In this way, the Project 'trawls' a sea of resources, filtering out tens and sometimes hundreds of resources for each one that is included in the report. Whereas resource trawling is a fairly passive strategy once the proper mailing lists and news groups are subscribed, resource scouting requires a sustained, active effort. Project librarians and subject specialists scour the web in search of quality resources. The best way to find quality resources is to use known quality metasites as guides to further exploration. For librarians, this has long been part of collection development and reference responsibility in the print world.
Subject specialists add a deep and intimate knowledge of their subject to the equation.
Scouting resources in this way allows specific subject resources to be quickly found when balance is needed in the report. The Report has a direct email circulation of about 40,000, and an indirect circulation that totals over 100,000. By filtering, selecting, and distributing a few quality resources each week, the project helps Internauts 'surf smarter,' as we like to say, to quickly find quality resources of interest or use to them. Net A reader's advisory can provide an excellent general service. With the subject specific Scout Reports, the Project has decided to do more.