CD ROM to WWW migration

[N. TOMAIUOLO, INSTRUCTION LIBRARIAN, CCSU]

Dear Colleagues,
Many of you are undoubtedly aware of the quick migration of certain CD ROM
products to a Web incarnation.  For example, Gale's Biography and Genealogy
Master Index recently moved to the Web, and the Web interface is far superior
(author's opinion) to the disc.  Other resources are moving from CD to the Web
as well.  The arcane HRAF (Human relations area file) moved over recently.
Quite awhile ago we all learned that ERIC was accessible via several sites on 
the WWW.  I have not, however, found any sites that make the search experience
so straightforward as SilverPlatter or Ovid.

Two other examples come to mind: CINAHL and MEDLINE.  While I might admit that
the layperson/end-user infrequently accessed Ovid or SilverPlatter MEDLINE to 
its full advantage, I have found the new, free, PUBMED sponsored by the NIH and
NLM on the Web to be less than user-friendly as compared with its CD ROM based
counterpart.  Finally, for the purposes of this discussion, let's take a look
at CINAHL.  Always a pricey database (SPlatter or Ovid), at least the end-user
had an "upfront" "in one's face" shot and browsing the thesaurus, exploding
terms etc.  Using CINAHL through FirstSearch on the Web leaves the searcher in
less than full control of the retrieval.

My point is, and I'd like to evoke discussion pro and con, is that CD ROM
products that have migrated to the Web are more rough-hewn and more likely to
haphazard searching,than the discs.  Like Web subject search engines 
(Webcrawler, AltaVista), one's search, even when reading help screens is less 
controllable when using Web versions of CDs.

A little off the point, yet a little on is does anyone know what the electronic
Encyclopedia Britannica means on its search screen when it tells users to 
utilize the helpful operators AND OR NOT (,), I've looked everywhere and written 
to the support desk.  What does (,) or , do exactly -- and how would the 
end-user gather that knowledge.

Thank you, comments to me or to the list will be appreciated.

Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo, MLS
Bibliographic Instruction Librarian
Central Connecticut State University Library
Reference Department
New Britain, CT  06050

http://library.ccsu.ctstateu.edu/~bibman
email=  tomaiuolon at ccsu.ctstateu.edu
phone=  (860) 832-2068
fax=    (860) 832-3409