Listservs

Listservs are electronic mailing lists or groups that facilitate communication among people who share like interests. There is one for people interested in spiders and those for professional groups. LM_NET for librarians working in schools is one of the largest. Many professional associations, such as the American Library Association sponsor listservs. If you have a question or just want to keep up to date with the latest thinking in your profession listservs are a great source of information.

http://ed.fn.gov/lincoln/fac/discuss/tech/com_listserv.shtml
LInc Online is not a listserv per se, but a listserv tutorial through “participants will understand what a listserv is and why it would be useful, .. will learn how to subscribe to a listserv” and “will know how to send mail to the course listserv and the staff listserv.

General Directories

http://tile.net/lists
Tile.net is “the reference guide to email newsletters & discussion lists. These are searchable by name (address), description and domain. For each listserv, newsletter or discussion list information includes directions to subscribe and unsubscribe as well as the identity of the administrator or host organization. Hint, sometimes it is an important to be able to locate the directions to quit as it is know about the listserv. Tile.net is a commercial company which designs and hosts web sites and listservs. Their web page also includes the following information: The top 10 questions to ask before launching your web site, free ASP hosting, how to find an affordable and talented web designer, and web site hosting, from domain registration to getting it on line.

http://www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html
L-Soft CataList, is the official catalog of listserv lists which use the L-Soft software. One can view lists by interest area, or host country. A link is also provided for s list owners guide.

Librarians can search for listserv groups according to topic by sending an email to this address: listserv@listserv.net. Leave the subject line blank and in body of message type: list global topic (instead of the word topic--type in your choice of topic , for example, cancer). So you would type list global cancer and you will get a list of known cancer listservs.

Library and Information Science Listservs

http://directory.google.com/Top/Reference/Libraries/Library_and_Information_Science/Chats_and_Forums/ Google has compiled this list of over 27 listservs of interest to librarians.

There are many listservs and discussion lists maintained by the American Library Association. Most of these are open to anyone but some for reasons of confidentiality are closed and only open to members of committees. A partial list can be found at http://lists.ala.org/wws/lists.

Education Listservs

http://www.sru.edu/pages/3810.asp
If you have teachers who want to join a listserv in their specialty You’ve Got Mail! Signing Up for Education Listservs is the place to go, offering an introduction to listservs and an index by curricular area. This directory is maintained by Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.

© 2007 The H.W. Wilson Company^®