Welcome to CyberMaps. We hope this occasional column will become a sort of National Geographic -- or to be more up-to-date, Google Maps -- for the Cornell Web space, a guide to places you might not otherwise visit.

It seems proper to start at the top: http://www.cornell.edu. The Cornell home page is just the tip of an iceberg -- perhaps an overweight iceberg, so only about 1 percent shows. Below the waterline are some 350 additional pages, with more to come.

Most of it has been created in just the last year or two by a cross-divisional team from the Office of Web Communications (OWC) and Integrated Web Services, part of Cornell Information Technologies. Diane Kubarek, director of Web communications, says that the expansion grew out of a vision that the Cornell front end should be "more than just links."

Much of the content, she adds, comes from parts of the university that have valuable information but not the resources to make it available online. "We fill the need when it's university-level important," she explains. Many pages are "curated" by various offices around campus but maintained by OWC with a common look and feel. Almost every page carries the same menu bar across the top, along with lively and ever-changing banner images of campus life.

The home page, of course, includes what you would expect from any university: admissions information, campus tours, news, coming events. But some deceptively short links lead to large sections.

"Athletics," for example, gives you a lot more than scores and schedules. You can order tickets, buy sweatshirts and find out about outdoor education and fitness programs. "Libraries" and "Collections" are not just catalogs, but gateways to journals, databases and other research tools. "Cornell Leadership" gives you more than a list of names. Click on "Office of the President," and you'll get not just a bio of David J. Skorton but also the full texts of recent speeches and photo and video coverage of major events, as well as a link to archived material on previous presidents. "Office of the Provost" leads to an array of information for and about the faculty. A tiny link at the bottom of the page, "University Organization," will tell you more than you wanted to know about what everybody in Day Hall does.

Under "Academics," scroll down to "Faculty Highlights" and "Student Highlights" for constantly changing vignettes of Cornell people. Or go to "Student Life" and click on "Life on the Hill" to read uncensored student blogs.

Among the "university-level important" sections are Diversity and Inclusiveness (not just exhortations, but who's doing what about it) and the Campaign for Cornell, reporting progress on the current $4 billion campaign. A recent addition is CornellCast, a clearinghouse for audio and video. "Collaborative Culture" leads to topics that cross disciplinary lines.

Observant people may have noticed that there is a new item in the top menu bar: "Land Grant." The new section, added in late December, explains the university's land-grant mission and the roles of the four state-supported colleges and describes several Cornell projects that are making life better for New Yorkers.

Under the heading "Public Impact," the site lists a variety of research projects that have helped New York farms and businesses, from breeding better apples to reducing pesticide runoff. Cornell's contribution of over $3.3 billion in total economic activity and 36,000 jobs throughout the state in 2005 is noted. A "Rural New York" section spells out the university's work not only in agriculture but also in economic development, education and local government.

There are extensive links to university and state information for problem-solvers, and a clickable map leads to the Web sites of Cornell Cooperative Extension offices throughout the state, along with "Success Stories" describing the local impact of Cornell outreach.

There is more on the way, Kubarek says, including a new social sciences page and a greatly expanded set of "Cornell Facts": everything from the height of the Ithaca gorge suspension bridge to the cost of a drive to Syracuse. Stay tuned.