Atlantic salmon, acid rain and the Oneida Indian Nation are just some of the topics covered by the Great Lakes Information Network on the Web. GLIN is a cooperative project of agencies and organizations in the U.S. and Canada. Its purpose is to provide one place for people to find information related to the environment and economy of the world's largest freshwater system.

Beautifully designed, its pages contain a wealth of facts, figures and text that nature lovers, activists, students of ecology and environmental scientists and engineers will find of interest.

"Great Lakes Ecosystem" and "Great Lakes Environment" describe the air, water, land, flora, fauna and people of the region-and the interrelationships between them.

Here you can read about the debate over the use of chlorofluorocarbons or study the environmental and economic impacts of exotic species such as the zebra mussel. (Scientists estimate that zebra mussels, which clog the water intake systems of power plants and water treatment facilities, will cost water users in the Great Lakes region as much as $5 billion over the next decade.)

Through GLIN you can link to a variety of information resources developed to assist with the management and control of nuisance species like the zebra mussel, including distribution maps, data sets, status reports, legislation, and geographic information systems.

And there is more. Within the pages of GLIN you can study the 1909 "Boundary Waters Treaty" between the U.S. and Canada; follow the route of the Great Lakes Circle Tour, a scenic, international road connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River; consult the fact sheet for Lake Erie, which has 871 miles of shoreline and is the 11th largest lake in the world; or browse current issues of the Journal of Great Lakes Research.

You can even show your support for an "ecosystems approach" to environmental management and economic development of the region by making an online endorsement of the principles of the 1994 "Ecosystem Charter for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin."

You can connect to the Great Lakes Information Network on the World- Wide Web at http://www.great-lakes.net:2200/0/glinhome.html through lynx or a graphical browser. For help on using the World-Wide Web, contact the CIT Help Desk at 645-3542.

-Loss Pequeno Glazier and Nancy Shiller, University Libraries