Table of contents: issue38

Public Libraries: 2003, 2004: A Backward Glance and Thoughts on the Future

editor — Fri, 30 Jan 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Penny Garrod looks at some of the broader issues affecting public libraries and information professionals.

Spam, privacy and the law

Another year gone and the millennium celebrations and Y2K bug already seem to belong to some dim and distant technological past.

As 2003 drew to a close the spotlight was on the use and abuse of Information Technology: never was so much havoc caused by so few. The language employed by the media to describe events in the online world reflected global concerns about warfare and disease. Viruses, worms and trojan horses 'infected' and 'invaded' international networks, and a 'war' on spam was declared.

Search Engines: The Year 2003 in Perspective

editor — Fri, 30 Jan 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Phil Bradley takes us through the major trends and highlights in the world of search engines over the course of the past year.

Since 2003 is now drawing to a close, (or at least it is while I'm writing this - I suspect that when you get to read it 2004 will have dawned bright and early), I thought that it might be interesting to take a look back at a few of the things that happened in the search engine industry over the past year. This isn't designed to be an inclusive month by month, blow by blow account, but is just a few of the trends and interesting things that I've noticed.

WebWatch: How Accessible Are Australian University Web Sites?

editor — Fri, 30 Jan 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Dey Alexander reports on a recent study of the accessibility of Australian university Web sites.

This article reports on a recent study of the accessibility of Australian university Web sites. A selection of key pages from all 45 Australian tertiary education Web sites were analysed to assess their compliance with basic accessibility standards, as required by Australian anti-discrimination legislation. The results--98% of sites failed to comply--suggest that Australian university Web sites are likely to present significant barriers to access for people with disabilities.