Subject Indexes
Subject indexes are for those searchers who know the subject that they are interested in, and
want to browse lists of Web sites on that subject. Directories differ from search engines in that
the content is chosen by human editors. Consequently the composition of the directory will be
dependent upon the subject knowledge and selection skills of the editors.
The emphasis here is on selecting quality web sites by editors who may be librarians or subject
experts.
- The Librarians' Index to the Internet - Annotated directory of
quality web sites on a wide variety of subjects. There are a few PG-13 sites included. This
directory has been designed to meet the needs of public library patrons.
- About.Com - This is a very large searchable directory of
reviewed and annotated web sites. It has a very annoying amount of advertising.
- The Internet Public Library - The reference collection is a
directory of over 35,000 web sites. There are also internet directories for teens and for
children.
- Kid's Click - A searchable subject guide
to the Internet for young people. This site has been prepared by librarians of the Ramapo Catskill
library as a guide to age appropriate web sites.
- The Start Spot Network - The Start Spots Network includes
spots for books, movies, government, news, libraries, museums, genealogy, homework, employment and travel . A good place to begin your search
for information.
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The emphasis here is on the size of the directory. Several of these directories are allied with
major search engines and provide the directory listings provided by these search engines.
- Yahoo! - Yahoo is the graddaddy of web subject indexes.
and now has its own search engine. There are no ratings of
sites except for a pair of sun glasses to indicate a site worth noting.
- The Open Directory Project - This is a general directory which claims
to include over 4.6 million sites. The sites are selected by volunteer editors. The requirement
for becoming an editor seems to be to "know something about the topic". Open Directory data is used
by major web portals such as Altavista, Google, HotBot, Teoma, and WiseNut.
- Google Directory - Google has taken the Open
Directory data and modified the way in which the search results are presented so that the most
relevant results are presented first. Relevancy or importance is determined by the number of pages
linked to the page in question. Note: in both the Open Directory and Google, you must do a separate
search for each form of a word such as library, libraries, librarian.
- LookSmart - LookSmart is a directory of paid listings
which is used by Lycos, InfoSpace, and many other large search sites.
- AllPages - A business directory with an extensive number of
listings.
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These sites are more suitable for the student doing research for school, or for the academic
searcher.
- INFOMINE - A extensive directory of web sites.
This site is well-organized and searchable. A scholarly Internet resource collection from the
Library of the University of California.
- The World Wide Web Virtual Library - A collection of subject
guides to the net maintained now by the World Wide Web Consortium. This list started in 1991 when
it was actually thought possible to catalog everything on the web. There are a great variety of
subjects, and the focus is more academic than fun.
- Intute - A searchable database of web sites for education and research. This site has been
created by a network of British universities.
- BUBL 5:15 - A subject directory of the net with 1100
categories and from 5 to 15 carefully selected web sites for each category. This is a good starting
point for web research.
- Academic Index - A metasearch engine for academic topics.
- The Library of Congress - Good site for American history and government,
and information on countries of the world. There are also special exhibits on other topics.
- Research Beyond Google - a list of 119 reliable web resources
compiled by the Online Education Database.
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These sites are worth a visit but are not as useful or extensive as the ones listed above.
- HotSheet - A one page web directory.
- WebRing - This is a directory of web rings
which are collections of linked web sites on a specific topic. These sites may be prepared by
amateurs or professionals. Frequently, a web ring contains a wealth of knowledge on a subject which
cannot be located by other means.
- The InfoService - A large and fascinating collection of links
organized into categories. This is a fun site which is sort of like exploring that old trunk in the
attic.
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Table of Contents | Subject Indexes | Portals | Search Engines | Kid Safe Sites | Meta-Search Engines
|
All-in-One Pages | Specialized Engines
and Indexes | International Search Sites |
Links to More Information
Please address any comments, additions, or corrections to Linda Bertland, school librarian,
at info@sldirectory.com.
