Subject Directories

Web Subject Directories are databases that compile and organize Internet sites into subject categories and provide links to the listed sites. It sometimes one of the most efficient ways to locate Web resources by topic. Some directories include a search engine to query the databases, others are accessible by browsing alone and many search Engines or portals also include directories (for instance Google uses Open Directory and AltaVista uses Looksmart. Some directories exercise discrimination in the choice of sites while others bestow awards or feature interesting sites in a special way. Directories tend to be much smaller than search engines.

Subject Directory Issues:

No single directory contains even a fraction of the documents available on the Internet.
Selection is usually based on submissions; the best sites may not always, therefore, be listed.
Personal bias or ignorance of reviewer.
Directories may often be out of date.
Evaluation issues - Yahoo catalogs with little evaluation.

Some Subject Directories

	Name: Yahoo URL: www.yahoo.com Size: 1.7 million Phrase Searching: "phrase" Requires word in search: + Exclude word in search: -word Default multiword operator: And Truncation: Automatic except in phrase Special Features: Based on user submitted URLs, no evaluation, more than 100 editors, most popular subject directory. Searches its own contents and if no results goes to a Google search.
	Name: Looksmart URL: www.looksmart.com Size: 2.3 million Special Features: The LookSmart serves as a clearinghouse providing Web directories to other sites/portals. .It is supplied to Microsoft's MSN, Excite@Home, Netscape Netcenter, AltaVista, Time Warner, Sony, British Telecom, Road Runner, Prodigy, Qwest and more than 370 Internet service providers. It does not include ratings and inclusion and ranking can be based on payment.
	Name: Britannica URL: www.britannica.com Size: 125 thousand Special Features: Based on selected URLs' and includes four major databases: The full text of the Encyclopædia Britannica The Web directory portion, called the Web's Best Sites Full-text magazine articles from about 70 periodicals that come from Ebsco Links to related books available for purchase from Barnes & Noble Academically very strong but the Web directory is quite small.
	Name: Open Directory URL: dmoz.org Size: 2.9 million Special Features: One of the larger directory databases it is newer than Yahoo! and seems to have fewer dead links. It's run by a large group of volunteer editors but the quality is inconsistent. It has recently been acquired by Netscape.
	Name: Argus Clearing URL: www.clearinghouse.net/ Size: NA Special Features: A guide to guides to subject oriented resources, VERY selective, academic oriented.
	Name: Virtual Library URL: vlib.org/ Size: NA Special Features: One of the oldest subject directories, started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of html and the web itself, with guides maintained by subject specialists from around the world. Some are excellent, some less so ...
	Name: BUBL LINK URL: bubl.ac.uk/link/ Size: 11 thousand Special Features: The Bulletin Board for Libraries is a UK national information service which provides a directory of quality Internet sites from a European perspective. It is a catalogue of selected Internet resources covering all academic subject areas and catalogued according to DDC (Dewey Decimal Classification). All items are selected, evaluated, catalogued and described. Links are checked and fixed each month. LINK stands for Libraries of Networked Knowledge.
	Name: Infomine URL: www.infomine.com Size: 20 thousand Special Features: INFOMINE is intended for the introduction and use of Internet resources of relevance to faculty, students, and research staff at the university level. It is being offered as a virtual library and reference tool containing highly useful Internet resources. INFOMINE is librarian built. University of California, California State University, University of Detroit (Mercy) and other university and college librarians have contributed to building INFOMINE.

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