Untangling the Web
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Untangling the Web: Using the World Wide Web for Art and Humanities Reference Services

Mary N. Hernandez
Art & African American Studies Librarian
Karen Dalziel Tallman
Fine Arts Humanities Librarian
University of Arizona, Tucson

Copyright 1996, Mary N. Hernandez and Karen Dalziel Tallman. Used with permission.

Abstract

This presentation describes what the world wide web is and what is needed to access information. It discusses the future of art and humanities reference resources and presents criteria for evaluating web resources. It lists and annotates specific web resources about art and humanities and offers a demonstration of sites presented in the session.

This presentation will:

  1. present a brief overview of what the web is and what is needed to access its information;
  2. discuss the future of art and humanities reference services;
  3. present criteria for evaluating web resources
  4. discuss specific web resources about art and humanities
  5. demonstrate web sites presented in the session.

A Look at the Web

The world wide web is a fast-growing hypermedia system that operates over the Internet. It originated at the European Particle Physics Laboratory in 1990. A 1995 look at the web by Emerging Technologies Research Group showed that of the 9.5 million of U.S. Internet users, 8.4 are adult users, 8.2 are e-mail users and 7.5 million are web users.

WWW Facts

In 1995, 4 million people began using the web. Users view the web as a reference resource, although most have consulted fewer that 100 URL sites. Respondents see the Internet as most likely to displace television viewing and telephone use. They also see the value of the Internet as "Information Access, Communications, and Education" In terms of gender use of the Internet: 65% are male and 35% are female.

What the Web Says About the Web

HTTP; HOMEPAGE; FTP; SLIP & PPP; GOPHER; HTML; HYPERTEXT; E-MAIL; INTERNET; HYPERMEDIA; WWW; BOOKMARKS. WHEW! Lots of acronyms; lots of technical terminology; lots of jargon. There are a number of URLs (Uniform Resource Locators - same as a street address or a call number on a book) which will help you understand what this is all about.

Access Requirements

Hardware: PC, MAC, UNIX System

Software: TCP/IP Stack (e.g.: Trumpet Winsock)

Modem & Phone Line: 14.4 bps good

28.8 bps better

PPP/SLIP Account

Browers: text only: Lynx

graphical: Mosaic, Netscape Internet Explorer, etc.

Other Client Software (depending on provider:

Viewers, Newsreaders, E-mail, FTP, Telnet, ping, gopher)

Search Engines

KEYWORD

WebCrawler

"The first full-text web search engine"

Lycos

"Plans to have 98% of the web indexed by the end of the year"

{Inktomi}

"One of the many new kids on the block"
DIRECTORIES

Yahoo

"The most popular web navigation directory"

{ExCite}

"The largest database for web searching" Netscape's default engine for Net Directory.

{Infoseek}

Netscape's default Net Search engine "integrates Internet directory browsing and full-text searching."

Where Are We Going?

Where is the Information Superhighway taking us? In what direction are we traveling? Is this a road full of potholes or is it the Autobahn of information leading into the 21st century?

Can we use it as a first line for information? Is the information on it a substitute for traditional print and electronic resources or a complement to the search for information?

How do we know whether we have reached a detour, a slow down for heavy traffic ahead or a stop sign? And when do we know whether the signals we have read are true or misdirections?

Review of Literature

A literature search was done using Library Literature CD-ROM (12/84-1/96). Using the linked term "world-wide-web" 98 hits were found. Using the free text "world wide web" keywords, 116 hits were found. When combined with the term "reference", whether using linked or free text form, only 2 hits were found.

A search of Expanded Academic Index using "world wide web" as the subject found 1294 entries. Limiting with the subject "reference" (with 444 entries) there was one hit. Reversing the procedure and starting with "reference", limiting to "world wide web", there were no hits. Uhmmmmmmm!

Changes in Reference Services

With the advent of technology, reference services use not only the traditional print and CD-ROM (compact disc read only memory) products but sources like the world wide web with increasing frequency to explore such new opportunities as walking through a museum, examining gallery exhibits, filling out tax forms, requesting information and perusing electronic journals.

