. T h e site is u p d a te d regu la rly; the site a d m inistrators e v a lu a te activists’ n e w s s u b m is sion s a n d s e le ct n e w stories at least w e e k ly . T h is a w a r d - w in n in g site w ill b e o f use to u n d ergradu ate students research in g social issues, as lo n g as th e y are a w a r e o f the s ite ’s bias.— H e i d i S e n io r , U n iv e r s it y o f P o r t l a n d , s e n io r@ u p .e d u The World Wide Web Acronym and Abbreviation Server. Access: http:// w w w . u c c . i e / i n f o / n e t / a c r o n y m s / i n d e x . html. A c r o n y m s h a v e p r o l i f e r a t e d in o u r in c r e a s i n g l y c o m p l e x s o c ie t y , e s p e c i a l l y in t e c h n ic a l fie ld s , s u c h as c o m p u t e r s c ie n c e a n d m e d i c i n e . R e f e r e n c e t o o l s a re e s s e n tial f o r d e c o d i n g th e s e a c r o n y m s . T h e m o s t c o m p r e h e n s i v e s o u r c e is G a le ’s A c ro n y m s , In itia lis m s , a n d A b b r e v ia tio n s D ic tio n a r y , w h i c h lists m o r e th a n 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 a c r o n y m s . I t ’s h a rd to i m a g i n e an a c a d e m ic r e f e r e n c e c o l l e c t i o n w i t h o u t a c o p y o f this e x c e l l e n t p r in t s o u r c e . M o s t a c a d e m ic lib r a r ie s a ls o o w n a c r o n y m d ic t io n a r ie s f o r s p e c i f i c s u b je c t a rea s, s u c h as c o m p u t e r s c ie n c e , e n g i n e e r i n g , m e d i c i n e , m ilita r y , a n d o t h e r t e c h n ic a l fie ld s . In a d d it io n to t h e s e p rin t s o u rc e s , n u m e r o u s a c r o n y m W e b sites n o w e x is t, m o s t o f w h i c h a re s p e c i a l i z e d lists f o r to p ic s r a n g in g fr o m a c c o u n t a n c y t o v e t e r in a r y m e d i c i n e . T h is W e b s ite w a s p r o b a b l y th e first a c r o n y m site to a p p e a r o n th e In te r n e t. T h e W W W A c r o n y m a n d A b b r e v i a t i o n S e r v e r w a s s ta r te d in th e m id -1 9 8 0 s as an e - m a il s e r v e r , a n d in 1992 it w e n t o n th e W e b . T h e c u r r e n t a u t h o r / p r o d u c e r is th e o r i g i n a l f o u n d e r o f th e s ite , P e t e r F ly n n o f U n iv e r s it y C o l l e g e in C o r k , Ir e la n d . A t this w r it in g , th e s ite in c lu d e s 17,838 a c r o n y m s f r o m all s u b je c t area s. T h e site d e f i n e s an a c r o n y m as “ a n y s trin g o f c h a r a c te rs f o r m e d f r o m th e in itia l le tte rs ( o r o c c a s i o n a l l y f r o m o t h e r le t t e r s ) o f s e v e r a l w o r d s , r e g a r d le s s o f w h e t h e r th e resu lt is p r o n o u n c e a b l e o r n o t . ” T h e d a t a b a s e c a n b e s e a r c h e d b y a c r o n y m o r b y w o r d . B r o w s i n g is a v a ila b le ; i f y o u a re n o t s u re o f th e e x a c t a c r o n y m , y o u c a n t y p e in o n e o r m o r e le tte rs o r w o r d s to l o o k t h r o u g h a list o f all a c r o n y m s c o n t a in in g t h o s e le tte rs o r w o r d s . A c r o n y m s a r e i n c l u d e d f r o m b u s in e s s , c o m p u t e r sci- Sara Amato is electronic services and Web development librarian at Bowdoin College, e-mail:samato@bowdoin.edu http://www.igc.org mailto:senior@up.edu