Subject: Free Pint No.74 - Central Europe, Business Portals and Health Free Pint "Helping 32,000 people use the Web for their work" http://www.freepint.co.uk/ ISSN 1460-7239 2nd November 2000 No.74 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from Martin White FREE PINT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Web Sources for Central and Eastern Europe" By Sam Vaknin BOOKSHELF "Super Searchers on Health & Medicine: The Online Secrets of Top Health & Medical Researchers" Reviewed by Cynthia L. Shamel FEATURE ARTICLE "Portals for business information on the Internet" By Sheila Webber EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES CONTACT INFORMATION ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/021100.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Is finding the information you need turning out to be a bit of a bind? GET UNTANGLED at Online Information 2000 and find a wealth of information sources for all industry sectors as well as solutions for information management, retrieval and dissemination. REGISTER TODAY for free, fast track entry into this essential event http://www.online-information.co.uk/ol00/index.asp > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [li741] >>> ABOUT FREE PINT <<< Free Pint is a community of business professionals who use the Web for their work. Members receive this free newsletter every two weeks packed with tips on finding quality and reliable business information on the Internet. Signing up at provides free access to the substantial archive of articles, book reviews, industry news and events, with answers to your research questions and networking at the "Free Pint Bar" and "Student Bar". This newsletter is best read when printed out and viewed in a Courier font. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EDITORIAL Winter birthdays are never much fun, but Free Pint celebrates its third birthday with today's issue. As a concerned parent (or Managing Director - same thing really) I'm always worrying about the rate of my toddler's development. It seems that I have little to worry about though since Free Pint has no problem attracting new friends (still about a thousand a month), is getting lots of attention (in the trade and national press) and we're spending lots of money on new toys (well, servers, programming and content actually). Free Pint may be showered with attention but it still has to pay its way, which is more than is required of most three year olds. Happy Birthday Free Pint! The main birthday present this year has been the Free Pint Bus which has been adorned with logos and a massive extending beer jug on the roof in preparation for Monday's departure on the next leg of the Roadshow. The Oxford event last week went very well with one attendee winning a lovely bottle of bubbly courtesy of Roadshow sponsors Factiva. We'd love you to join us next week if you're in the vicinity of Lougborough, Sheffield, Newcastle, Manchester or Aberystwyth. Find out more at . I hope you're also planning to visit London at the beginning of December to attend the Online Information 2000 show. We're running the Free Pint Bar on stand 30 and I'll tell you more about our exciting plans over the coming weeks. For now though pencil in the 5th - 7th December 2000 and check out . Today's birthday edition is as packed with tips and interesting Web sites as ever. We cover such diverse topics as central and eastern Europe, business portals, finding health and medical information and the usual round up of happenings at the Bars, forthcoming events and personal favourite sites from readers. If you're visiting a drinking establishment soon (perhaps with us on the Roadshow next week) then do join us in raising a toast to Free Pint's third birthday. Cheers William William Hann BSc MIInfSc Founder and Managing Editor, Free Pint e: william@freepint.co.uk t: +44 (0)1784 455435 f: +44 (0)1784 455436 Free Pint is a trademark of Free Pint Limited http://www.freepint.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "Launching your web presence with e-commerce" is the British Library's new one day workshop (1 December) aimed at information professionals, researchers and anyone wanting to design and launch their own web site. E-commerce is becoming an essential element of business practice in any context but it is easy to waste time and make mistakes. The course will cover all the vital steps of setting up an e-commerce enabled web site. Further info tel 020 7412 7915 or go to http://www.bl.uk/services/stb/courses.html > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [bl742] >>> EXTENSIVE WORLDWIDE BROADCASTING OF YOUR MESSAGE <<< To reach 32,000 information searchers in 117 countries visit: http://www.freepint.co.uk/advert.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from Martin White * NEWSdesk - press releases from all the leading IT and telecommunications vendors world-wide , with a well-designed e-mail alert service * Intranet Design Magazine - full of best practice suggestions, technical briefings and news * Quick Links - monitors developments (mainly in the EU) on internet issues, the information society and information content, with an emphasis on legal and regulatory aspects * Electronic Privacy Information Center - excellent global coverage of data privacy issues, with well-maintained archives and links to other resources * Richard Feynman - devoted to a quite extraordinary Nobel prize- winner who was instrumental in solving the cause of the Challenger Shuttle disaster. Martin White is Managing Director of Intranet Focus , a consulting company that works with intranet managers and with information companies delivering content to intranets. