Google Search Secrets

Christa Burns, Michael P. Sauers

American Library Association, 2014 - Language Arts & Disciplines - 224 pages

Google can be an incredibly powerful tool for research, but the top-of-the-page results are seldom the most beneficial to library users and students, and many of the search engine’s most useful features are hidden behind its famously simple interface. Burns and Sauers reveal the secrets of effective Google searches in this invaluable resource showing how to get the most out of the service, with

• An overview of all the tool’s search services, including Image, Maps, News, Blogs, Discussions, Scholar, Patents, and Books
• Ready-to-use instructions on how to go beyond the simple search box and top results to get library users the answers they need, fast
• Straightforward guidance on using filters to refine search results, with examples of common searches like images with Creative Commons licenses, news searches set for a date range or into an archive, and videos with closed captioning
• An explanation of the bibliography manager feature of Google Scholar, which allows students and researchers to build bibliographies with ease
• Tips for configuring Safe Search on workstations in children’s departments and schools

Copious screenshots walk readers through each topic step by step, making this a true how-to guide for everyone who uses Google.

Contents

• Welcome to Google: 1
• Google Web Search: 15
• Google Images: 33
• Google News: 51
• Google Videos: 65
• Google Maps: 75
• Google Blog Search: 103
• Google Scholar: 115
• Google Patents: 133
• Google Books: 147
• Google Alerts: 167
• Google Search Tips and Tricks: 175
• Index: 201

About the author

Christa Burns is the Special Projects Librarian, Technology and Access Services, at the Nebraska Library Commission. She provides organization, training, and consultation for special projects, such as the Gates Foundation grants for libraries, E-rate, Learning 2.0, and group purchases of library products and services. She also coordinates, produces, and hosts the Commission’s weekly webinar series, NCompass Live. She previously spent more than eight years at Pace University in Westchester County, NY, starting as a Reference Librarian and working her way up to become Head of Research and Information Services.

Michael P. Sauers is currently the Technology Innovation Librarian for the Nebraska Library Commission in Lincoln, Nebraska, and has been training librarians in technology for almost 20 years. He has been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library Friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller. He earned his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. He blogs at The Travelin' Librarian, and runs websites for authors and historical societies. He has authored or co-authored many books, including Semantic Web Technologies and Social Searching for Librarians (THE TECH SETŪ #20).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Google Search Secrets
• Authors: Christa Burns, Michael P. Sauers
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: American Library Association, 2014
• ISBN: 1555709230, 9781555709235
• Length: 224 pages
• Subjects: Language Arts & Disciplines / General; Language Arts & Disciplines / Library & Information Science / General