http://www.ucc.ie/info/net/acronyms/index mailto:samato@bowdoin.edu 4 2 6 / C & R L N e w s ■ M a y 2 0 0 0 e n c e , e d u c a t i o n , g o v e r n m e n t , m i l i t a r y , s p o r t s , a n d m a n y o t h e r s u b je c ts . A f e w f a c e t i o u s a c r o n y m s a r e i n c l u d e d in th e d a t a b a s e (s u c h as B A N A N A : B u i ld A b s o lu t e ly N o t h i n g A n y w h e r e N e a r A n y o n e ) , b u t th e g r e a t m a jo r it y a r e m a in s t r e a m a c r o n y m s f o r o r g a n i z a t i o n s , jo u r n a ls , t e c h n ic a l te r m s , e tc . M o s t o f th e e n t r ie s a r e A m e r i c a n o r B r itis h a c r o n y m s . Y o u m a y s u b m it a c r o n y m s f o r i n c lu s io n in th e W e b site , b u t u n f o r t u n a t e l y th e s ite is n o t b e i n g u p d a t e d r e g u la r ly . R e s p o n d i n g t o an e - m a il q u e r y f r o m this r e v i e w e r , th e p r o d u c e r n o t e d th a t th e s ite is an “ u n o f f i c i a l , v o l u n t e e r e f f o r t ” a n d has n o t b e e n u p d a t e d r e c e n t ly . H o w e v e r , h e d o e s p la n t o c o n t i n u e th e s ite a n d is w o r k in g o n i m p r o v e m e n t s , s u c h as c a t e g o r i z a t io n a n d p o s s i b l y a n e w in t e r fa c e . T h is r e l a t i v e l y s m a ll W e b s ite c a n n o t c o m p a r e t o a c o m p r e h e n s i v e s o u r c e , s u c h as G a l e ’s a c r o n y m s d ic t io n a r y . B u t i f y o u w a n t to d o a q u ic k l o o k u p a n d y o u ’re a w a y f r o m th e r e f e r e n c e d e s k , th e s ite c o u l d b e h a n d y . T h e o n l y s im ila r s ite o n th e W e b is t h e c o m m e r c i a l A c r o n y m F i n d e r ( w w w . a c r o n y m f i n d e r . c o m ), w h i c h lis ts 1 2 9 ,0 0 0 a c r o n y m s . — S u s a n E. C la rk , Se a ttle, WA, s e c la rk l@ u s w e s t.n e t Academ y of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Access: h ttp :/ / w w w .o s c a rs .o rg . T h is s ite p r o v i d e s a c c e s s t o a w e a l t h o f i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t th e A c a d e m y o f M o t i o n P ic t u r e A rts a n d S c ie n c e s ( A M P A S ) , in c l u d in g th e A c a d e m y A w a r d s , d i r e c t l y f r o m th e o r g a n i z a t i o n its e lf. O s c a r s . o r g is t h e start p a g e a n d c o n ta in s c o n t a c t i n f o r m a t i o n a n d lin k s t o its t w o m a j o r p a g e s : t h e m a i n A M P A S s i t e ( h t t p : / / www3.oeaus.cxg/ i n d e x 2 . h t m l ) a n d t h e O f f i c i a l A c a d e m y A w a r d s S ite ( w w w . o s c a r . c o m ). A last u p d a t e in d i c a t i o n is n o t r e a d i l y a p p a r e n t o n a n y o f th e p a g e s . S o m e i n f o r m a t i o n , s u c h as h is t o r y a n d r e c e n t n o m in e e s , is r e p e a t e d in b o t h sites. V is it o r s c a n n a v i g a t e t h e m a in A M P A S s ite b y u s in g th e lin k s n e a r th e t o p o f th e p a g e : A c a d e m y A w a r d s ( f e a t u r e s in t e r e s t i n g “ i n s i d e ” i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t ru le s , p r o m o t i n g g u i d e l i n e s , a n d a r e m i n d e r list o f e l i g i b l e r e l e a s e s ) , A c a d e m y E v e n t s C a l e n dar, C o n t e n t s ( s i t e m a p ) , S e a r c h ( t