(Fwd) NetFirst - was Re: suggested research topic

[Pam Davies]

Forwarded message:
From:     Self <LIBRARY/LIB6PMD>
To: Millard Johnson <zendog at incolsa.palni.edu>
Subject: NetFirst - was Re: suggested research topic
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 17:26:42 GMT

>   The hypothesis - the average library patron seeking
> practical information is better served by a controlled
> subset of Internet URL's (OCLC's NetFirst) than by 
> unrestricted Internet access.

I'm unimpressed by NetFirst, to which UK HE libraries have access 
through NISS.

A search on "Leeds anywhere in record" finds 46 links, including the 
university home page at an out of date address and a random-looking 
subset of the univ's departmental home pages, and a local rock 
band "The Wedding Present", but doesn't retrieve any of the City 
Council's excellent suite of pages which have been online for perhaps 6 
months. 

Can anyone point me at any evaluations of NetFirst, and/or statements 
of what they reckon to include?  It doesn't seem to be very useful, 
and I'd hate the idea of restricting anyone's web usage to what it 
offers.  

Even assuming that NetFirst indexed a perfect (in some sense) set of pages, 
many would be top pages of appropriate groups of pages so the system 
would have to allow users to follow links ... and many pages will end 
up offering a link to Alta Vista and similar search tools, through 
which anyone can find most of whatever anyone else is trying to stop them 
from finding!

Pam

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Pam Davies, Senior Assistant Librarian,
Edward Boyle Library, University of Leeds, LEEDS LS2 9JT, UK
mailto:p.m.davies at leeds.ac.uk  phone: 0113 233 5543  fax: 0113 233 5539