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With the enormous amount of information available on the Internet, sites that can organize information effectively are invaluable. This site, whose aim is to provide an organized set of links to information for organic chemistry researchers, fully achieves this objective. Created by Koen Van Aken, a Belgian chemist, this unique site makes it very easy to find the type of information desired, striking a balance between being so broad in coverage that the amount of information is overwhelming and being so narrow that the information is only useful to a small group of people. A student or practicing organic chemist conducting laboratory research will find information in several major categories (coverage is so comprehensive that only a small number of examples are given for each): the literature (including online journals and databases), experimental topics (ordering chemicals, experiment design, safety issues), analytical techniques, paperwork (notebook keeping, thesis writing, tutorials), communication (conferences, newsgroups, scientific societies), and career planning.
Of particular note are the experimental and analytical sections. The practical advice given in selecting experimental conditions is unique for a Web site, and the analytical section provides coverage of all major spectroscopic techniques used by organic chemists, from introductions to spectral libraries. Virtually every link leads to high quality information, which is notable given the wide variety of sources. The site is very easy to use. The main page is well indexed, as is each category and subcategory. After skimming the detailed index, navigation is intuitive. Updates are reasonably frequent. Importantly, links are checked weekly, so broken or outdated links are extremely rare. Though some of the tutorials might be useful to undergraduate science majors in advanced classes, this unique site would be most valuable to anyone engaged in synthetic organic chemistry research, from the student to the professional. -- S. M. Adamus, Providence College
Reprinted with permission from CHOICE, copyright by the American Library
Association.
Organic Chemistry Worldwide is an excellent organic chemistry metasite that is not to be missed. Geared toward synthetic organic chemists involved in academic or industrial research, Organic Chemistry Resources Worldwide has a mission to collect and independently annotate "all useful organic chemistry sites and to present them in an intuitive way." This extensive metasite is divided into sections on literature, laboratory resources, spectroscopy and spectrometry, nomenclature and teaching, and conferences and organizations. The Literature section contains links to over 75 journals (some restricted access), 14 free databases (and many more commercial), dissertation collections, reviews, guides, patents, and current awareness sources. Examples of resources for laboratory work include links to chemical product databases, laboratory safety bulletins (.pdf), products and services, etc. Highlights of the site are an in-depth section on mass spectrometry, with links to publications and databases, and a plethora of links to organic chemistry labs worldwide, from Armenia to Uruguay.
Copyright Internet Scout Project, 1994-2002. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/