Meet Gopher

Cynthia B. Leshin, Editor, MCLI

What is Gopher?

Gopher is a menu-driven tool for accessing Internet resources. After you log onto Gopher you can begin browsing through the labyrinth of resources in the same way as you browse through your local library. For example, if you were interested in information on the Southwest (history, Native Americans, geology, Grand Canyon, climate, or culture) you can use Gopher to wander around the Internet searching for information on each topic. Gopher's search capabilities will indicate which on-line catalog or library has information on your topic. You can even arrange inter-library loans via the on-line catalog if the library permits. The easiest way to understand Gopher is to think of it as a research assistant. When you find the data you need, then allow Gopher to "go fer" it. You can also customize Gopher to remember the location of useful information through a "bookmark" feature.

Information Providers

Information made available through Gopher is provided by colleges, universities, or anyone else who has information to share. The information is housed on many separate servers around the country, which is maintained by the individual information provider. All are interconnected through a Gopher server at the University of Minnesota. Information providers have control over their own servers and data. Providers decide what information they want to make available to all Internet users and what information will only be available to their own faculty, staff, or students. Directories of information are then set up.

What resources are available through Gopher?

Gopher servers store a wealth of diverse information, including computer documentation, phone books, news, weather, library databases, books, software, and more. Listed below are some resources of interest.

ERIC searches
Library of Congress Records
Electronic books such as The CIA World Factbook, Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, the Biography of Frederick Douglas, O Pioneers, Aesop's Fables, Paradise Lost
Electronic journals
Dictionaries, such as the Oxford English
Software archives for the Mac, IBM, NeXT, VAX, and UNIX-based computers.
Multimedia demonstrations on a wide range of subject areas are available for the Macintosh and Windows-based computers.
Music files from all periods
Graphics
News reports
Discussion groups
MOO-GOPHER and real-time conferencing allows users to discuss topics of interest such as learning styles, biology, or any topic where there is an interest in the sharing of information.
MOO-GOPHER accessing MUD (Multi-User Dungeon). MUD is a world-based virtual reality program that also allows participants to participate in anonymous role-playing by moving around in rooms.
Weather Undergroundprovides forecasts for selected U.S. and Canadian cities, ski conditions, long-range forecasts, earthquake reports, hurricane advisories, and severe weather warnings.
Supercomputing or HPCwire (log in as hpcwire) is an on-line service that provides daily news, information, and library services for the high-performance computing community.

How do I Learn More?

Gopher comes to Maricopa and you can now explore this labyrinth of resources. Read on and learn how.

Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction (MCLI)
The Internet Connection at MCLI is Alan Levine --}
Comments to alan.levine@domail.maricopa.edu