If you watch TV, listen to the radio, or read a newspaper, you’ve probably encountered an advertisement that includes the unmistakable “http://” of a Web address. At work or after hours, you’ve very likely heard people exchanging tales of their Internet adventures or been offered a business card which includes an electronic mail address. The Internet has rapidly become the province not just of programmers and scientists but of educators, businesspeople, students, hobbyists, government officials, and many other “netizens” worldwide.
In our work with librarians and educators, we are constantly reminded that despite the Internet’s rapid growth and popularity, technology training has not proceeded at the same pace. Many people, particularly those in public service in libraries, will be asked to train others, often without having had access to the necessary learning tools themselves. In this manual, we hope to provide the information fundamental to an Internet education in simple, understandable terms.
There is a wealth of available information about the Internet and its uses, from treatises on the inner workings of e-mail to volumes describing the intricacies of networking technology. In this manual, we will focus on the basic concepts of the Internet what you need to get started and begin to tap into the resources available at your fingertips. We’ve included details about how libraries around the world are using the Net in their programs and services, and hope that these innovative programs shed light on the important role library professionals have begun to assume in the dynamic, frequently chaotic world of cyberspace.
Jennifer Fleming
Linda W. Braun
LEO: Librarians & Educators Online
I. WHAT IS THE INTERNET?
The Internet is usually referred to as “a network of networks.” But what does that really mean? Networks are made up of computers connected to each other by phone lines or cables. The Internet is a global network, in which numerous smaller networks of computers around the world are connected to each other in order to share information. Just as in the case of a small network, such as a local library’s networked catalog, computers on the Internet are connected by phone lines or cables.All computers on the Internet need to operate by the same set of rules, or protocol, in order to share information. This set of rules is called TCP/IP, which stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol and which makes it possible for computers across the world to communicate with each other and exchange files regardless of whether they are Macintoshes or mainframes, desktops or laptops. The essence of the Internet is resource sharing, and being connected means having access to the wealth of information and tools available on computers worldwide.
What you need to get started on the Internet is a computer, a connection, and software for translating data on the Internet into information you can understand and use. Your computer can be a Macintosh or a PC. It can be a laptop, a desktop, or a terminal connected to a mainframe. Your connection can take the form of a household phone line and modem, a satellite dish, or an underground cable. The software needed to translate Internet data can exist on your computer’s hard drive or on a service provider’s computer.
In a library, the computers that staff and patrons use to access the Internet are probably connected to the Internet via a direct, dedicated connection. With this type of connection, your computer is connected by a series of cables directly to the resources available on the `Net, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. However, at home, you and many of your patrons are more likely to have a dial-up connection, in which you connect for a limited number of hours via an intermediary, usually an online service or an Internet Service Provider (ISP).So what’s the difference between an online service and an ISP? An online service keeps the software that is necessary to connect to the Internet (TCP/IP) on its own mainframe computer. You connect to the online service’s computer by dialing up with your modem, and from there you can “surf” the Net. An online service also keeps other software, services, and databases on its mainframe computer for you to use. These might include CD-ROMs for research, special resources for children, chat rooms, online events or visits by celebrities, or information related to current topics of interest. These additional services are for members only they are not available to Internet surfers unless they have paid to join the online service. Because online services provide access to the Internet as well as to specialized resources, they frequently cost more than getting an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP).An ISP is somewhat different. An ISP has modems which you dial into and which then connect you more directly to the Internet. When you connect via an ISP, your own computer will need to have TCP/IP installed rather than relying on the service to provide it for you. Most new computers will come with TCP/IP pre-installed. In addition, as opposed to using one piece of online service software such as Prodigy’s simple interface, with an ISP you will need separate software packages for completing specific tasks on the Internet (such as browsing the World Wide Web or reading e-mail). Most ISPs will send you this software in the mail when you open a new account. For someone with little need for the specialized resources available through an online service, or for anyone interested in developing a comprehensive World Wide Web site, an ISP is probably the method of choice. ISPs usually offer nearly unlimited usage hours for a standard, fairly inexpensive monthly fee.
A search engine provides a means of searching Web sites by keyword or occasionally by traditional Boolean AND/OR logic. There are a wide variety of search engines available on the Internet. Some search through every word of text on a site to find the information a user might be looking for. Others index only portions of documents to create their searchable databases.
Understanding how search engines work is an essential part of helping patrons uncover information on the Web. Some libraries select a few different search engines which they think will be useful to their patrons and provide easy access to them via their Internet workstations, usually by providing bookmarks or links. Just as they play the role of guides to a library’s traditional resources, library staff have an important new role as Web guides, helping patrons to find and evaluate information on the Web.
Many businesses, organizations, and schools are now putting the resources found in their online or CD-ROM databases on Web sites. By mounting these databases on the Web, subscribers can search for information by using the graphical and user-friendly Web environment. When a subscriber searches one of these online databases, she is not searching the whole Internet (as she may do by using a search engine). Instead, she is searching specific information which can only be accessed via that database.
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