As the name "meta directory" implies, Hardin MD is a "list of lists" - Its purpose is to provide easy access to comprehensive resource lists in health-related subjects. It includes subject listings in large "one-stop-shopping" sites, such as MedWeb and Yahoo, and also independent discipline-specific lists. Hardin MD subject pages indicate the length of lists in each subject, making it easy to see at a glance which lists are most comprehensive - These are often not the lists from the"one-stop-shopping" sites, but those developed by people within the field, which are well-known and frequently cited within the field, but not well-known outside it.

Key features of Hardin MD :In choosing the independent, subject-specific lists in Hardin MD, we have looked at many sites in each field, and have chosen the lists that are most frequently cited by people in the field, thus providing a rudimentary form of peer evaluation.

Because the size of lists is indicated, it is easy to see which of the multi-subject lists is most complete. In particular, it shows clearly that Yahoo falls short of specific medicine/health sciences lists (particularly MedWeb). Multi-subject lists used in Hardin MD include MedWeb, Yahoo:Health, Karolinska Institute MIC-KIBIC MeSH Index, Medical Matrix, Martindale's Health Science Guide, Tward's Multimedia Medical Reference Library, and EiNet Galaxy

Pointers are to the *specific section* of pages that cover the subject. This is especially useful in sites with large pages that have much extraneous material (i.e. Martindale's Health Science Guide).

All links on Hardin MD are checked regularly to assure that they are connecting satisfactorily. Because the number of links on Hardin MD is limited, in comparison to primary lists that include dozens and hundreds of sites, it is practical to check this frequently. Sites are checked not only to see that they connect, but that they connect in a timely manner.

Mirror sites are included when available. This is especially valuable for transatlantic connections, which often have poor connections.

Since its launching in January, 1996, Hardin MD has quickly become a standard "starting point" tool in health related searching on the Internet, with it's pages having now been downloaded over 100,000 times. An Alta Vista "link:" search shows that Hardin MD is linked to by over 400 sites on the Internet.