Hiding under bushels

I may have gone on about the providers of darned good reference resources who give them meaningless names. I’m going to do it again.

… by any other name

I could never spell Xreferplus – it didn’t flow, it made no sense, it was just silly. So when they decided to change the name, my hopes rose… in vain. Whoever came up with Credo Reference should be dragged out and shot. But the people who put this excellent resource together should be allowed to live and thrive. It’s terrific.

Digitised reference sources – or digital originals – have been gathered from 50 publishers, covering subjects from Art to Technology. It’s a project-researcher’s (or homework-doer’s) dream, of course. But it’s not just for the serious-minded. Being an electronic collection established by experts, Credo is searchable across the whole range of resources from the search screen you reach at the start.

If you find an across-the-board search too unfocussed, try the advanced search, which allows you to specify subject, book type or title, and sort the results in several ways. So, treat it as a "quick look-up" or a bookshelf to select from, as it suits you.

You could also try the Concept Map. But if it makes you feel as though you had accidentally taken hallucinogenic drugs without the "high", don’t say I didn’t warn you!

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Quick reference: Dictionaries & encyclopaedias", where you will find Credo Reference.)

Who’s Who: a choice… for now

At the moment, you have a choice about using Who’s Who online. You can either reach it by way of Credo Reference, as above, or you can reach it directly (directions below). The really good news is that Who’s Who is now published by Oxford University Press, who have transformed the online version into a friendly, easy-to-use resource. Lovers of OUP’s Dictionary of National Biography will notice that they lavished the same care on revamping Who’s Who.

Don’t forget that Who’s Who includes Who was Who, stretching back to 1898. And try to get used to reaching it by the direct route: it will eventually disappear from Credo.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Biography". Who's Who is a Key Link.)

Picture: penywise/morguefile.com

How to get there

Web Treasure Hunt has dealt with journey planners several times in the past. At least one of the planners now included on the Gateway was nearly dumped at one time because it was not reliable. Have things changed for the better? For this issue our crack team of testers has put three sites through their paces.

The gold standard

The TfL (Transport for London) Journey Planner provides a benchmark for others to reach if they can. It’s just so good! There is a vast amount of information, well arranged, on the TfL parent site, but the Journey Planner is the jewel in the crown (get the impression I quite like it?).

The range of options is vast: you can specify the date, time, means of travel, length of walk between elements of the journey… the list goes on. If you happen to know the postcodes of your starting and finishing points, just pop them in and you will get an itinerary including walking routes at either end.

You can get a map of any part of the route, including the walking bits. Here’s a tip for maximum fun: don’t choose the PDF version of the map, go for the interactive version (the icon with arrows on it). When the map comes up, click on the button marked "Wizard". First of all, a little green figure "walks" the first section, Metamorphosing into a tube symbol or a little bus (or whatever) to trace the next bit, and so on. Of practical value? – I have my doubts. But great fun.
The TfL Journey Planner is the bee’s knees. Can the others come near it?

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Transport & tourism". The TfL Journey Planner is a Key Link.)

Transport twins

Transportdirect and Traveline are variations on a theme.

Transportdirect is sponsored by the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments, covers the whole of Great Britain (ie not Northern Ireland), and offers to find journey details for public transport and also for car travel. As well as setting out your route and timings, it will give some fares information, car travel costs and CO² emissions (don’t yawn!)

With this site, the options tend to complicate rather than simplify the process. The best bet is to choose the door-to-door option and use postcodes if you know them. Searches are often very slow. The maps are good, and the "strip map" screen with the different parts of the journey laid out vertically with timings is very clear.

Traveline is funded by public transport operators and local authorities and is, in effect, an umbrella for a series of regional journey planners. So if you’re off to East Anglia, that has its own site, as do Yorkshire, the South West and so on. Usefully, there is also a link to Transportdirect for national journeys.

It’s impossible to generalise about the databases which make up the Traveline family. I’ve used a few of them, particularly the Scottish one, which used to be awful and is now pretty good. And recently I have got some good results from the Northern Ireland site.

Which T to use?

Between Transportdirect and Traveline, it is difficult to recommend one over the other. For a start, they often share the same basic data, so a mistake on one will turn up on the other. I would tend say use the one you like the look of, and if you are depending on a particular journey or connection, check elsewhere. This can often be done quite easily, as the transport operators are named in the itineraries, and most have their own websites.
Have a nice journey!

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Transport & tourism". Transportdirect is a Key Link, with Traveline just beneath it.)

Picture credit: markemark/morguefile.com