The University of Kansas Libraries

Subject Guides & Directories

Subject guides and directories are smaller than most search engines. The sites are chosen by human indexers. They are good for general overview of a topic or broadly-based questions, finding the "best" sites.  Other types of web search tools you may want to consider are Internet search engines, metasearch engines, and "Invisible Web" search tools.

Academic Info http://www.academicinfo.net/
Search by academic subjects. Includes links to infomation for students about college and links to currents news information.

Academic Resources Channel http://www.realsci.com/index.cfm
Guide to Web resources arranged by academic disciplines.

AltaVista Directory http://av.com/
AltaVista's ranking algorithm applied to a database combining Open Directory and LookSmart.  Indexes over 2 million Web sites.

Argus Clearinghouse http://www.clearinghouse.net/
Good choice for a broadly-based search of resources about a general topic such as political science, entertainment, literary criticism, etc.  All guides must be submitted to and reviewed by the Argus staff (who tend to be librarians) so the content is generally of fairly high quality.

BUBL LINK 5:15 http://bubl.ac.uk/link/
Catalogue of selected Internet resources covering all academic subject areas.  BUBL LINK guarantees at least 5 relevant resources for every subject included, and a maximum of 15 resources for most subjects, hence the name 5:15. Also provides access through a subject menu or Dewey Decimal Classification.

Digital Librarian http://www.digital-librarian.com
Comprehensive collection of links in many subject areas.  Compiled by a librarian.

Google Web Directory http://directory.google.com/
Google has taken the Open Directory and placed its own search technology on top of the directory.  Web search results are ordered by page ranking rather than alphabetically.

InfoMine http://infomine.ucr.edu/
A hypertext database of scholarly Internet resource collections.

Librarians’ Index to the Internet http://lii.org
Although this page also includes a search engine, this site, which is maintained by the Berkeley Public Library, is best-known for its large and thorough index of all things networthy, including reviews. Search results are organized by Best Of, Directories, and Specific Resources.  A good site to bookmark and return to.

LookSmart http://www.looksmart.com/
A subject directory indexing over 2 million Web pages reported, organized into 200,000 categories, making it one of the largest directories available.  Provides directory service for AltaVista, Excite, iWon, and MSN Search.

Open Directory http://dmoz.org/
A subject directory to 2 million sites that have been organized into over 304,00 categories by more than 28,000 volunteer editors.  The directory is pledged to provide its data to anyone on the Web for free.  Currently, it provides directory service for Alta Vista, Netscape Search, Google, Lycos, and HotBot.

Scout Report Signpost http://www.signpost.org/signpost/
A subject guide to Web sites chosen by the editorial staff of the Scout Report, a well-respected weekly Web alert service.  You can browse by LC call number, do a field search, or search the full text of Scout Report summaries.

Yahoo! http://yahoo.com/ tip sheet
Debuting in late 1994, Yahoo! is the oldest major subject directory of the Web.  It indexes 1.5 to 1.8 million Web sites, is well-known, heavily used, and generally well-respected.  As Yahoo! is based on user submissions, it may not provide a very comprehensive listing of sites.   Its partnership with the Inktomi search engine expands upon its ability to bring more of the Net to Yahoo! fans as it will allow for searches above and beyond the Yahoo! directory.  Features include subject directories for kids (Yahooligans), geographic regions (SF Bay), or even your own customized Web access page (My Yahoo).