The Internet, by its simpliest definition, is a global network connecting millions of computers. The World Wide Web, better known as the "Web" is not the same as the Internet. The Web is a collection of information and, like email, is a component of the Internet. To say that the web is the same as the Internet is like saying that Illinois is the same as the United States.

Information available on the web can be accessed through the use of software programs that can read, interpret and display documents created using HTML. Examples of such software programs are Internet Explorer or Netscape.

In order to search the web you should use a search engine like Google, AltaVista or HotBot. Information obtained from those searches can be a great source of information for your research. Much of the information available is both current and reliable. However, because there are no restrictions concerning who can or cannot post a document to the Web, much of the information found may be either unreliable or not pertinent.

The next page will briefly describe how academic libraries help you locate and access pertinent information available on the Web.