Customer Reviews

The Web Library: Building a World Class Personal Library with Free Web Resources

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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Glancing at the title I thought it was just another list of websites, and although many sites are listed, most of them aren't the common knowledge everyday sites that librarians and general web surfers already know about. What makes the book quite a bit different is that the author includes quite a few interviews with people from the websites that are mentioned -- people from Project Gutenberg, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution, etc. The author also uses several methods to judge site longevity (i.e., will the site be around in the future), plus there's a website he manages to keep track of changes. With Open Access becoming a trend, this book is the most credible to date.

A vast amount of energy, experience, expertise and intelligence must have gone into the making of this book. I don't think there is a comparable guide to bona-fide free information on the internet.

I managed to see a pre-publication copy of the Web Library & I highly reccommend it to any/all web searchers. Very exhaustive, complete, insightful & witty to boot. Believe the sub-title. Nick Tomauolo has done an amazing job of finding all of the free web sources known to man & organizing them in a cohesive, coherent manner. It's actually a joy to read (not some dry, dusty tome). You can indeed build your own "million dollar library" for free- and never leave your house. Just buy this excellent book & start building- and have a darn good time doing so.

What a find! For someone with my level of expertise, the web has been somewhat of a mystery, but now I have an excellent resource for finding the information I need. This book is well written and user friendly. Thanks to Mr. Tomaiuolo for bringing a whole new world of information to my fingertips!

Build a personal library of information using free web resources with the help of Tomaiuolo's The Web Library: Building A World Class Personal Library With Free Web Resources, edited by Barbara Quint. The Web Library is simply packed with web links and updates, as well as assessments of the pros and cons of given reference sites. Anyone can use no/low cost Web resources to build a comprehensive personal library of data, documents and images: The Web Library outlines keys to locating such gold mines and includes interviews with librarians and leading content providers alike.

As a new computer user, who is just learning to surf the web, I found this book full of useful information. It is quite interesting and helpful, and full of websites I never would have found on my own. I enjoy the author's writing style as well.

I spend a lot of hours searching the web for work. I bought a copy of this book and it kept disappearing off my desk--borrowed by co-workers. Now I keep it locked in my desk drawer--they'll have to buy their own copies! Well done, Nicholas and Barbara! Hope to see more of your books in print.

Our library bought this book immediately. It's been requested on Interlibrary loan 4 times in a month and a half.

I usually steer clear of web site directory books because they become obsolete very quickly. This book presents more than lists of sites. It contains some unusual and even provocative information concerning whether it is preferable to read in hardcopy or online; it also has interviews with people who create content at the freebie sites and this gave me a fresh perspective on the availability of free resources. The best thing is that isn't chock full of screenshots, it's full of information.

Not just all of the (believe it!) free stuff that Mr.Tomaiuolo has unearthed. The book too: a good read, well organized. Get a copy to have right next to your computer, of course. But have one on the bedside table too. Makes for great reading & guaranteed not to put you to sleep. Promise! Thanks Dr. T you have done us all an enormous favor by publishing this fantastic guide to the web.