Friday, October 31, 2003
Incognito... Trench Coats.....
It's the Invisible Web. Search engines miss any number of pages and tools. Invisible Web searches for lesser known tools and organizes them by catagory.
Under art for example, it lists indexes at museums to their collections. So you could search for all the Hogarth references at the National Gallery in London.
The guys at Invisible Web have also written a book. Chris Sherman among other things edits the newsletter SearchDay. Gary Price is an academic librarian with a long time interest in search tools.
It's the Invisible Web. Search engines miss any number of pages and tools. Invisible Web searches for lesser known tools and organizes them by catagory.
Under art for example, it lists indexes at museums to their collections. So you could search for all the Hogarth references at the National Gallery in London.
The guys at Invisible Web have also written a book. Chris Sherman among other things edits the newsletter SearchDay. Gary Price is an academic librarian with a long time interest in search tools.
Sunday, October 26, 2003
I seem to be on a word binge. Don't you hate it when you can only remember part of a quote. "All the world's a ..." and the rest eludes you.
The first edition of Bartlett's Quotations (1919) is online now. Bartlett's online won't help with a recent quote like "I 'm not a crook", but is great with older ones.
Another one recommended by The Librarian's Index to the Internet is the The Quotations Homepage, which is maintained by a quotations buff. The Quotations Page is also nice and will search across several databases.
PS - Shakespeare "All the world's a stage..." from the Merchant of Venice; Richard Nixon "I'm not a crook" Nov. 11, 1973
The first edition of Bartlett's Quotations (1919) is online now. Bartlett's online won't help with a recent quote like "I 'm not a crook", but is great with older ones.
Another one recommended by The Librarian's Index to the Internet is the The Quotations Homepage, which is maintained by a quotations buff. The Quotations Page is also nice and will search across several databases.
PS - Shakespeare "All the world's a stage..." from the Merchant of Venice; Richard Nixon "I'm not a crook" Nov. 11, 1973
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
ADD , MAD, ALA. What's it all stand for Alfie? Our society uses inititials to as shortcuts for so many things. One of my e-newletters recently featured a cool tool.
Acronym Finder turns the alphabet soup into something with meaning. I always think of the American Library Association when I use ALA, but they found 34 other choices. Besides searching by the initials you can search using part of the intials. There is also a reverse feature that lets you go from the phrase to the acronym.
TTFN (they did that one too. LOL)
Acronym Finder turns the alphabet soup into something with meaning. I always think of the American Library Association when I use ALA, but they found 34 other choices. Besides searching by the initials you can search using part of the intials. There is also a reverse feature that lets you go from the phrase to the acronym.
TTFN (they did that one too. LOL)
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Coming from across the pond is Free Pint. Free Pint offers a news letter on internet research or you can look at a digest. It also allows you to look at back issues. An interesting resource.
Or what about all those tax dollars you spend. Congressmen Shay and Green offer you access from their pages to the Congressional Research Service reports. Think of all the committees that need research to be done. They are bound to have done something of interest to you.
Shay's links
Green's links
Or what about all those tax dollars you spend. Congressmen Shay and Green offer you access from their pages to the Congressional Research Service reports. Think of all the committees that need research to be done. They are bound to have done something of interest to you.
Shay's links
Green's links
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
I'm on a book binge. I've been looking on Bookfinder. This is usually expensive, but why should you care? Because Bookfinder is fabulous. Do you remember that book someone read you again and again as a child? Did you lend a friend a book and now you know this treasure is never coming back? Then Bookfinder is your friend. You can own it again.
In 1996 Anivan Chatterjee, a 19 year old student at UC Berkeley, developed the idea as a project. What a project! Bookfinder now lets you search the offerings at over 50,000 booksellers with over 50 million titles. Bookfinder will search for both new, used and rare titles.
I admit that I use it mostly for older out of print titles. The vendors include a description of the physical condition of the book as well as publication information. That way you can pick between a collector's copy or a reading copy of an old favourite. It can also be a way to get an idea of the value of something you own for insurance purposes, if someone is selling the same title and edition in the same condition.
Just be warned Bookfinder can be addictive. :)
In 1996 Anivan Chatterjee, a 19 year old student at UC Berkeley, developed the idea as a project. What a project! Bookfinder now lets you search the offerings at over 50,000 booksellers with over 50 million titles. Bookfinder will search for both new, used and rare titles.
I admit that I use it mostly for older out of print titles. The vendors include a description of the physical condition of the book as well as publication information. That way you can pick between a collector's copy or a reading copy of an old favourite. It can also be a way to get an idea of the value of something you own for insurance purposes, if someone is selling the same title and edition in the same condition.