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tell us about your top five favourite Web sites. see the guidelines at or email > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FACTIVA LAUNCHES INFOPRO ALLIANCE PORTAL Take a look at our new portal to support information professionals around the world. The Infopro Alliance Portal provides tools and resources especially for the professional researcher, with links to industry web sites, publications, white papers, case studies and discussion through our link to the Free Pint Bar. Bookmark http://www.factiva.com/infopro and see you on the roadshow! > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [fa743] >>> RECOMMEND FREE PINT TO A FRIEND <<< If you enjoy Free Pint then why not let us send a courteous and brief introduction to your friends on your behalf. Simply enter their details confidentially on this page: http://www.freepint.co.uk/reco.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/021100.htm#bar Free Pint Bar - http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in the address ] Last week, a Free Pinter from the National Population Unit in South Africa expressed the view that those working in corporate libraries and the Special Libraries Association are unaware of the problems faced by non corporate librarians, especially in the developing world (5584). Does anyone share this concern? New search tools continue to appear with clever tricks and gadgets, such as one that helps you spot plagiarism (5615) and one that allows you to search for whole chunks of text (5497) and while some existing engines continue to get better (5606), Google being an example, others don't. In some search situations it's best to go vertical and use a specialist tool to find statistics (5580) or places to stay (5594). General business resources are always in demand and a posting about them resulted in a nice little collection (5464). The weekly Pub Crawl looked at a range of Internet business articles, the emphasis being mainly on competitive intelligence and knowledge management (5561, 5653). More specific business concerns mentioned on the Bar include defence spending (5480), diaries of forthcoming events (5490), grant finding services (5492) and historical price/earning ratios (5509). Also aired in the Bar were resources for finding latitude and longitude coordinates (5449), research evaluation (5533), electronics and communication engineering information (5551) and operas (5543). Among the latest Tipples were a review of The Atlantic Online (5471) and a site holding data on English words with their origin, history and use (5639). Webmasters and technical bods have been wondering about bibliographic software (5511), Dreamweaver (5517), drop down boxes (5528), cultural considerations in Web design (5559), spiders (5654) and newsgroup software (5633). There have also been mentions of online writing (5474), digital subscriber lines (5472), Web design companies (5531), SAP business application software (5595) and Web site editorial procedure (5500). There was mixed bag of questions about singing lessons for the tone deaf (5603), Latin translation sites (5491), marketing/media recruitment (5586), greenfield sites (5618), electrical transmission line graphics (5560) and a request for French language equivalents of the Free Pint Bar (5447). Business researchers have been levelling questions on a variety of topics recently. There's one on finding out the domain names registered by a particular company (5457), time and materials contract law (5478), freight carriers (5608) and procurement management (5643). We are still waiting for replies to the one about oil industry alliances (5460), a comparison of Portal B with Lexis Nexis (5609) and researchers with a knowledge of Portugal (5651). Quantitative and statistical questions are often difficult to find answers to. We have had answers to queries about Internet usage statistics (5558), comparisons of the US and the EU under broad statistical headings (5579) and UK homeowner statistics (5502). But if you know anything about British companies that have made big investments in Spain (5475), price/earnings ratios in Italy (5484) or demographic information on people who use the Internet as a source for medical information (5514) do pay a visit to the Bar. Free Pint Student Bar - http://www.freepint.co.uk/student [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in the address ] On the Student Bar there have been requests for help with an English literature dissertation (1051), a dissertation on student stress in schools (1048), a project on the death penalty (1052) and an essay on the role of the information professional in the information society (1056). And there was a posting about some bursaries which have been awarded by the UK Online User Group (1055). Simon Collery, Content Developer > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To read a message: - Enter the id number in place of XXXX in the address , for example - For Student Bar postings please use the address - Alternatively, view this summary online with activated hyperlinks at > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Do you have a research question? Could you help other members? It's easy to post a message at the Bar or the Student Bar . Visit daily for "Today's Tipple" - a different Web site reviewed every working day at the Bar. Access the Portal archive of Tipples at . To have the latest Free Pint Bar postings sent to you every other day, send a blank email to . For the Student Bar Digest send an email to . > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Download your FREE 30-Day Trial of BullsEye Pro, the Ultimate Research Assistant for Professionals. In the June 8th issue of Free Pint, Chris Sherman describes how "BullsEye, a desktop based meta search engine can also access many of the sites included in InvisibleWeb.com." With fine-grained filters and up to the minute trackers, you will control information rather than having it control you. Go to http://info.intelliseek.com/promotions/fp.htm and receive a 20% discount off the price of $249 if you purchase a copy by 12/31/00. