WEBWATCH

The implications of growth on the web

As the Internet and the World Wide Web continue to grow at exponential rates, more and more people are beginning to express concern about the implications of that growth. Sheer volume of information alone is of little value without content and organization. Emory is beginning to produce scholarly journals and other web projects that improve both the quality and the organization of information available over the Internet.

Several members of the Department of Ophthalmology, for example, now publish Molecular Vision, a peer-reviewed journal to disseminate research about molecular and cell biology and the genetics of the eye. This electronic publication offers numerous advantages over printed publications, including faster publication time, use of color and sound, and immediate feedback from readers while at the same time retaining the high standards of scholarship of a printed publication.

The law school has embarked on an ambitious program to put Federal Court of Appeals information on the web, free of charge. Not so long ago, it could cost upwards of $200 per hour and hundreds of dollars per search to find a court case on commercial services. Now, it is simply a matter of going to the law school's Federal Courts Finder and picking the court you wish to look at. For the first time ever, the public has true access to court decisions that help govern their lives. The law school provides this information both as a service to the bar and the community and as an extension of its educational mission to help make the law more available to lay people.

The Health Sciences Library publishes MedWeb, an index of biomedical resources on the Internet. Unlike many machine-generated searches, which often generate a confusing mix of both useful and irrelevant information, MedWeb presents a clear, thoughtful and well-organized compendium of the maze of medical information available on the Internet.

These three examples are only the beginning of how Emory is providing quality information to the Internet. If you are interested in participating in the web, please contact the Emory Web Project, www@emory.edu.

Marie Matthews is the webmaster of Computing Resource Services in the Information Technology Division.