BASIC INTERNET SEARCHING TO HELP PATRONS

presentation by Marylaine Block for Winding Rivers Library System, November 21, 2002

Questions to ask before you help a patron on the Internet

  1. What exactly is the question?

  2. What would a good answer look like?

  3. Is the public Internet or even the invisible web the best source to answer this question? [keep in mind everything that's NOT on the net]

  4. Do they want a set of relevant pages or an answer to a specific question?

  5. Are they looking for a set of really good sites on a topic?

  6. Do they want a little information or a lot?

  7. Are they looking for a kind of home on the net, with lots of information on their personal interests and a community of people who share their interests?

  8. Go where it is: ask yourself who, logically, would collect and offer that sort of information.

  9. Remember, the net is also a delivery system for magazines, newspapers and even full-text books. Should they looking through a database of full-text magazine and journal articles instead of web sites? If they don't have access to your licensed databases, MagPortal and FindArticles.com are free article databases)

  10. Remember that the net is a communication system. Might they want to talk to, or listen to, human beings in news groups, bulletin boards, or "Aska" sites (Ask a Priest, Ask a Doctor, etc.)?

What Can You Count on Finding on or by way of the Net?

  1. Pictures -- photos, art, animations, videos -- and sounds -- music, speeches, live webcasts, etc.
  2. FAQ files --frequently asked questions files created by experts in the field
  3. Primary sources -- maps, laws, court cases, statistics, public records
  4. Government information. Federal government information is almost totally online, and the states, counties and cities are getting there.
  5. Key word searchable files -- poetry, plays, laws, court cases, news files, and more.
  6. Interactive sources -- virtual patients, "ask an expert" sites, newsgroups and bulletin boards, interactive travel mapping, etc.
  7. Reference sources.
  8. Online courses. Faculty and students can see how someone else is teaching the same concept.
  9. Free and licensed databases [invisible web]
  10. News.
  11. The extremely obscure, because the net is where people share their private passions

What's the Difference Between Directories and Search Engines?

  1. A directory is smaller and more selective, like a library catalog, with items chosen for quality and cataloged by subject; search engines compete on the basis of the size of their indexes, not the quality.

  2. A directory is constructed by humans, while a search engine is a piece of software that searches its index of sites, gathered by bots, using weighting algorithms specific to the individual search engine.

    Therefore -- use directories when you need quality and expert filtering, search engines when you want quantity, to make sure you don't miss anything.

Some Good All Purpose Directories

  1. Internet Public Library http://ipl.org/

  2. Librarians Index to the Internet http://lii.org/

  3. Scout Report Archives http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/archives/index.html -- over 10,000 reviewed sites, organized by topic

  4. Best Information on the Net http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/

  5. About.com http://about.com/

    ALL of these will lead you to good topical directories and search engines.

Helpful Sites That Will Answer a Lot of Reference Questions