http://www.sajim.co.za/websites.main.6nr1.asp?print=1 Web sites Vol.6(1) March 2004 On the trail of an information professional Melanie Sutton Independent Information Management Specialist msutton@i-innovate.co.za Information professionals are essentially sleuths and detectives, constantly scanning the horizon for clues, enquiring and searching for information and discovering quality resources that will support both organisational and user needs. Although this 'detective work' is a skill that most information professionals will attest they are born to do, it is highly desirable for all knowledge workers to learn these fundamental skills. Becoming more proficient at finding and evaluating information resources is essential as we rely more and more on the Internet as a provider of resources. This column follows the trail of an information professional in a year-long journey through the World-Wide Web (Web), learning essential information skills and discovering and collating a 'toolbox' of indispensable resources that will support all knowledge workers. Competency framework for information professionals The UK Ministry of Defence has published a framework of functional competencies for librarians and information managers (www.mod.uk/linked_files/aobutus/libraries/funcomp.pdf). This competence framework was designed to comprehensively represent the range and scope of information professionals and to enable practitioners and their line managers to identify and assess the competencies necessary for effective job performance. One of the functional competency clusters identified is 'Knowledge and Evaluation of Information Sources'. The competence is identified as knowing and using information sources. The performance criteria are recognized as demonstrating knowledge and familiarity with the various types and formats of information to meet customer needs and demonstrating awareness and use of internal and external information sources. The outcome of this competency is that users have confidence in the information professional's ability to retrieve relevant information. The second competence is identified as valuating information sources. The performance criteria include demonstrating the ability to investigate and evaluate the features and performance of information sources and systems used. The outcome of this competency is that the information professional is able to make value judgements on competing sources and systems to be used. While this competency cluster is geared specifically towards information professionals, it is essentially a competency that all knowledge workers need to develop in order to work efficiently and effectively with both information and information resources, especially information resources on the Web. Evaluating Web resources While locating information on the Web is generally not a difficult task to accomplish, evaluating the information published is a lot more difficult. The pervasiveness of information that can be found on the Web makes Web resources easy and cheap to use. However, these resources are also unregulated and unmonitored. A famous Steiner cartoon published in the New Yorker (5 July 1993) succinctly sums up the drawback of using Web resources, namely, two dogs sit in front of a terminal looking at a computer screen; one says to the other 'On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog'. The Internet opens up opportunities for accessing and sharing information but it is essential that we validate the integrity of the information before we use it. Evaluation techniques are essential indicators that help us to decide whether to trust information that we find. The following resources are comprehensive guides to learning techniques that will serve us well on our journey across the Internet landscape. Indispensable resource toolkit The 'indispensable resource toolkit' is about identifying Web sites that provide essential information that we may need on a regular basis and which should, ideally, be saved in a 'favourites' folder. Although this toolkit is far from unique, it is surprising how few knowledge workers take the time to identify a core group of resources that can be accessed at a moment's notice, saving both valuable time and energy and, ultimately, money. Reference sites If you need a reference resource in a hurry, the Web has an array of on-line reference resources. Five criteria for evaluating Web sites www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/webcrit.htmlEvaluating Web pages – Technologies to apply and questions to ask www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html Evaluating information found on the Internet www.library.jhu.edu/elp/useit/evaluate Dictionaries If you need a dictionary in a hurry, the Web has an array of on-line resources. Find an on-line dictionary with which you are comfortable by consulting any of these fine lexicons. www.dictionary.com www.onelook.com/ www.merriam-webster.com/ www.wcsu.edu/library/odlis.html Currency converter Convert any currency on the universal currency converter. www.xe.com/ucc Global time resource Know the correct and current time in any time zone, country or city. www.worldtimezone.com Weather forecast Predict the weather on a daily, weekly and seasonal basis www.weathersa.co.za South African business news sites There are a number of excellent South African news sites that offer comprehensive coverage of a wide range of information. Add these to your 'news' folder: South African company information sites There are many reputable sites that offer information about South African business players. The 'indispensable toolkit' is about identifying on-line resources that meet individual information needs but your work as an information sleuth does not stop here! It is a good idea to spring-clean your 'toolkit' every so often as it can become cluttered with too many resources that are not regularly accessed. It is also a good idea to continually evaluate the resources that you have added to your toolkit to make sure that they still meet your standards Telephone indexes Lose the heavy directories and use the electronic yellow and white pages instead. www.yellowpages.co.za http://196.15.219.249/ Postal reference Search for postal codes, track and trace registered parcels and renew your post office box or private bag on-line. www.sapo.co.za South African map book Get directions to and from a destination of choice. www.brabys.com/mapping South African government information Access a wide range of information on and contacts in the South African government www.gov.za South African information Live under government and obtain a comprehensive guide to everything South African. www.southafrica.info.co.za www.goafrica.co.za/southafrica Business Day www.bday.co.za Financial Mail www.financialmail.co.za Business Report www.busrep.co.za Finance24 www.finance24.co.za NetAssets www.netassets.co.za Moneyweb www.moneyweb.co.za ITWeb www.itweb.co.za Biz-Community www.bizcommunity.com JSE Securities Exchange www.jse.co.za Profile of JSE companies www.profile.co.za/ JSETechnology Top 100 http://196.4.91.173/toptech/default.asp Best Company to Work For Survey www.bestcompany.co.za Financial Mail Top Companies Survey www.topcompanies.co.za E-Data www.edata.co.za and, of course, it is always fun to go sleuthing for new sites to add to your toolkit from time to time. Follow the next issue's information trail to find resources on search techniques and the value of using on-line libraries. References Barker, J. 2004. Evaluating Websites – experience why it is important. [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/EvaluateWhy.html Drewett, A.J. and Ryan, P. 2002. Library and information managers. Functional competences framework (revised edition). [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.mod.uk/linked_files/aboutus/libraries/funcomp.pdf Disclaimer Articles published in SAJIM are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editor, Board, Publisher, Webmaster or the Rand Afrikaans University. The user hereby waives any claim he/she/they may have or acquire against the publisher, its suppliers, licensees and sub licensees and indemnifies all said persons from any claims, lawsuits, proceedings, costs, special, incidental, consequential or indirect damages, including damages for loss of profits, loss of business or downtime arising out of or relating to the user’s use of the Website. ISSN 1560-683X Published by InterWord Communications for the Centre for Research in Web-based Applications, Rand Afrikaans University