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [in734] >>> TODAY'S GLOBAL AND INDUSTRY NEWS IN 300 FOLDERS <<< Check out this major free resource for Free Pint members. http://www.freepint.co.uk/news/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TIPS AND TECHNIQUES http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/021100.htm#tips "Web Sources for Central and Eastern Europe" By Sam Vaknin I am a veteran web surfer but I am hard pressed to recall a subject so lacking and yet so over-represented as "Central and Eastern Europe" (CEE for short) and the Balkan (Southeast Europe or SEE). The apparent contradiction is easily reconcilable. There are very few authoritative resources out there - and a myriad of sectarian, biased and propaganda sources, all clamouring for attention in the most vulgar and primitive manner possible. To the uninitiated, it is a minefield best treaded with great caution. The interested and the curious would do well to start by resorting to that old fashioned resource, the encyclopaedia. I have found factual errors even in an establishment as erudite, esteemed and venerable as the "Encyclopaedia Britannica". But at least, such a source is unlikely to cloud issues and historical or economic processes with prejudices and worse. The best reference sources I use when in need of capsule knowledge are the aforementioned Britannica with its excellent Internet Guide and the reference collections, Xrefer , Bartleby and ebookcity . A handy reference portal can be found here: . When in need of impartial and reliable information regarding the region, avoid all search engines. They are likely to yield zillions of mind numbing, low quality web sites with reams of irrelevant or misleading "information". Web directories are not of much assistance, either. Few editors possess the professional knowledge and wherewithal to ferret out the pearls. The relevant sections in most web directories are poor and poorly organized. Not much help there. Still, these specialized portals are worth a visit: The great "Political Resources" has it all: links, elections coverage, resources, reviews and news . And, of course, the excellent, news-oriented "Central Europe Online": . This site brings together communities of people interested in one of the list of countries it covers. It is fully featured - from classifieds to "Book of the Day" and a daily roundup of the relevant media. Another good portal is "Orientation Central and Eastern Europe" . Besides the Favourites (news and views) it contains unusual features, such as travel and social issues. A few scholars or interested individuals have assembled massive collections of links, usually organized either thematically or geographically. There are virtually hundreds of such pages but here are a few of my favourites: Central and East European Legal, Political, Business and Economics WWW Resources Balkan Peace Links The regional link pages of "Civil Action in Eurasia" Links - Eastern Europe A fabulous map collection - both historical and current: And this is a VERY partial list. Unconventional problems call for unusual solutions. The best sources, to my mind, are in the archives of discussion lists and in the archives of periodicals. Let's start with the latter. Five stand out. The first is "Central Europe Review" . For disclosure's sake, I must inform you that I am proud to serve as a weekly columnist there. But it lately won the NetMedia 2000 Award, so it must be as good as I think it is. It contains in depth analysis, news coverage, thematic issues, book and arts reviews - all related to the countries of CEE. Its coverage - politics, geopolitics, economies and history - of the countries of Central Europe and the Balkan is particularly impressive. Not far behind is the more veteran "Transitions Online" . Runners up include "Centraleurope.com", sister publication "Russia Today" . The links pages of all these publications are goldmines to the CEE enthusiast. An unusual site which disseminates high quality and incisive intelligence reports in CIA-like format is Stratfor:. To this august list, we choose to add the courageous and highly reliable "International War and Peace Reporting" . It has a Balkan edition but it covers virtually all the countries of CEE and SEE (especially the tenser spots). It has a network of local journalists doing the dangerously impossible: reporting regularly and even-handedly. The economies of CEE and SEE are scrutinized by the professional team of "Central Europe Business" (owned by "The Economist") here: . It is the web complement of an eponymous print monthly. The archives of discussion lists constitute another source and by far the most voluminous and thought provoking. The archives of academic lists sometimes contain hundreds and thousands of full text articles, resources and links. The archive of my list, "CEE and Balkan - Aftertherain" contains close to 500 full texts, carefully selected from hundreds of sources. It grows by 3-5 texts daily and is available here: . My list is less than a year old. Imagine the riches available to you in the archives of multiannuated lists, such as the "Russia List"! Prof. David Johnson, the list owner, publishes a weekly digest called the CDI Russia Weekly. E-mail a request to to receive free back issues or to subscribe to the list. The archive of the CDI Russia Weekly is available at . But these are just two of hundreds of lists of similar or better quality and breadth. There is no point in listing them all. Visit the archives, check the background of the list owner, read the list description and decide for yourself (see below). Non-academic discussion lists are an infallible source of current, sparkling, vital and controversial information. Discussion lists regarding specific CEE/SEE countries can be found here (e-groups): Many universities put servers, storage space ad