BARE BONES 101:

"The Web is like the game of Othello. Remember?
'a moment to learn, a lifetime to master.' "
             --Lou Rosenfeld, University of Michigan, SLIS, n.d.

LESSON 4:    GATEWAYS AND SUBJECT-SPECIFIC DATABASES

WHAT ARE GATEWAYS AND SUBJECT-SPECIFIC DATABASES?

Gateways
There are two kinds of gateways: library gateways and portals. Library gateways are collections of databases and informational sites, arranged by subject, that have been assembled, reviewed and recommended by specialists, usually librarians. These gateway collections support research and reference needs by identifying and pointing to recommended, academically-oriented pages on the Web.

Subject-Specific Databases (sometimes called "Vortals")
Subject-specific databases, or vortals (i.e., "vertical portals") are databases devoted to a single subject, created by professors, researchers, experts, governmental agencies, business interests, and other subject specialists and/or individuals who have a deep interest in, and professional knowledge of, a particular field and have accumulated information and data about it.

WHAT IS THE "INVISIBLE WEB"?

There is a large portion of the Web that search engine spiders cannot, or may not, index. It has been dubbed the "Invisible Web" or the "Deep Web" and includes, among other things, pass-protected sites, documents behind firewalls, pdf files, archived material, interactive tools such as calculators and dictionaries, and the contents of certain databases.

Web profilers agree that the "Invisible Web," which is made up of thousands of such documents and databases, accounts for 60 to 80 percent of existing Web material. This is information you probably assumed you could access by using standard search engines, but that's not always the case. According to the Invisible Web Catalog, these resources are not usually visible to search engine spiders because their pages are embedded within individual Web sites. Furthermore, a lot of the information they contain isn't static; it is assembled dynamically in response to specific queries.

In order to access so-called "Invisible Web" sites, you have to point your browser directly at them. That's what many library gateways and subject-specific databases do. They are good sources for direct links to database information stored on the "Invisible Web."

WHEN DO YOU USE LIBRARY GATEWAYS AND SUBJECT-SPECIFIC DATABASES?

Use library gateways when you are looking for high quality information sites on the Web. You can be fairly certain that these sites have been reviewed and evaluated by subject specialists for their accuracy and content.

Use subject-specific databases when looking for information on a specific topic, e.g., news links, multimedia files, archives, mailing lists, people, job finders, and thousands of databases devoted to specific topics of interest. More and more of the so-called "main-stream" search engines, subject directories and portals are pointing to these subject-specific databases, using direct links on their home pages.

EXAMPLES OF LIBRARY GATEWAYS

EXAMPLES OF SUBJECT-SPECIFIC DATABASES (vortals) AND SEARCH ENGINES

ASSIGNMENT:

Select any of the gateways or subject-specific databases, and browse for topics of personal interest.    

Subject Directories                           Evaluating Web Pages

[Table of Contents] [Search Engines] [Metasearchers] [Subject Directories] [Evaluating Web Pages]
[Search Strategies] [Search Tips] [Boolean Operators] [Field Searching] [Troubleshooting] [All the Web (Fast)]
[Alta Vista] [Google] [Ixquick] [Yahoo!] [Final Exam] [Beyond Bones] [User Agreement]

Links and text checked regularly. Latest update on 10 July 2002.
This tutorial was first created in January 2000 by Ellen Chamberlain, library webweaver.
Copyright © the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina.
URL: http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/lesson4.html