Silent partners on the Web

Volume 17, Number 5 • May 2000

Silent partners on the Web — The identities of many online reference resources are often unacknowledged
by Péter Jacsó

INTERNET INSIGHTS column focuses on the free online resources that few people are aware of. Says that very few of the Web directories and subject guides list the free American Heritage Dictionary (AHD) or the free Random House dictionaries. Relates that those that do list the Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia refer to the original Web version published by Versaware, but not to the versions that have the advantage of not requiring a user ID and password. States that Houghton Mifflin is the publisher of the flagship print edition of the AHD, but its home page does not reveal the AHD's licensees, and the catalog mentions only the print and CD-ROM - not the many free online versions. Observes that Lycos hides this excellent dictionary so well that it is almost impossible to find, and has hoarded so many excellent reference sources on its site that its editors do not seem to know what they have. Includes three screen displays.