Web Subject Directories
Last updated Oct. 01, 2007.
by Greg R. Notess
Subject directories include human-selected Internet resources and are arranged and classified in hierarchical topics. Most search engines and portals have a subject directory component or partner. Use these for with broad topics and to find a few good sites on a particular topic.
| Selection | Size | Boolean | Truncation | Fields | Sorting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yahoo Review |
User Submitted, editors | 3,000,000? | +, - | Automatic, except in phrase | t:title u:url |
Categories then Google |
| Open Directory Review |
75,000 editors | 4,830,000 | and, or, andnot, +, - | Yes, * | None | Categories then sites |
| Librarians' Index (LII) | Public Librarians | 10,000 | and, or, not, ( ) "phrase" | Yes, * | Subject, title, author, more | Relevance |
| InfoMine | Academic Librarians | 120,000 | and, or, and not, ( ), near4 | Yes, * | Subject, title, author, more | Relevance, title |
| Academic selections | 30,000? | and, OR, - | No | None | Relevance |
There are many other specialized subject directories and many other general ones. About.com is arranged like a subject directory and includes over 400 meta sites on many topics. Others to consider include the World Wide Web Virtual Library, GoGuides, and JoeAnt. Also consider using Wikipedia as a very selective directory. Find an article on the topic and look for "List of [topic]" entry like "List of Web directories" or the "External Links" section of an article.