A Gopher on the Reference Desk

Abstract

Gopher is an Internet search software which is useful in a health sciences reference environment. Gopher is helpful because it eliminates the need to understand all of the mechanics of searching the Internet, accommodating the range of Internet experience among reference staff members. Gopher saves reference librarians time by reducing the number of software programs required to search the Internet and by providing a way to revisit Internet resources once found. In this paper, Gopher is introduced, its applications and resources are discussed, and resources useful in performing health sciences reference are described.