Just be warned Bookfinder can be addictive. :)
Monday, October 13, 2003
I miss Bookbrowser. It hasn't been the same since it was purchased by Barnes and Nobel. How can you find a great book to read?
One is to see if your library subscribes to Novelist. It has some great ways to find books like the ones you have enjoyed in the past.
On the internet, these are some I like
Overbooked, is devoted to books in genres like mystery, science fiction, etc.
AllReaderslets you search their database by elements you liked in previous books you've read.
Reader's Robot has books divided into 21 areas to pick from.
Find something great to read on your next break!!
One is to see if your library subscribes to Novelist. It has some great ways to find books like the ones you have enjoyed in the past.
On the internet, these are some I like
Overbooked, is devoted to books in genres like mystery, science fiction, etc.
AllReaderslets you search their database by elements you liked in previous books you've read.
Reader's Robot has books divided into 21 areas to pick from.
Find something great to read on your next break!!
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Science Fair Projects
It's that time of year. Actually it is early this year, but it is science fair time. How do you pick a great science fair project?
Your local library will have books with ideas. Try looking in the online catalog of your library under the subjects science projects or science experiments. You might also want to do keyword searches combining the word experiments with other terms like biology, physics...
Online there are some great places, but don't pick just any site's experiment to do. You want a safe and scientifically accurate page to get ideas from.
Internet Public Library Kidspace Science Projects
Discovery's science fair central
Professor Gould's project index
Spike's Science Projects
It's that time of year. Actually it is early this year, but it is science fair time. How do you pick a great science fair project?
Your local library will have books with ideas. Try looking in the online catalog of your library under the subjects science projects or science experiments. You might also want to do keyword searches combining the word experiments with other terms like biology, physics...
Online there are some great places, but don't pick just any site's experiment to do. You want a safe and scientifically accurate page to get ideas from.
Internet Public Library Kidspace Science Projects
Discovery's science fair central
Professor Gould's project index
Spike's Science Projects
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
About About.
About.com has been around for some time as a directory. It stands out from other directories in that they have specific individuals responsible for each subject areas. Subject editors must submit samples to be assigned a subject area. Their qualifications on that topic are there for you to read. This means you can find some great things or they may have no one for that area. Give it a try!
About.com
About.com has been around for some time as a directory. It stands out from other directories in that they have specific individuals responsible for each subject areas. Subject editors must submit samples to be assigned a subject area. Their qualifications on that topic are there for you to read. This means you can find some great things or they may have no one for that area. Give it a try!
About.com
Friday, October 03, 2003
Searching for quality research. Don't forget your library. Most public and academic libraries let you search their catalogs online for materials. Some libraries even catalog quality web pages.
Also check out their pages to see if they subscribe to databases of magazine articles, books and more online. Much of this will be full text online. Many libraries will let you search from work, school or home using your library card or student ID to confirm you are one of their users.
Search for your local public or academic library.
See a list of public libraries online at Yahoo
Here is a smaller list of academic libraries at Yahoo.
Also check out their pages to see if they subscribe to databases of magazine articles, books and more online. Much of this will be full text online. Many libraries will let you search from work, school or home using your library card or student ID to confirm you are one of their users.
Search for your local public or academic library.
See a list of public libraries online at Yahoo
Here is a smaller list of academic libraries at Yahoo.
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Matthew Lesko wears wild jackets and tells you how he can help you find government money with his latest book. Or you can use what he uses The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, a list of all the government programs available in the US. The CFDA is available online for free.
Actually the government lists much of its information on the Internet. Some great tools include:
First Gov, the government's search engine for the public.
Thomas, the Library of Congress's legislation tracker.
American Fact Finder, the Census Bureau's tool for the public.
Columbia University's document subject guides.
University of Colorado at Boulder's guide
Actually the government lists much of its information on the Internet. Some great tools include:
First Gov, the government's search engine for the public.
Thomas, the Library of Congress's legislation tracker.
American Fact Finder, the Census Bureau's tool for the public.
Columbia University's document subject guides.
University of Colorado at Boulder's guide
Last week I suggested that you not rely on Google for all your answers, but would you like to get better Google results when you do use it?
Check out your local library or bookstore for Google Hacks by Calishain and Dornfest. It contains ideas for the beginner and the program savvy folks. Very hot at my library.
Greg Notess has a good page on Google and Google search features.
Check out your local library or bookstore for Google Hacks by Calishain and Dornfest. It contains ideas for the beginner and the program savvy folks. Very hot at my library.
Greg Notess has a good page on Google and Google search features.
