WILLIS N. HACKNEY LIBRARY, Barton College, Wilson, NC Skip Navigation Link Library Home Site Search Contact Us Help
Picture of Hackney Library
Library Services:
My Library Record
Renew Items
Library Collections
NCLIVE
Citation Tips and Tools
Computers
Reserves
Interlibrary Loan
Fax Services
Ask a Librarian
Suggestions
About the Library:
Hours
Directions
Circulation Policies
Fines
Library Statistics
Friends of Hackney Library
Discipliana Collection
Public Use
Library Mission
Hackney Library Videos
Ask a Librarian:
Hackney Library Help via Email
NCknows: 24/7 Reference Help

Blackboard Enterprise

Barton College Home Page

Questions or comments may be directed to: reference@barton.edu
HOW TO EVALUATE WEB SITES--Currency and Coverage

    Cartoon image of stopwatch
  • Currency: When was the page last updated?
    Currency in web pages is an important issue when you're looking for up-to-date information. A regularly-maintained web page should have a date indicating when it was last modified or updated. Dates are often found at the beginning or end of a page or pages on the site.

    Warning: Sometimes, however, the date found on a web page can be misleading; it could mean the last date it was updated, the date it was first made available via the web, or the date it was first written.

    Something to consider:

    • Can the currency of the information contained in the site be confirmed by an independent source?

  • Coverage: Does the page cover all the information it claims to cover? Coverage is sometimes hard to determine on web sites.
  • Some things to consider:

    • Does the site provide consistently complete information on all aspects of the topics it claims to cover?
    • Is the coverage superficial or in-depth?

  • Example of a current, broad-coverage site:

Raleigh News and Observer Online


More Help in Evaluating Web Sites

Back to "How to Evaluate Web Sites--FYS Web Evaluation Exercise" page

Last updated August 25, 2005
To Barton College Home Page Library Home Hours Site Search Help Back to Top