|
As pointed out in the 2000, March 27
Editorial: The Role of the Scholarly Societies Project, there are two
very large subscription-based online directories of societies and
assocations:
- Associations Unlimited published by the
Gale Group; it covers associations with
a U.S. or international geographical scope, and
- Yearbook of International Organizations, edited by the
Union of International Associations;
it covers organizations of international scope.
Neither of these tools covers national societies specific to countries
where the mother tongue is not English.
Furthermore, most free large online directories of societies and
associations cover very few national organizations from countries where
the mother tongue is other than English. Examples include:
A consequence of the above is that access to online information about
societies is heavily skewed towards societies from countries where English
is the mother tongue.
Although the Scholarly Societies Project has always included societies
regardless of their countries of origin, or the languages in which their
websites were written, it was realized at the time of the 2000, March 27
Editorial: The Role of the Scholarly Societies Project, that
there needed to be a greater effort to increase the proportion of
societies from countries other than the ones that at present dominate the
Internet, namely the English-speaking ones.
This Editorial is a progress report on that effort.
|