other infrastructure at the disposal of students and faculty. This server hosts numerous CEE and SEE-related lists: A few can be found here as well (click on "Online List Archives"): Liszt is a general list of more than 90,000 (!) email forums (search for "Europe" or "Balkan"): > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sam Vaknin, an economic and political columnist and a published and awarded author of short fiction and reference, is currently an economic advisor to the government of Macedonia. He has collaborated with Israeli psychologists and criminologists in the study of personality disorders and is the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain - How the West Lost the East". He is the editor of the Mental Health Disorders category in the Open Directory Project and of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder topic in Suite101. Web address: Email address: or . > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * "Politics and Government" links and articles in the Free Pint Portal * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks * Post a message to the author now at the Free Pint Bar * Access the entire archive of Free Pint content > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Use Cruiser - for hosting with a difference! http://www.globalgold.co.uk/ Are you looking after multiple accounts or managing multiple brands or clients and in need of a more flexible hosting solution to help you handle your business efficiently and effectively? If so, think Cruiser. http://www.globalgold.co.uk/Hosting/Cruiser > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [gg745] >>> FREE PINT FACT <<< Every month the Free Pint Web site transmits over 4,000 megabytes of information. We also send out over 5,000 megabytes of emails with the Newsletter, Bar Digest and Student Bar Digest. This makes a total of 9,000 megabytes (or 9 gigabytes) and to print it out you would need over 3 million pieces of paper - every month! > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BOOKSHELF http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf "Super Searchers on Health & Medicine: The Online Secrets of Top Health & Medical Researchers" Reviewed by Cynthia L. Shamel Beginning searchers and experienced searchers alike will benefit from the collective wisdom of the Super Searchers on Health & Medicine: The Online Secrets of Top Health & Medical Researchers. Author Susan Detwiler has identified and interviewed ten of the best medical researchers in the business. Her assembly includes medical librarians, educators, physicians, and health information specialists. These Super Searchers offer readers perspectives, search strategies and sources that are key to successful research. The varied backgrounds and expertise of the Super Searchers in this book almost guarantee that each and every reader will learn something new or receive confirmation of current practices. The searchers' tips address how to search effectively, where to search, and how to evaluate findings. For instance, a medical librarian suggests a strategy to search the medical literature with precision for newer topics not yet part of the controlled vocabulary. An information consultant to pharmaceutical firms suggests where to find out about drugs that have not yet been launched. An online physician explains how to evaluate medical information on the Web. Detwiler's introduction to Super Searchers on Health & Medicine presents an overview of the information environment. She points out that in health and medical research, information professionals focus on helping. They are dedicated to helping the patient, the doctor and the client. These searchers serve their constituents with careful attention to proven sources, precision, and the increasing value of the Web. The author succeeds in creating interviews which flow smoothly and feel conversational. She concludes each interview with a selection of Power Tips from that expert. These Power Tips, along with the appendix containing a directory of recommended resources, facilitate the use of Super Searchers as a reference book. Readers will definitely want to have their pencils ready to make notes as they "listen in" on these extremely enlightening interviews. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cynthia L. Shamel owns Shamel Information Services and specializes in researching healthcare and the business of science. She can be reached at . > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * Find out more about this book online at the Free Pint Bookshelf * Read about other Internet searching books on the Free Pint Bookshelf * Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com * Details: ISBN 0910965447 published by Cyberage Books written by Susan M. Detwiler; edited by Reva Basch * Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the Bookshelf To propose a business-Web-related book for review, send details to . > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> SUBMIT YOUR SITE TO THE TOP SEARCH ENGINES FOR FREE <<< http://www.freepint.co.uk/submit/ Quickly and easily submit your Web site to nine of the top search engines, including AltaVista, Northern Light and Google. