Deep Web

This NYT article discusses the work being done so search engines can search the Deep Web--resources that are not readily available including library catalogs, license information, and similar databases.

And You Thought Wikipedia Was Bad

This post on ReadWriteWeb describes a casual conversation about a nine year old boy who accesses the Web through YouTube. The kid's dad says that when the kid wants information, he goes to YouTube and types in a search term. The kid then watches the videos. No Google, no other Web sites, no further searching, no other information source at all.

The author of the post does his own experiment using various terms to test YouTube as search engine. Read the post to see his conclusions.

Now admittedly, what the original kid was looking for was not "research"--he was looking for Pokemon characters or Donkey from Shrek. But what does this mean for us as teachers and librarians trying to teach research and information literacy skills? Will we face a a whole generation of kids growing up and learning about the world through YouTube? Only YouTube?

We do keep hearing that people no longer read, kids use their electronic tools for all things from communication to games, etc. People are seeking information, but through less traditional ways than print. Doug Johnson of Blue Skunk Blog has an interesting post on Libraries for a Post-Literate Society. Doug is Media Director at Mankato Schools.

Note that I love YouTube--I have spent a lot of time watching stuff like this or this. During the campaign, I looked for the speeches, debate clips--and SNL sketches. And it looks like soon we will be able to watch full-length Hollywood movies on YouTube. I have to say, though, YouTube as search engine does not thrill me. What do you think?

Glue

Yahoo! Glue is an "all in one" search tool. Yahoo! Glue search results include web search, images, news, blog search, Wikipedia and YouTube videos. The cool part? All these links are on one page. Here are the results for a search on Barak Obama.

Depending on the search terms, you get different results (or no results if you search school libraries). Most have the Wikipedia article at the top, then maybe blog posts, images, videos, articles, news links, and more.

Try it out--it is fun.

The Week of the Search Engine

I seem to have encountered several new search engines this week. The latest is DeepDyve. DeepDyve says it searches the deep Web that other search engines don't reach. It seems to search selected industry databases including open access databases such as Medline and other government medical sources, open access medical journals, and patent databases. It includes SAGE Publications and some other subscription journals. 

These are freely available databases (although may require payment for fulltext), but as we mentioned at our meetings this month, the typical search engines don't search these specialized deep databases. You won't find Medline results in a Google search. You could search each of the sites DeepDyve mentions on its Expert Sources page but it would mean searching each site/publication individually, so this is a productivity/efficiency tool at least. Currently the focus is on patents, life sciences, and physical sciences. And Wikipedia. More industries to come.

You have to sign up and sign in to use the free version of DeepDyve. Premium version--which offers more complicated display and filtering of results, along with some organizing tools--is $45 per month per user. 

New Tool

Refsek* is a search engine designed to make academic information available to students and researchers. My first search got no results (Truman Capote), but you have the option of searching again using Google, Yahoo, Ask, or Live. Other searches had better results. The site seems to retrieve "academic" information from .org, .edu, and .gov sites. Could be useful for new searchers unfamiliar with verifying their information. The directory (click on link in upper right) has links to reference sources and a list of teacher resource sites. 

Here is a tool to really keep an eye on. Reference Extract is a new search engine under development by OCLC (the multinational library organization that brings us NetLibrary, WorldCat and OpenCat, among many more library-focused tools and services). This search engine will be built for

maximum credibility by relying on the expertised and credibility judgements of librarians from around the globe. Users will enter a search term and get results weighted towards sites most often referred to by librarians at institutions such as the Library of Congress, the University of Washington, the State of Maryland, and over 1,400 libraries worldwide.

The Planning Reference Extract blog has more information. The blog also seeks librarian input into the development process. 

Blog Tools

Here is a handy chart that compares features of various tools that offer blog search. These tools let you search for information in blog posts, which can be useful if you are looking for opinion or recommendations.

And may I say, Ann Smarty is a better name than Ann Smalley.

Thing 7. Search Engines

Google is 10 years old this year--which is a surprise. It seems it has been around forever. In honor of its birthday, Google has made one its earliest indexes (2001) of the Web available for the curious to search. The Washington Post has an interesting article about its efforts at searching "old" Google. The article is here. Not much for Wikipedia, Facebook is still limited to a few Ivies, and blogging is just taking off (according to US News and World Report, 1.15.01). If you want to llik at what was actually on a site back then, try the Internet archive Wayback Machine.

The Google site will be up until the end of the month at Google.com/search2001.html.