Evaluating Information Resources

Abstract

Librarians have traditionally been familiar with the techniques of critically analysing the value of individual books and periodicals. This has been necessary for a variety of reasons: to order appropriate titles for the library collections; to include items in bibliographies; and to recommend titles to readers and scholars. With the advent of the Internet and its subsequent use as a research tool, the evaluation of Internet sites has become increasingly important. Since pages can be posted on the Internet without any editorial review or approval, it is vitally important for users to know how to appraise these information resources. This article presents a brief overview of ways to make these evaluations.