Search Notes
An initial list of printed and electronic tertiary resources was created from personal knowledge. Further resources were found by searching the quaternary resources identified in the last section.
Well known, general reference works by Leo and Day (1996) and Murray and Schlicke (1999) were checke d tor their coverage of toxicology resources, but these were considered limited with regard to the wealth of subject specific lists available.
Internet search engines and directories were then used to look tor more tertiary resources. Tertiary resources on the initial list were examined to identity terms used to describe them; specifically words and phrases forming titles, headings and m e ta data. As with the quaternary resources, there was no standard w ay tor the resources to be described, although all contained a reference to the subject term ‘toxicology’ and to the nature of the resource. The subject of the resource listing was usually simply
‘toxicology’ but narrower terms such os ‘environm ental’, ‘chem ical safety’ and ‘hazard’ were also present, indicating that it would be possible to be more precise in searching it a more focused app ro ach was desired. Flowever, the term toxicology
was usually present somewhere in the text, and thus use of the broader term could be relied on to identify tertiary resources within a sub discipline.
The following terms were used as appropriate to search for the tertiary entities:
Toxicolog*, resource*, list*, links, directory, directories, guide*, bibliography, bibliographies, webliography, webliographies, catalogue*, database*, search engine*, gatew ay, portal, mailing lists, newsgroups, research, expert*, information service*, organisation*, departm ent*, course*, webring*
(The asterisk denotes truncation)
Books in Print (UK and US), Medline, LISA and Social Science Index were queried for any further lists of toxicology resources. A com bination of terms representing
toxicology was used in addition to terms referring to information resources, services or systems.
Finally, level specific resources were used to identify particular tertiary resources including:
Library/information services: (appendix 3.4.a) Standard UK guides were consulted to identify library/information services indexed as covering toxicology:
• The Aslib Directory of Information Sources, 1998 edition • Three volumes published by the British Library
• McBurney V, 1995, Guide to Libraries in London
• Dale P, 2001, Guide to Libraries and Information Sources in M edicine and Health Care (3rd edn.)
• Dale P, 1992, Guide to Libraries and Information Units in Government Departments and Other Organisations (10*^ ed.)
• The Library Association’s Directory of M edical and Health Care Libraries in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, 10*^ ed., 1998
All of these have some limitations in their com pilation, which is based on the return of questionnaires, but taken together should identify the most significant services, with an indication of examples of others.
Each guide was used in the same way. The indexing was consulted for ‘toxicology' and similar terms, and the items found there listed. Using more general terms, such as
‘m e d icin e ’ or ‘pollution’ was not found to be helpful. Then the guide was scanned cover to cover to identify other possibilities. This was necessary because of the limitations of the subject indexing, particularly with regard to large and general collections, which are not indexed with every to p ic covered. The Library Association’s Directory was not found to be of use in this study, as libraries are not indexed by subject a t all.
One evident problem with all directories, particularly the older British Library volumes, is that they are rapidly outdated, by changes in governm ent departments, industrial mergers, etc. The entries found all had to be checked individually for currency before inclusion in the resource listing. Internet searches were carried out to identify w e b sites relevant to new library/information services lo cate d in this section. It is worth noting that as m any organisations now hove w eb sites, it is possible to use Internet search engines as ‘level specific tools’ to identify this particular type of tertiary entity. This is especially useful if a world wide, rather than simply UK, perspective is needed.
Toxicology societies/organisations: (appendix 3.4.b) Learned societies and professional associations in the toxicology area have already been discussed in ch a p te r two, the emphasis there being on their role in the developm ent and definition of the discipline/s of toxicology. However, it is clear from the discussion given in the earlier section that such organisations continue to play an im portant role in the information transfer process. Here, these organisations are considered as information resources, by virtue of their activities in publishing and sponsoring journals and newsletters, sponsorship of meetings, conferences and workshops, and direct providers of advice and information. Many toxicology societies and organisations moke use of new ICTs. Invariably, this includes a presence on the Internet as a w e b page, a n d some were already found from the Internet searches. For completeness, the Internet Scholarly Societies Project
(http://w w w .lib.uw aterloo.ca/societv/overview .htm ).
and two printed directories, Fischer CA and Schwartz CA (1995) and the Yearbook of International Assocations (1994/95), were also consulted. Any new entities found were searched for using Internet search tools, in order to check for an additional Internet presence.
Three points are im m ediately clear from this incom plete analysis of rather da te d reference works:
• toxicology societies ore extant at international, continental, and country level (these works do not include the regional societies which also exist), and for general and specific aspects of toxicology (though these tools do not include m any specialised societies)
• a variety of access points will be necessary; these tools focus on national, international and ‘general’ societies, and even with this remit omit some well- known societies, the British Toxicology Society being on obvious example.
• most organisations and societies now hove an Internet presence in the form of a w e b page, which offers a more contem porary and reliable m ethod of identification than printed directories.