As you find new sources of information, copy and paste the URLs when you anticipate a need for future use. If you have access to a software package with a filing system, use it. WordPerfect has one named Cardfile. Because the number of URLs grows so quickly, it is easy to accumulate several hundred in a few months time. Create files that are discipline specific early and as you look for sources, you will recognize the wisdom of this decision.

Speed and Global Interaction

We know from experience that researchers also use electronic listservs regularly to pose a question which can be answered from others worldwide within days if not hours. For an example, a question posted to ARLIS/NA (the Art Librarians Society of North America list) with a world-wide membership, can be answered within hours. Some recent examples include verifying exhibition dates in the Netherlands and in Russia, identifying vendors of specific art books or electronic systems or even obtaining a current telephone number for a gallery in Southern Europe.

Process Improvement and Total Quality Management

Other reasons for using the information superhighway include seeking data when attempting to make a decision for changes in either procedures or policies. What are others doing? How is it benefiting the staff as well as the customer? Are there improvements, are there barriers, or stumbling blocks that can be avoided by others?

At the University of Arizona, we are changing many of the library procedures. One of the Strategic Objectives subteams needed data on what type of training new librarians feel is necessary before working on the reference desk. Within a week, a number of suggestions appeared in response to a request posted on several listservs which helped formulate our strategy.

Examples and Evaluation Criteria

ARLIS/NA maintains a homepage which allows those who log in to connect to art journals, museums, look at syllabi, and find out which institutions offer courses which are applicable to various areas of interest.

But in selecting web sites for information, it is necessary to use some type of criteria to measure their accuracy. In talking with members of the Fine Arts/Humanities Team at The University of Arizona Library, some of their criteria were:

  1. What is the source of the information?
  2. How reliable is the information?
  3. How current is the information/How often are updates?
  4. How long does it take the information to load?
  5. With art images: what is the quality, how true are the colors we see?
  6. What copyright issues are involved with downloading the information?
However, when students were asked the same question: what criteria do you use to evaluate a website, their responses were:
  1. Does it have good links?
  2. What is the layout?
  3. Does it have a least one good graphic?
We asked the students if load time was important. Their answer: No, because it depends on what kind of hardware configuration you're working with.

An article by Gregory F. Pratt, Patrick Flannery, and Cassandra L. D. Perkins on "Guidelines for Internet resource selection" appeared in the March 1996, C&RL News. This article (included as one of your handouts) documents some of the evaluation criteria we have used as well as additional criteria used at the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library.

At this point we were reminded of the age old question on some campuses: how do you know if the driver is a student or a faculty member? The newer and more expensive the car, the better chance it's an undergrad at the wheel. The older the car the higher the rank of the faculty member. Look around you when entering any library: Who has the latest Pentium Notebook -- a first year student. Who has the clunky old laptop -- a senior faculty member. It ain't fair, but it's the real world.

In the case of professional organizations, the standards of the members demand that information be current and correct.

Annotated URLs

In preparing for this presentation, the "Net Search" function was used. Using the terms "outsider art", searches were done on INFOSEEK, EXCITE, LYCOS, YAHOO, GALAXY, STARTING POINT, WEBCRAWLER, and WORLD WIDE WEB WORM. You will see samples of the results included in the handouts.

Some of the URLs used in our respective disciplines include the following:

Conclusion

The world wide web has provided a new avenue to assist us in locating current information quickly and sometimes interactively. It links us to the world and combines text and media resources in one-stop shopping. Because it lacks universal standards and can be changed and/or updated by anyone with access to the homesite, it is still difficult to evaluate the reliability of the information provided at any given time.

The world wide web is not yet a stand-alone product; rather it is a supplement to the traditional print and electronic resources. It is a complement to known sources of information. This is where librarians play a critical role in assisting the customer as well as the vendor. This is where we can all put our energy and expertise together to bring forth a better product that will be useful to everyone worldwide which will then, someday, be that stand-alone product.

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