As the database grows, other important Internet resources, such as electronic journals, newsletters, gopher sites and library catalogs, will be added. NetFirst records contain bibliographic information, complete with summary descriptions, subject headings and classification codes describing Internet-accessible resources. The Internet links users around the world with a vast and rich collection of information resources, said Rick Noble, vice president, OCLC reference services. Unfortunately, the resources are unorganized and often unevaluated, making effective searching and retrieval very difficult, particularly for the novice searcher. NetFirst provides unparalleled access to Internet resources by applying proven abstracting and indexing practices to this enormous network of unclassified materials.
Users map their course before jumping into the uncharted waters of the Internet.
Users won t have to wade through long lists of extraneous objects. Users can determine the relevance of a resource without leaving the database. This makes Internet discovery far more efficient than is possible with indexes that contain only an address, title and the first few words or sentences contained in the resource. LCSH allow users to search the database by subject area in addition to keyword searching. DDC numbers organize resources using a convenient, hierarchical structure that will be ideal for browsing of resources by subject area.