Online host systems: The collections of databases and databanks offered by various online host systems form a significant tertiary resource for toxicology information. The most well known and specific for this subject area is TOXNET
fhtto://toxnet.nlm .nih.aov/), a collection of toxicology related databases searchable via a single interface, overseen by the US Notional Library of M edicine. The databases were originally accessed via d a ta networks, os for any other online system, but
recently hove b e co m e available to search via a w e b interface, which also allows use of the usual com m and language.
The tw o ‘general’ host systems which offer extensive collections of information relevant to science and technology ore those of the Dialog Corporation and of STM. Dialog offers toxicology-related files am ong a very w ide selection of information across the subject spectrum; STM focuses on files of relevance to science and technology. Both STM and Dialog host systems ore now searchable via the Internet.
Other host systems offer smaller numbers of files, or conce ntrate on other areas. Questel/Orbit, for example, concentrates on intellectual property databases, and offers a relatively small number of toxicology-related files - Chem ical Abstracts, Enviroline, HSEIine, Merck Index, and the Derwent files - none uniquely. German host DIMDI offers some toxicologicol databases with a customised graphical user interface via the w eb. Although not English language, this host is very well known and therefore m entioned here. The English language sources ore not unique; there are also two German language files, Siemens Gefahrstoff-Datenbank (SIGEDA) and Internationale Chemische Sicherheitsdatenblatter (ICSC) which are not covered by the other hosts.
G erm an search terms must be used for the latter databases, and it is recom m ended th a t both languages are used when searching several databases simultaneously.
A separate Internet search was carried out to find any lists of internet search tools d e d ic a te d to toxicology.
Selecting and presenting ttie resources
In contrast to the limited number of quaternary listings identified, too m any tertiary entities were found during the searches to include everything in the final list of
resources. Resources were therefore selected from the search results using the criteria described in section 3.3.
In order to present the resources in a useful way, they were divided by sub-type. The section of resource lists was further divided, by subject, because specific resource listings were available, and contrasted clearly with those containing links to more general resources.
Comments on tertiary resources
As expected, far more tertiary resources were identified, than quaternary.
Approxim ately 150 were included in the final listing. Examples of most of the sub-types of tertiary resource listed in table 3.1 could be found for toxicology.
Most tertiary resources contain links or references to material a t any of the four levels, including other tertiary resources. Links or references to lists of organisations and societies, were also evident. These were classed as quaternary resources and some examples were a d d e d to the quaternary section of the final listing. Some w e b pages linked only to other w e b sites, e.g.
• NIOSH listing
http://w w w .cdc.aov/niosh/toxicol.htm l
whereas others listed material in all formats, e.g.
• MedWebPlus
http://www.m edwebplus.com /subiect/Toxicoloav.htm l
The most readily identified tertiaries were w eb sites for organisations, associations and societies, or indeed a ca d e m ic departments and research institutes. It is tem pting to
feel that all organisations have a v/eb presence these days, and that consequently, Internet search engines can be relied upon, as level specific tools, to lo ca te them. This is not entirely true however. Search tools do not include every w e b site within their indexes, and not every organisation has a w eb presence. For the moment, printed directories and specific listings (may be Internet based) must be consulted if
com plete information is required. An example is the African Toxicology Society, which is listed in the Yearbook of International Associations (1994/95), but which as yet does not have an Internet presence. It can also be found listed in the Union of International Associations Yearbook of International Organisations
(http://w ww .uia.ora/uialists/ndx/ora/ora4.htm ), which clearly refers to the existence of the organisation, but notes that there is no accom panying w e b page. Lack of a w e b site m ay be for a variety of reasons, including limitations of technological infrastructure, cost, or that the entity is too small or private to warrant a public portrayal.
Many organisations with a w e b site existed before w e b technology arrived. Their w e b presence was established as a means of com m unicating with their members and others interested in their specialisation. An example here would be the British Toxicology Society (http://vAvw.thebts.oral.
Some organisations have taken a d va nta ge of the com m unication facilities offered by Internet technology to enhance the features and services provided to their
members and other interested parties. An example here includes TIAFTnet, website of The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists
(h ttp ://a p f.cb ft.u n ip d .it/tia ft/in fo /tia ftn e t.h tm l). Features include a mailing list for members only, where the archive can be accessed from the w e b page, a w e b forum for discussion open to all, ftp service for dow nload of larger files, and a members area with access to bulletins, cose-notes, on-line reviews and the therapeutic-toxic drug concentrations list. Such entities tend to include the word
network, n et or w eb os part of their title.
