NetFirst, the OCLC FirstSearch service index of Internet resources, currently has 55,000 listings and will grow steadily. The agreement gives all staff and students at licensed sites unrestricted access to NetFirst. The OCLC NetFirst database is an authoritative Internet directory produced using a combination of automated collection and verification techniques as well as proven abstracting and indexing practices. Editors guide the collection process to ensure inclusion of only significant resources and create original abstracts for NetFirst records.
Hot links provide direct access to Web-cited resources.
A NetFirst Collection Development Policy was recently approved by OCLC that provides a framework for the systematic growth of NetFirst. The new policy emphasizes the description of resources for librarians, libraries and their users, and the evaluation of items for their authoritativeness and quality. The Combined Higher Education Software Team was formed in 1988 to provide a central body to negotiate with software suppliers on behalf of the United Kingdom's Higher Education and Research Council Community. OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.