Introduction

Browsers

Newsgroups

Listservs

Indexes

Searches

Evaluating sites

Mass media

Government

Specialized sites

Reference

Glossary

Other Useful Indexes

About.com

     One thing that makes this site different is its expanding levels of categories. As you go from one level to the next, the previous levels remain on the screen. That's sort of a mixed blessing. It can help you keep up with your movements, but it can also take up a lot of screen space.
     It is also more personal than most indexes. Each section's main page provides the name and a photo of the person responsible for the section.

Academic Info

     As the name implies, this site is designed more for academically oriented research than are general-interest indexes. The link above actually takes you one level below the site's main page. You'll find entries for most academic disciplines and interests.

Galaxy

     Galaxy is different from most directories in that it groups sources by type (newsgroups, directories, non-profit groups, etc.).

Librarians' Internet Index

      Librarians historically have a solid record regarding research; it's their specialty. The subtitle for this site's home page ("Websites you can trust") reinforces that idea. Besides the directory's main categories, the home page offers a "What's New This Week" link to update you about recently added material. Search Engine Watch's editors called LII "one of the most useful resources around when you're sick of information overload and are just looking for some spot-on sources of information for a wide array of information needs."

Open Directory Project

     Information on the Open Directory site says that it is "the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web." Open directory uses the services of volunteers, whom it calls "net citizens," so that, as the site says, "These citizens can each organize a small portion of the Web and present it back to the rest of the population, culling out the bad and useless and keeping only the best content."

Pandia Plus

     Pandia's main page (http://www.pandia.com) offers lots of information about using search engines, indexes and other Web resources. This part of the site is Pandia's own index. It has the tree structure typical of indexes plus a search engine for its directory. Links near the bottom of the page provide access to more Pandia services.