About this Site

What is this site all about?
This Internet Tutorials site is intended as an introduction for people interested in learning about the Internet and especially the World Wide Web: what it is, how to search it, and how to use it as a research tool.

This site has existed in one form or another since 1996. Over the years, it has been used by everyone from pre-teens to senior citizens all over the world. My purpose is to explain the basics of the Web as clearly as I can. The site is suitable for self-paced study.

There aren't a lot of bells and whistles here. Mostly I attempt to explain how things work with prose. Most examples are in the form of screenshots.

Who maintains this site?
Laura Cohen This site is maintained by Laura B. Cohen. I was an academic librarian for many years at the University at Albany, SUNY. My career was focused on many aspects of the Web: managing Web sites and servers; analyzing Web site usage; providing access to scholarly resources for off-campus users; training people to use the Web as a research tool; and exploring the technologies and possibilites of the social Web. I am widely published in the field and have given numerous talks. If you're curious about some of my ideas, take a look at my former blog, Library 2.0: An Academic's Perspective. I retired from my position in 2008.

If you're interested in the details of my qualifications, look over my resumé. It is in PDF format.

How can I contact you about this site?

Comments are always welcome. I can be reached at lcohen100 [at] gmail [dot] com.

May I use the materials on this site in my teaching?
The short answer is, Yes! I'm always happy to share my tutorials with other educators.

The longer answer is this:

You may link to this site and to individual tutorials within this site.
You may not reproduce this site or any of the individual tutorials on your own site.
You may reproduce portions of individual tutorials on your own site, in presentation slides, in print, etc., and you may modify them to suit your needs.
You may make print copies of these tutorials for pedagogical use. If you do, advise your recipients that the Web site may be more current over time and give them the appropriate URL.
You may not sell individual tutorials in any format.
You may include portions of individual tutorials, or modified portions thereof, in the sale of a larger work with the permission of the author. I have occasionally given permission to reproduce complete tutorials within larger works; please contact me for more information.
In all cases, please cite the source of this material. The citation format is optional.

I do not have a Creative Commons license for this site because of item #2 in the list above.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions about any of this, or if you'd feel better about asking for permission. I'm always glad to get these requests.

Will you list my search engine on this site?
That depends. My criteria are pretty strict. I'm looking for search engines that appeal to the general public, are innovative, return relevant results quickly, are well designed, and are backed by someone who can vouch for their ongoing development. I don't feature too many vertical search engines, especially those limited to a particular country or topic.

Do you accept advertising on this site?
Yes. Please contact me if you're interested. Please note that I do not place advertising text within the body of my tutorials.