Welcome to TETC Fall 2001 Creating an Online Reference Page

Creating an Online Reference Page

A Librarians View of the Internet b Provides massive quantities of data b Requires extensive screening to cull needed information b Concerns about reliability, authority, and authenticity b Premium services available, but expensive

Hardware-Related Issues b Having a sufficient number of computers b Finding space for desktop computers b Funding for hardware b Memory lock-ups/crashes b Printer problems b Student supervision

HOWEVER: Despite the associated management issues, the Internet is a vital and exciting ADDITION to the resources of a modern (21st Century) library.

Using the Internet for Reference 2. Subscribe to TEL (Tennessee Electronic Library To have access to premium resources that would otherwise be very costly. 3. Know the capabilities and advantages of different search engines and use those which are most appropriate for your information needs. 1. Know what resource to use and when a particular resource would be advantageous.

Premium Databases A premium database is an online service which provides access to a database upon payment of a subscription fee. Ex. Proquest, Electric Library, OED. These are excellent information services, though online versions may not always have full-text and graphics comparable to the print version.

TEL: Tennessee Electronic Library This premium database provides FREE ONLINE ACCESS to Tennessee schools and libraries. This service, supported by state and federal funds, is administered by the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Register at the following address:

Choosing a Search Engine All Search Engines are NOT created equal !!

Choosing a Search Engine NOTE: Though some resources, such as Yahoo and Magellan are directories rather than actual Search Engines, they will be examined with the Search Engines as they are used in a similar manner.

Choosing a Search Engine Largest Coverage of the Web: (Search Engine Showdown; ) 1.Google!Google! 2.Fast (All the Web)Fast (All the Web) 3.MSNMSN

Choosing a Search Engine Largest Coverage of the Web: (Lawrence & Giles in Nature, Vol. 400, pp , 1999.) 1.Northern Light 2.AltaVista! 3.Snap 4.HotBot 5.MSN Search 6.Infoseek 7.Google 8.Yahoo 9.Excite 10.Lycos

Choosing a Search Engine Largest Coverage of the Web: (SearchEngineWatch.com) 1.Google 2.Fast (All the Web) 3.Northern Light 4.HotBot (Inktomi) 5.iWon (Inktomi) 6.AltaVista 7.YahooGoogle 8.Excite 9.YahooInktomi

Choosing a Search Engine Accuracy: John Dvorak, PC Magazine 1.Lycos 2.AltaVista! 3.Northern Light

Choosing a Search Engine Popularity: Sharah Thomas, Computer Shopper, Yahoo! 2.Go.com 3.Lycos 4.Excite 5.AltaVista!

Choosing a Search Engine User Friendliness: Google! And Raging Search YahooYahoo and Yahooligans (Yahoo for Kids!)Yahooligans Natural Language: Ask JeevesAsk Jeeves and AltaVista Pictures and Sounds: Lycos

Choosing a Search Engine BEST: SquirrelNet's Top 20 Search Engines We rate the search engines based on the value they add to your internet experience. We focus on quality rather than size. (1)GoTo.com (2)Yahoo! (3)Google (4)SprinksSprinks (5)About.com

Choosing a Search Engine My Recommendation: 1.Google 2.HotBot 3.AltaVista! 4.Northern Light

Using Search Engines Know the Capabilities of the Search Engine How does it search? Does it allow Boolean operators? (and, or, not etc.) Does it allow natural language?

Using Search Engines Select Search Terms Carefully Begin by being as specific and restrictive as possible. Broaden search if necessary using synonyms. Use Boolean operators (and, or, not etc.) Use natural language engines to broaden search.

Using Search Engines Use More Than One Search Engine No single search engine covers the entire Internet. Each Search engine has strengths and weaknesses Choose the search engines most likely to meet your particular research needs.

Using Search Engines Use Meta- Search Engines Carefully Search a variety of search engines simultaneously. Strength: Large number of hits. Weakness: Many extraneous hits. Example: Dogpile, MammaDogpile

Using Search Engines Guides for Further Study: The Scout Toolkit Ask Scott How to Search the Web Sink or Swim: Internet Search Tools & Techniques Mining Companys Web Search Guide Power Searching for Anyone The Spiders Apprentice Search Engine Showdown

Why Create an Online Reference Page??

Guide Your Students to the Best Sites! Guide your students to the most effective information sites and search engines by creating your own web site with links to the sites you want them to access and set it as the default home page on your browser. For example: Talbott Virtual LibraryTalbott Virtual Library B.J. Pinchbecks Homework Helper

Where Do I Begin? 1.Create page using Netscape Composer or other user-friendly software (i.e. Microsoft Front Page). 2.Post page on your local school or system website or host on free site such as Geocities. 3.Set as the homepage on the computer your students will use to access the internet.

Creating a Web Page With Netscape Composer