A solely w e b based, or virtual, organisation, may also be postulated, in contrast to those w hich hove a physical presence (office/staff/paper publications) in addition to their digital products. This virtual entity would a c t as a focal point for com m unication betw een those interested in the subject matter, and m ay be exemplified in the phenom enon of w e b rings. This relatively new terminology refers to a collection of w e b sites pertaining to a particular subject. The site authors link their sites together using software w hich supports features such as listing m em ber sites, moving on to the
next site, selecting a random site, and listing ot membershiip rules. Web rings provide a w a y for those with even idiosyncratic interests to find each other, and to
com m u nica te globally, in a w ay which before the w e b w ould probably have been impossible. The use of the English language as a com m on com m unication la nguage ca n n o t be ignored in this case.
Web rings are extremely popular in recreational areas such as fan fiction, rather than professional disciplines. Nevertheless, a w e b ring for Forensic Entomologists
fhttD://nav.webrina.vahoo.com /hub?rina=forent&list) was found, which suggests that in time other toxicology and sub-discipline sites may link together to create w e b rings. Web rings in broader areas such as m edicine and m edical libraries also exist. See for example:
International M edical Libraries on the Web Ring http://w w w .alenlib.dem on.co.uk/m edlib/
The M edical Student and MD Webring
http://victorian.fortunecitv.com /literarv/463/m d/m edstu2.htm
Most of the toxicology organisations' w e b sites include lists of resources, with varying degrees of annotation and subject coverage. Some lists were long and of a general nature, including seemingly every resource known to the author. Other lists were m uch more specific, listing resources within a sub discipline, such as the Human G enom e and Toxicology Group fhttp://w w w .hsrd.orni.aov/taraw eb/hat.htm ).
Also found were personal resource lists, com posed by people involved in some w ay with the profession, for example, Alan Barbour’s Forensic Toxicology Page
(http://userzw eb.liahtspeed.net/~abarbour).
Subject gateways, offering categorised resource lists, are also present on the Internet, although not as numerous as straightforward listings. Gateways specific to toxicology include the Toxicology Online Resource Directory
(http://w w w .toxicoloavonline.com /directorv/xcdirectorv.asp), but toxicology resources can also be retrieved from broader subject gateways such as the m edically orientated OMNI, and multidisciplinary directories such as Yahoo!
(w w w .vaho o.co m ). The issue of quality is clearly of im portance, and is to some extent addressed by gateways such as OMNI, in the evaluation of sites by subject experts. To some extent, this also happens with the more general directories such as Yahoo! and
the O pen Directory Project fhttD ://www.dm oz.ora). Understandably, the site review process takes time and money, and consequently fewer sites are found listed in 'quality' gateways. Simple listings of ‘favourite’ or 'known' resources are easier to produce, and so more abundant. Often these bear a disclaimer, with regard to the value of the listed sites.
Web based lists of resources, and subject gateways may perhaps be regarded as networked versions of printed guides to the literature. Although in these cases, the 'literature' is often other information residing on the network, and the am ount of acco m p a n yin g annotation or evaluation may be limited. Printed guides to the literature in toxicology are also available. These are defined here as works describing all types of resources, in contrast to those detailing, or evaluating a single or certain type of resource. Well known examples of literature guides are given in the final listing. Literature guides are found as journal articles, book chapters and books, and given that publications of this type are reviewed, it may be that the information abo ut toxicology literature within such items is more 'valuable' or of a higher 'quality' than the information contained in un-reviewed items such as w e b based resource lists.
Whilst no electronic example of a printed guide to the toxicology literature was found, it m ay be worth noting that the author of the most significant printed guide to date, Philip Wexler, expresses the hope that his printed work will be joined by an electronic counterpart in the near future.
The tw o toxicology portals found seem to be subject gateways, although the term portal does suggests the presence of more interactive options and services. It m ay be that true portals for toxicology have yet to develop, and that in time more com plex resources m ay emerge.
Lists of abstracting and indexing services can be found (from SilverPlatter and the National Library of Medicine), but these usually refer to the electronic versions of w h at were originally printed tools. More com m on are lists of electronic databases from the w e b pages of host companies, and collections of links to searchable toxicology databases over the Internet as a whole. The issue here is one of coverage, as no listing includes all d a ta bases. The best known collective of databases for Toxicology is probably Toxnet, a service offered by the National Library of M edicine. This set of toxicology databases was only available to search via a host system network and co m m a nd language, but has recently becom e available to search via a w e b interface.
Searching for lists of newsgroups and mailing lists can be successful using major search engines. Clearly, such com m unication and discussion forums exist within the toxicology discipline, although they ore not as numerous as those tor broader subjects such as m edicine, law and business.
Only one list ot mailing lists tor Toxicology was found, and this was part ot a broader collection ot m edical mailing lists. Two lists ot newsgroups were found, dealing with environmental and forensic toxicology respectively. This suggests that at the level ot direct com m unication (that is between individuals), specific areas ot the discipline b e co m e important.
Finally, to identity people as information resources, it is possible to find lists ot experts in m any subjects, and toxicology is included in this, probably mostly because ot listings ot expert witnesses, whose services could be rendered in legal cases. It is likely that most toxicology related organisations have lists ot members, but it does not a p p e a r