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Elaine Hall, New Zealand Libraries, v. 49, n. 11, September 2004, pp. 401-402‘The second edition is not just an update of content – necessary for any subject associated with the web – but a comprehensive rewrite, in terms of both depth and breadth.’ ‘The anecdote entitled ‘My great-great-aunt Alice’ is an excellent illustration of the need for different information access methods for different needs and documents – using the best of the old, adapted to the demands of the new.’ ‘It is a pleasure to have a book to review that is truly practical and highly pertinent to a key and dynamic aspect of current information retrieval, and to be able to recommend it wholeheartedly.’ ‘And even if you personally do not intend to provide such access to information on the web, the book may be highly instructive for finding information that you are sure is there, somewhere!’ Pat Booth, The Indexer, v. 24, n. 2, October 2004, p. 113 ‘Explanations are clear and plenty of examples are given. The layout makes the text easy to read, with chapters divided into short sections, each one signposted by a concise and informative heading. This also helps quick referral from the index. Terms and topics that can appear daunting to the novice are dealt with straightforwardly and simply.’ Nancy Mulvany, i-Torque, i. 16, July 2004, p. 10 ‘This book will be useful to indexers and other information access designers at all levels. The writing is clear and concise. There are many hands-on examples. Current information about taxonomies, search engines, metadata, thesauri, the semantic web, and ontologies is presented with finesse. Chapter 12, “Bringing it all together” is an excellent summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the various information access methods discussed in the book.” Prue Deacon, AusSI Newsletter, v. 28, n. 2, March-August 2004, pp. 14, 27 ‘I highly recommend Website indexing to indexers thinking about tackling a web project. To those already working in this area, it will be a valuable reference. I also think it would be useful for web managers and web developers to discover all the indexing possibilities beyond the raw index of a search engine. I hope that they will read the book – and then hire an indexer!’ Dave Gardiner, October 2004 issue of Offpress, newsletter of the Society of Editors (Queensland) Inc. ‘Few books tackle the art of indexing and fewer still describe how it works for the web, so it is a real find to come across a reference that presents such a comprehensive overview.’ ‘It has a great deal of practical information – though often briefly discussed – and includes numerous website references throughout that let the reader explore their interests.’ Online at http://www.redlettuce.com.au/websiteindexing.htm Martin Ahermaa, IASC/SCAD Bulletin, v.27, n.4, Winter 2004–2005, p.7 ‘The second edition of this important resource has moved beyond a how-to approach to web indexes to including ways of improving access to websites by enhancing searches and even the strategic placement of sites within directories.’ ‘Browne and Jermey are to be commended for helping make the web and individual websites more accessible and comprehensible by encouraging indexers to apply their considerable analytical skills there.’ Linda Sutherland, SIdelights, n.3, Autumn 2004, pp. 11-12 ‘The previous edition of Website indexing: enhancing access to information within websites was useful; this one, expanded and reorganized, is a goldmine.’ ‘Coverage of software options is much better than in the first edition.’ ‘The section concludes with useful advice on the choice of indexing tools for different purposes.’ ‘Not unexpectedly, the book ends with a useful subject index.’ Michael Upshall, eLucidate, November/December 2004, pp. 19-20 ‘It is easy for indexers to fall into the trap of trying to shoehorn traditional book indexing skills for Web use, rather than starting with websites and identifying how best they can be accessed and indexes, but to the authors’ credit, the book is an admirably open-minded tour of the many innovative ways in which websites provide navigation tools to their content. And, to its credit, the book uses innovative methods of presenting information in the body of the text. Technical terms are boxed and glossed at the point they are first used.’ ‘En route the authors provide an invaluable whistle-stop tour of index usability research.’ ‘It provides many recipes and tips, with lots of links to fascinating examples of indexing that will give you plenty to think about for your site.’
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| © Jon Jermey
and Glenda Browne
10-Jun-2005
unless otherwise indicated |
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