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FEATURE ARTICLE http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/021100.htm#feature "Portals for business information on the Internet" By Sheila Webber There are lots of ways to define a 'portal'. For the purposes of this article I am defining it as a set of organised links to business information resources. Some of these sites have other content, but they are selected here on the basis of their directories of links. I don't think there can ever be a one-stop portal to business information that will suit everyone's needs. Whether you find a particular portal useful is likely to depend on your geographical location, job title, your organisation's sector and size etc. There are now many, many sites with collections of links to business websites, so apologies if this article does not include your particular favourite. I have put emphasis on resources based in the UK and on free resources (as opposed to ones like PortalB associated with priced services). Diana Grimwood-Jones will be writing about information for small businesses in Free Pint soon, so I will not cover web sites aimed specifically at Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Finally, I won't cover personal finance, as that deserves an article to itself. So, what does that leave? General UK-based portals ------------------------ Karen Blakeman's Business Information on the Internet has straightforward browsable sections such as: Countries, News, Company and telephone directories, Starting points, Statistics and market research, and 'Miscellaneous Day-to-Day Essentials' (a useful catch-all for sites with exchange rates, postcode guides, street maps and the like). The Tradepartners site (the UK Department of Trade and Industry's site for exporters) has a good set of Websites for Exporters . You can search it by region/ country, by sector, by information type (e.g. gateway, market) and by keyword. There is international coverage (the focus here being on 'non'-UK companies and markets) and brief annotations for each item. I am sceptical of the way in which the DTI constantly seems to rebadge its services to business, but (coincidence or not) this part of the website has improved in scope and utility since the site was redesigned and renamed earlier in the year. BIRD-Online has an annotated database of UK and Irish business web sites (select 'Information to help you run your business' from the bar at the top of the home page) though I find the search options a bit confusing. You have to select a category and can additionally enter a search keyword: it is not clear whether these are being ANDed or ORed. Two websites which are funded for the benefit of the UK higher education sector are BUBL and SOSIG, and both are useful for business resources. BUBL LINK provides a manageable number of links on a wide range of topics. The entries include annotations, and each resource on the BUBL database is checked by information professionals once a year to ensure that the description is still accurate. The social sciences section includes subsections such as Business Directories, Financial links, and European Law, as well as ones relating to specific disciplines. I would still tend to prefer BUBL LINK to SOSIG (Social Sciences Information Gateway) for practical business resources, as opposed to more theoretical aspects. Following its last redesign, SOSIG is easier to browse, with a Yahoo!-like front page. The Business section is subdivided into disciplines such as Marketing, Accounting and Management. Within each section, resources are listed by website or material type (e.g. Government sites, journals, educational material). Like BUBL, SOSIG is compiled by information professionals, who add index terms and resource descriptions, and both BUSL and SOSIG can be searched as well as browsed. Some general portals based outside the UK ----------------------------------------- CorporateInformation is an excellent portal. It allows you to search for sites and directories with information about a specific company; to see a list of company sources related to a particular country; and to view relevant links for selected industries in specific countries. The country pages are particularly good, including background information about company types in the country concerned (e.g. the difference between an AG and a GmbH). It even lists relevant non-web resources. Although it is based in Santa Monica, USA, Business.com covers a good number of non-US sites, particularly if they are English language. It is not enormous, but is nicely organised, the links are annotated and the site can be searched. The classification focuses around 'Departments' (Human Resources Management, Legal etc.) and industry sectors. There are also profiles of key industries (industry overviews with links to brief company profiles and news), though the focus is on the US market. The directory editors include library and information professionals and sector specialists. The Canadian Enterweb lists web sites concerned with business development and trade, with about ten new sites added per month. There is a North American focus, but worldwide information too. There are good annotations, and a rating system, with the highest rated sites listed at the top of each section. This site is in French or English. You need to familiarise yourself with what is in each category, since you can't search the site, but this is a good example of an established selective directory run by a knowledgeable individual. BRINT has become much more useful as a general business information portal recently. Founded by Yogesh Malhotra a number of years ago, BRINT's strengths have been knowledge management, and e-business. There are still specialist portals for these topics, but if you scroll towards the bottom of the home page you will find the General Business and Technology Portal. This has some good subdivisions. Coverage is not restricted to the USA, but non-US coverage is uneven. For example, the Directories: Europe section includes links to about 20 general directories, 5 Spanish, 7 Irish, 1 Turkish and an eclectic mix of 139 UK 'directories'. Dow Jones' work.com portal includes a directory of business resources on the web, which is reasonably well organised and has useful brief annotations. It is evidently compiled by humans, and is more satisfactory than the Financial Times' directory . The FT is, of course, an excellent source for information content such as news, but the current computer-generated links directory usually produces (for me) rather disappointing results. For