It's common knowledge that the Internet - with its gigabytes of text and graphics files, its thousands of databases and software programs - is the world's largest and fastest-growing storehouse of digital information. But locating information on the net is not an easy matter. Because it is not centrally administered, the Internet lacks anything like a definitive "catalog," "table of contents," or "index" - or even a coherent set of electronic tools for sorting through and searching out information.

Internet users trying to track down a document or database are confronted with an overwhelming mass of data, a sometimes obscure and always changing electronic landscape, and a bewildering array of tools for taking stock of and organizing what's "out there.".

In Finding It on the Internet, bestselling author Paul Gilster shows how to bring some measure of order to this chaotic situation. With clear discussions of how to formulate realistic, workable plans for gathering information, as well as step-by-step explanations of all the major Internet tools, Gilster describes the critical difference between search engines like WAIS, archie, and Veronica, and browsing tools like Gopher and World Wide Web; fine-tuning online sessions with the latest Internet tools, including Jughead and HYTELNET - and for those with high-speed access, Mosaic; numerous actual search and browsing sessions that demonstrate the importance of careful planning as well as trial and error; and accessing a wide variety of search and browsing tools even when you're limited to an "e-mail only" Internet account.