The resources related to architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and related fields available on the World Wide Web are changing and increasing all the time. Fortunately, there are some effective methods of finding your way through all those resources and finding what you specifically need among all those resources. Two such methods are SUBJECT ARCHIVES of Web resources and SEARCH ENGINES for the Web.

SUBJECT ARCHIVES

Subject archives are compilations of links, sometimes well-categorized and expertly annotated, to Web sites in general or to Web sites relevant to a certain field or topic.  They are put together by actual human beings.(!)  They can be especially good for general exploration in a certain field or for a certain topic.

Here are just three of the best and most frequently cited subject archives specifically for architecture and related fields. 

ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING: NET RESOURCESProducer: Jeanne Brown of the University of Nevada -- Las Vegas Libraries 

According to the Magellan Internet Guide, Brown's archive "lives up to what the title promises - a comprehensive set of URLs, Gopher addresses, listservs, newsgroups and so forth related to architecture and building are provided here. The links are well organized thematically under headings such as architecture libraries, images, architectural computing and so on. Page author Jeanne Brown, an architecture studies librarian, has provided brief descriptions of each site."

CYBURBIA: Internet Resources for the Built Environment
Producer: Dan Tasman of the University of Buffalo 

According to the Magellan Internet Guide, Tasman's archive (formerly known as PAIRC) offers "listings of conferences, competitions, and exhibits as well as census information, and environmental archives. Users will find a number of links to government agencies and preservation societies throughout the United States, and abroad. Countries also archived here include Canada, Australia, and Argentina." 

VIRTUAL LIBRARY OF ARCHITECTURE and 
VIRTUAL LIBRARY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREProducer: Rodney Hoinkes of the Centre for Landscape Research (CLR) at the University of Toronto 

According to the Magellan Internet Guide, Hoinkes' archives provide "very extensive links to sites with information about software, publications, history, educational institutions, firms, conferences, competitions, events, histories, models, exhibits, and much more," all related to architecture and landscape architecture.

For archives including IMAGE databases related to architecture and design available on the World Wide Web, see our corresponding Internet section of the Architecture Slide Collection page. 

SEARCH ENGINES

In contrast to subject archives, search engines are generated in an entirely automated way.  They function as indexes to large portions of Web resources, and they allow for very specific and/or complex search queries (using keywords, Boolean operators, etc.).  They can be especially good when looking for a specific topic (a specific person, organization, document, fact, etc.).

To get started with some of the best, go to Internet Search Engines on the University Libraries page. 

CAUTION:
EVALUATING WORLD WIDE WEB INFORMATION 

All information sources in all formats (print, electronic, etc.) should be judged for their authority, timeliness, bias and so forth. But this applies to the Web, because of its open, democratic, and "unfiltered" nature, in a new and special way.  Here is a list of five EVALUATION CRITERIA, with brief, clear explanations of each, for evaluating Web sources, put together by a librarian from New Mexico State University.