example, the Sales and Marketing section includes an item apparently called 'Main Login Page' with the helpful annotation 'Abstract cannot be shown'. I used to refer people to the FT's list of Stock Exchanges around the world, and duly spent time hacking round to find its new position the first two times the FT relocated it, but when they last redesigned the site I gave up the chase. I would now tend to use the International Federation of Stock Exchanges' list of exchanges . Ceoexpress is in one page of tightly packed business links, but it loads surprisingly quickly. There are no annotations, but its compactness makes it navigable in its own way. News ---- Sites that I find useful for lists of publications such as newspapers and journals include: the British Library Newspaper Library and Euroseek's media guide . As there are increasing numbers of trade and business journals on the Net, there is better access to the valuable rankings lists that these journals contain. Gary Price's List of lists has links to rankings of various kinds, some general business, some industry-specific. Examples are Forbes International 800, American Lawyers 1000 and Top 100 Women in Canadian Business. There is a focus on North America, but coverage of some international rankings too. Gary Price has created some other resources as well e.g. NewsCenter (links to news sites) and Speech/Transcript Center (links to sites with transcripts for, mostly, US politicians and departments) Industry sectors ---------------- If you are interested in a specific industry, then a sector-specific business portal may be of most use to you. Google provides quite good results for broad topic searches. For example, a search on 'Bakery' brings to the top of the list; an Advanced search, specifying the domain '.org.uk' brings up pages from the (UK) Baker's Federation and the British Society of Baking. A search on 'Pharmaceutical' brings various trade organisations and pharmaceuticals starting pages into the top 10. The UK-based Market Research on the Web is a good starting point for identifying sites relevant to particular sectors, and also has a section giving monthly market research news. Verticalnet has 'communities' focusing on about 55 different industries. For example, the Bakery section includes a supplier directory, links, discussion forum, trading opportunities, news and links to other relevant sites (e.g. the Cheese Reporter at ). Verticalnet is based in the USA, although there is a limited amount of international coverage. Another site which is developing country and industry portals is Intellifact . For statistics, the Statistical resources on the web portal maintained by the University of Michigan is an obvious first portal of call. SOSIG and BUBL can also be worth searching for this area. Portals with narrative ---------------------- By this, I mean web sites which integrate links with advice about how to undertake business research. They may be particularly useful for people who are new to the business information field, as they give an idea of why you would use different sources. The Spire Project includes sections to do with researching patents and companies. Deborah Flanagan's site is a tutorial on US company information searching . Finally, articles can also serve as portals with narrative. A recent example is 'Competitive Intelligence: A librarian's empirical approach' by Margaret Gross. (Searcher 8 (8) September 2000, ). > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sheila Webber is a lecturer in the Department of Information Studies at the University of Sheffield. In 1994, when still based at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, she started up a site of Business Information Sources on the Internet which has been widely cited and linked-to. For the moment the site is still at Strathclyde at . Before moving to Strathclyde she was Head of the British Library's Business Information Service. She can be contacted at Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK. 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Bar postings, Newsletter and Portal) * AltaVista and Google from the "Tools" box on the right * Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk from the Bookshelf homepage > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT GOLD This time last year we had an article on major UK resources which are useful to Library and Information Science professionals and students and one on affiliate programmes, their growth, value, pros and cons. * Free Pint No.49, 4th November 1999 "Key UK Library and Information Science Information Resources" and "Affiliate and Associate Programs" . Two years ago the Tips and Techniques article was about electronic newsletters and updating services. The Feature article was a review of all the sites one information professional finds useful at work and at home. * Free Pint No.25, 29th October 1998 "Delivered to your Desktop" and "Making it part of your life" . This time three years ago the first ever edition of Free Pint appeared with an article giving general tips and advice on searching the Web using search engines. There was also an article which looked at the best sources of business information, statistics and news on the Web. * Free Pint No.1, 6th November 1997 "Back to Searching Basics" and "Major Sources of Business Information on the Internet" . Simon Collery, Content Developer > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES [Provisional] * Voluntary Sector Resources * Film Industry * * Economics Sources * Small Businesses * On Line Auctions * * Railways * Innovation * History * Horseracing * * The Music Business * Radio Industry * Transport * If you have a suggestion for an article topic or would like to write for Free Pint then please contact me or sign up for the monthly Author Update on the Web site at . 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