|
|
Thomas
F. Saffell Library
For library information or services, phone 620-276-9511,
fax 620-276-9630, or email mailto:library@gcccks.edu
Don't use a Web search alone for finding : magazine articles; journal articles; newspaper articles; (definitely not for most articles published in years past); books; comprehensive and current encyclopedia articles.
Don't think "everything" is on the Web somehow somewhere.
Much of the best information a Web browser can display is behind "front
ends" that are recommended by instructors, librarians, library online guides,
even commercial online guides -- Web search engines will not usually help you
select the best sites within which to search -- the contents of most of these
sites are in electronic format but not part of the Web. Books -- the contents
of most are not accessible on the Web or in any electronic format. Magazines,
journals and newspapers -- the text of most older articles is not accessible
in electronic format; many are accessible only with expensive subscriptions
that many colleges and libraries do not have. Even indexing is not available
(outside major research libraries) for a majority of all published articles.
Indexing is available for many articles for which electronic text is not available.
Most public records are not online -- many that are, are only available if payment
is made for copies or for access to indexes.
A good explanation of the Invisible Web:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/InvisibleWeb.html
Another explanation:
http://websearch.about.com/library/weekly/aa061203a.htm
Do use a Web search with good search engines for finding: some information on fast breaking news; some information about a topic (but almost never stop with a Web search only); some current articles on magazine and newspaper web sites; public information posted by governments, businesses, universities, museums, associations, advocacy groups; a last resort when you don't find enough in library catalogs and article databases.
Do use the Web to get to the "front end" of services such as:: library catalogs; article databases opened through library subscriptions; phone and address directories, catalogs of books for sale, legal materials, government census and other statistics, government tax information. The "front end" is a Web page that has its own special search engine that searches inside that web site for information that Web search engines cannot find. That information may be in a form that Web search engines do not understand, or it may be protected by security and require subscriptions and passwords to enter.
Do take time to learn basic methods for web searching. Don't just type in a few words you hope will find something. Typing in some words without a good strategy for selecting the words and without knowing how the search engine uses those words will almost never get the best results. Don't depend only on getting lucky.
Our recommended search sites: GCCC Recommended
Searching
U. Cal. Berkeley recommended sites: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/Help/search.html
All you want to know (and more) about search engines:
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/
http://searchengineshowdown.com/
Web searching tips from Search Engine Watch:
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/index.php
How to put search words together, "Boolean" logic:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Boolean.pdf