ABSTRACT
With the growth of the Internet, collection development activities are beginning to broaden to include electronic resources, some of which are available at no charge via the network. Not surprisingly, very little is done to promote or advertise many free electronic resources. Many librarians, especially those who work at institutions that have mounted Gopher and World Wide Web servers, are aware of the time-consuming nature of the discovery of free Internet resources. Electronic discovery tools may also be helpful, but they suffer from the same problems that plague print directories such as currency and lack of comprehensive coverage. Many of the methods librarians use to evaluate print items are not helpful in making decisions about electronic resources. A number of cooperative Internet projects are being carried out or planned by libraries across the country. Although few have the main objective of gathering free resources, a number of them have that activity as part of their mission.
