Sometimes the meaning of the World Wide Web gets caught in its own ‘Net’. Entertaining sites, lively images, and the sheer volume can make this tool of the information trade less beautiful than it was intended.

However, every once in a while, a simplicity takes over, logic prevails, and the true purpose of the Web – sharing information – finds its roots. Libraries online is just one of these topics. Some new developments are actually taking the Internet back in time – and a good thing it is too.

Google – the well-known search engine – is looking into adding researching reading material as one of its services. Users would be able to go to Google and find a search link to a database of text from some 60,000 books. Users would then be given links to abstracts on their chosen publication – enabling them to research before they purchase.

However, for a combined sales and research experience, Amazon’s ‘Look Inside The Book’ service offers bookworms a chance to search for publications using key words and taste an excerpt before making the commitment to buy.

But both these services follow in the footsteps of E-library and Net Library. Elibrary is a subscription-based research tool with electronic shelves loaded down with more than 17 million transcripts, magazines and books. NetLibrary is an online reservoir of research-oriented materials including dictionaries. It has a global element, allowing for searches according to countries or regions. Its one big benefit is links to thousands of online libraries.

But as you wander through the online bookcase, you are bound to stumble on the online publishing section! Now, you could get lost on these pages for a long time. From blog sites to commercial e-book publishing sites – the titles are endless. At Web Books, you can read online, order books and publish and promote your own works.

If nothing else, it shows you the depth one site on one topic can offer.

Then there are the commercial self-publishing sites like California’s Cafe Press. They offer a simple online e-commerce option. You make whatever the price mark-up is above their base list price, with no upfront costs. However, caution is advised. See if you can find out more about the company on paper. Check out all contact information to make sure it is current. Ask to speak to other users of the service. An ounce of caution is worth a pound of cure.

There are also a vast number of sites selling self-publishing software. When you find one, like Radio UserLand, you can find out more about the phenomenon of web logs or blogging and purchase the software to do it. With an easy-to-use program at your fingertips, you could become one of the countless numbers who are using the WWW to link to others – sites and people - over a common interest.

As Dave Winer says in his History of Weblogs: “The first weblog was the first website…” – http://infor.cern.ch/. And the rest – as they say - is history. Pick a topic that you think others will be interested in, set up your site, get ‘linked’ and you can join the online blogging society about to take over the web. Although it started as a ‘power to individuals’ movement, many corporations are joining in.

Locally, I re-visited Authors Online. This comprehensive – and newly-designed - site offers one-to-one writing courses for would-be authors, teamed up with a published author, opportunities to publish online using POD (print on demand) systems and online options. It also has a very good links page leading you to a variety of sites for authors.

We are in the season of long, dark nights. And, curling up with a book – especially one that has been given to you – is tempting. But, for those enamoured with the Internet, sitting upright, using the computer, and opening pages online may be more attractive. The choice is yours.

Thisis What’s Online:

Book reviews and web logs (blogs) are two mainstays of digital.media@kendal.newsquest.co.uk.

Photo Sales

New this week…Photo Sales online. Go to