sept05c.indd


I n t e r n e t  R e v i e w s  Joni R. Roberts and Carol A. Drost 

WebJunction. Access: http://webjunction.org/. 
OCLC’s WebJunction is an online com­

munity focused on technology for libraries 
and librarians. It 
offers articles with 
technology tips and 
how­to’s, as well 
as online courses 
for hands­on train­
ing. OCLC received 
a three­year grant 
from the Bill and 

Melinda Gates Foundation to create the site in 
2002, and several organizations are partnering 
with OCLC to maintain the site. . 

The site is broken down into six major 
areas. “Policies and Practices” provides tools 
for creating policies, promoting library ser­
vices, and long­term planning. “Technology 
Resources” includes information on the nitty­
gritty of computer hardware setup to more 
ephemeral Internet applications. “Buying and 
Funding” goes to the base of everything: get­
ting the cash to implement library technology 
projects. “Services to Libraries” lists resources 
for patrons of specific types of libraries such 
as rural libraries or those that serve non­
English­speaking populations. “Learning 
Center” houses the training documents and 
courses, and, finally, “Community Center” is 
the place where librarians can pool resources 
with their colleagues from around the world. 

Each month, WebJunction has a focus 
topic, much like a serial publication. Upcom­
ing topics, such as sustainability for rural 
libraries, information literacy, and technology 
planning, are listed on the Web site, as well as 
recent past topics, such as buying hardware 
and software, open source, CIPA, and wireless 
Internet access in public libraries. 

Joni R. Roberts is associate university librarian for 
public ser vices and collec tion development at 
Willamette University, e-mail: jroberts@willamette. 
edu, and Carol A. Drost is associate university librarian 
for technical services at Willamette University, e-mail: 
cdrost@willamette.edu 

WebJunction published the first issue of 
its online peer­reviewed LIS student journal, 
Post­Tracks in June 2005 and continues to 
publish its online newsletter Crossroads. In 
addition to resources created by the WebJunc­
tion producers, other established resources 
have been added to the WebJunction suite. 
In May, three popular library e­mail lists 
(Web4Lib, XML4Lib, and PubLib) moved from 
University of California­Berkeley’s SunSITE 
server to WebJunction. The annotated bibliog­
raphy Current Cites and the directory LibWeb 
also moved to the site this year. 

The volume of information available on 
WebJunction may intimidate new users, but it 
is easy to navigate and is structured in a way 
that allows users to focus on particular areas 
without having to dig through material not 
relevant to their needs. Overall, WebJunction 
is a solid supplement to existing professional 
resources, particularly in the areas of tech­
nology, collaboration, and innovative public 
services.—Anna Creech, Central Washington 
University, CreechA@cwu.edu 

National Science Digital Library. Access: 
http://nsdl.org/. 

The National Science Foundation’s Na­
tional Science Digital Library (NSDL) is a huge 
and potentially very useful aggregate of high­
quality authoritative resource collections and 
services that support science education for 
students and teachers at all levels. All areas of 
science, technology, engineering, and math­
ematics are represented. NSDL’s objective 
is to develop digitalized libraries of science 
resources in an effort to improve science 
education in the United States. 

At this time in its development, the NSDL 
site is most useful for librarians, educators, or 
education majors looking for links to credible 
resources in science and science education. 
The homepage is not very intuitive and it 
takes time to decide how to navigate through 
the information available here. There are 
links inviting users to explore a few selected 

C&RL News September 2005  606 

http:http://nsdl.org
mailto:CreechA@cwu.edu
mailto:cdrost@willamette.edu
http:http://webjunction.org


topics, recent 
collections or 
activities, and 

educational resources, but these links only 
scratch the surface of what is available. Many 
of the other links go to reports and to the 
organizational makeup of the committees 
behind the site. There is a biweekly newslet­
ter, the “Whiteboard Report,” to keep readers 
apprised of NSDL activities. A free login is 
required for viewing some resources. 

The focus of NSDL is on the collections 
that provide links to resources. Some of these 
resources are available only by subscription, 
however. There is a very basic keyword and 
phrase search capability, but specifi c searches 
work best. The link results are annotated and 
identified by the collection from which they 
come. Clicking on the collection icon pro­
vides information about the collection itself. 

Currently collections are being added to 
NSDL based on their relevance to science as 
well as their technical functionality. “Recom­
mend a Resource” allows users to make sugges­
tions for additions. All the resources in NSDL 
at this time come from other collections, and 
currency is maintained by each resource. 

The creators of NSDL are interested in its 
improvement. There is a survey available on 
the homepage with a space for comments. 
The goal of making NSDL a one­stop shop­
ping place for science and science education 
resources for all is admirable, and many of 
the resources are excellent. It would be much 
more useful, however, for NSDL to provide 
better navigational tools.—Carol McCulley, 
Linfield College, cmccull@linfi eld.edu 

Cato Institute. Access: http://www.cato.org/. 
Cato Institute, “a non­profit public pol­

icy research foundation headquartered in 
Washington, D.C,” provides access to news 
commentary on political issues and research 
on public policies via its Web site. Cato In­
stitute describes its viewpoint as libertarian 
or “market liberal,” which is defined as “an 
appreciation for entrepreneurship, the market 
process, and lower taxes with strict respect 
for civil liberties and skepticism about the 

benefits of both the welfare state and foreign 
military adventurism.” 

Multiple paths are available to fi nd re­
sources on current topics through browsing 
and search options. “What’s New” highlights 
new research and publications sponsored by 
the institute and links to other news stories in­
volving institute personnel. “Daily Dispatch” 
provides links to news items that quote Cato 
researchers or refer to Cato publications. 
“Daily Commentary” offers opinion pieces 
on a current issues. “Hot Topics” provides 
links to a collection of researched position 
papers, news articles, and commentary by 
Cato researchers. This page is updated on 
a daily basis and reflects the Cato Institute’s 
viewpoint on current issues in the news. 

Of particular interest to librarians and 
researchers are “Experts,” “Publications,” 
and “Research Areas.” “Experts” provides 
biographical information and bibliographies 
on Cato personnel arranged both alphabeti­
cally and by topic. “Publications” provide in­
formation on various print and audio items 
produced by the institute. A number of these 
items, such as Regulation and Cato Journal, 
are available in full text. 

“Research Areas” provides a lengthy list of 
current issues, divided into subtopics, that the 
Cato Institute has researched. Each subtopic 
contains a lengthy bibliography of resources 
published or written by Cato affi liates, such 
as articles from their publications, excerpted 
chapters from books, and previous “Daily 
Dispatch” and “Daily Commentary” pieces. 
Most of the resources listed are available in 
full text via the Web site. 

The site may be searched via a simple key­
word search or an advanced search page. The 
advanced search allows Boolean searching of 
the article text, title, URL, or description. In 
addition, searches may be limited to specifi c 
Cato collection or by date. 

Cato Institute is a worthwhile site for in­
dividuals interested in varying points of view 
on current topics and public policy issues 
for research or personal interest.—Leslie Sta­
rasta, Lincoln Christian College and Seminary, 
lstarasta@lccs.edu 

September 2005  607 C&RL News 

mailto:lstarasta@lccs.edu
http:http://www.cato.org