Hypertext Support Materials
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) provides a readily accessible medium for
construction and timely editing of electronic guides to resources and
procedures. In the last 18 months I have produced a variety of WWW-based
hypertexts to support (1) teaching I have done in various classes,
(2) access to Leyburn
Library materials, and (3) exploration of Web resources. The greatest
advantage of this medium is the possibility to construct and show detailed
examples of
the use of electronic resources and comment upon them; the results (which
are much more extensive than what it is possible to show in a 50-minute
class) are then available for review after the class is over. The
hypertexts can be edited and augmented easily.The fullest
development of this approach to 'library and information access instruction'
has been for the Biology
182 course (taken by all Biology majors).
A recent request (from Darcy Russell) for a review class for advanced
students resulted in
this
I have produced some general guides to Biology resources as well:
Materials prepared in response to a request for two classes on library and
electronic access:
Issues raised in these classes also led me to begin a weblet on quantum mechanics, which
I intend to develop further during Winter 1996.
The same general presentation techniques are also useful in improving
access to existing resources at W&L: there is a weblet
examining the collection of
19th century chemistry books in Leyburn, and another to assist with
the process of design of
the Science Reference collection for the new Science Library.
I have constructed weblets to facilitate access to distant resources in
many fields and disciplines. The links to Scientific Visualization Resources (for a course I taught with
Tyler Lorig in Spring 1995) provide an example of interdisciplinary
science materials. Others for the English
Department
and for Latin
American and East
Asian Studies are also available as examples of the techniques
involved. A weblet reporting my investigations of the Online Oxford English
Dictionary (prepared for a demonstration to the English Department
faculty) is also available. A collection of examples of other sites'
use of the Web as an information distribution medium (Faculty Handbooks,
Admissions and Alumni offices, etc.) has evolved as various university
offices started to consider creating their own web presences.