h e s it e ), a n d O s c a r .c o m . T h e r e is a ls o a lin k to a p a g e f e a t u r i n g o f f i c i a l A c a d e m y p u b l i c a tio n s , s u c h as b o o k s a n d p o s t e r s . T h e r e a r e a ls o t h r e e p u l l - d o w n m e n u s n e a r th e b o t t o m o f th e p a g e : E v e n ts & S e r v i c e s , E d u c a t io n & P r e s e r v a t i o n , a n d I n f o r m a t i o n . T h e s e h e l p f u l m e n u s c o n t a in q u ic k lin k s to s p e c i f i c p a g e s w it h in th e site, s u c h as th e M a r g a r e t H e r r i c k L ib r a r y a n d its s p e c i a l c o l l e c t i o n s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , th e l i b r a r y ’s h o l d i n g s a r e n o t s e a r c h a b le . T h e A M P A S s ite c u r r e n t ly c o n t a in s t w o d a ta b a s e s , a n d a th ir d is c o m i n g s o o n . T h e A c a d e m y A w a r d s D a t a b a s e c o n t a in s i n f o r m a t io n a b o u t n o m i n e e s a n d w i n n e r s f r o m 1927 t o th e p r e s e n t a n d is s e a r c h a b l e b y k e y w o r d , d a te , o r c a t e g o r y w i t h th e u s e fu l o p t i o n to d i s p l a y w i n n e r s o n l y . H o w e v e r , t h e r e is a la c k o f h e l p d o c u m e n t a t io n , s u c h as th e p r o p e r s y n t a x f o r a n a m e s e a rc h . F o r e x a m p l e , s e a r c h in g “J a n e F o n d a ” b r in g s u p F o n d a , m u s ic ia n J o n B o n J o v i, a n d o t h e r e n t r ie s . S e a r c h in g “ F o n d a J a n e ” b r in g s u p F o n d a , th e f il m F a n ta s ia , a n d o t h e r e n t r ie s . S e a r c h in g b y c a t e g o r y o r d a t e is m u c h m o r e s t r a ig h t fo r w a r d . O n e s h o u l d n o t c o u n t o n b e i n g a b l e to a c c e s s th e d a t a b a s e at all tim e s . A n e r r o r m e s s a g e s t a t in g , “ T h e A c a d e m y A w a r d s N o m i n e e s a n d W i n n e r s d a t a b a s e is t e m p o r a r i l y u n a v a i l a b l e d u e t o h e a v y I n t e r n e t t r a f f i c ” a p p e a r e d s e v e r a l t im e s d u r i n g th e w r i t i n g o f th is r e v i e w . T h e S c ie n t if ic & T e c h n i c a l A w a r d s D a t a b a s e c o n t a in s i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e s e a w a r d s f r o m 1930 to th e p r e s e n t a n d is s e a r c h a b l e b y y e a r , a w a r d c la s s , a w a r d c a t e g o r y , o r k e y w o r d . A g a i n , t h e r e is n o h e l p d o c u m e n t a t i o n . T h e O s c a r . c o m s i t e is p r o d u c e d b y A B C . c o m in p a r t n e r s h ip w i t h A M P A S a n d f o c u s e s o n th e t e l e v i s e d a w a r d s s h o w a n d th e g lit z , g la m o u r , a n d fu n a s s o c i a t e d w i t h it. H i g h l i g h t s i n c l u d e b e h i n d - t h e - s c e n e s c o v e r a g e , f a s h io n c o m m e n t a r y , a n d tr iv ia . O s c a r s . o r g h as s o m e f l a w s b u t is still u s e fu l f o r f il m s tu d e n ts , f il m h is t o r ia n s , film fa n s, a n d m e m b e r s o f th e film in d u s t r y .— S a m a n t h a J. G u st, N i a g a r a U n iv e r s ity , g u s t@ n ia g a r a .e d u ■ http://www.acronymfinder.com mailto:seclarkl@uswest.net http://www.oscars.org http://www.oscar.com mailto:gust@niagara.edu C & R L N e w s ■ M a y 2 0 0 0 / 4 2 7