4 Critical Annotated Bibliography

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems 1 Running head: SEARCH METHODS FOR DIFFERENT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

A Critical Annotated Bibliography

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems: Library Catalog, Databases, the Web Elaine Shelburne Emporia State University

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems 2 A Critical Annotated Bibliography

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems: Library Catalog, Databases, the Web

Bell, S. (2007, September). Tools Every Searcher Should Know and Use. Online, 315, 22-27. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database at http://web.ebscohost.com. Suzanne Bell is the economic/data librarian, UR research projects coordinator at the University of Rochester, New York. The main purpose of this article is to provide toolkit of concepts and tools to search databases online. Her recommended toolkit includes five search strategies and three mental attitudes, all designed to facilitate navigation in databases that vary considerably. The reading level is suitable for high school ages through adults, and appropriate for the occasional searcher to the college student or professional who is regularly on-line utilizing databases. For additional information on online database searching, read The Librarian’s Guide to Online Searching, (2006), Libraries Unlimited; other works are not referenced in the article. The author is careful not to emphasis that searchers memorize detailed search strategies of individual databases; instead, she advocates numerous times that the searcher first read the “Helps” tips of a new database, or use it to review an often-used one. The reason behind checking the “Helps” is that databases change or implement new means of searching frequently and randomly, therefore, making it a best practice to become aware of new tips and tools on an ongoing basis, for efficient searching. Her suggestions are helpful and practical, as they can be used when searching multifarious databases, rather than applied to just one. The article is recommended as a helpful guide for teaching students in how to search databases, or for the individual searcher who gets frustrated with the different search strategies per each database and desires to have some guidance. Boswell, W. (2007). Web Search. About.com. Retrieved July 22, 208 from http://websearch.about.com. W. Boswell has written a number of web pages on how to find information online and search more of the web, how to use Inurl syntax, and how to make searches online easy. These articles are wellwritten and understandable by teens or adults who are casual searchers on the Web. Wendy Boswell is also the author of a recent book The About.com Guide to Online Research: Navigate the Web—From RSS and the Invisible Web to Multimedia and the Biogosphere (2007, December). According to the About.com Guide to Web Search, she has been on the Web for over a decade, and has accumulated significant experience in searching for information. Boswell’s online guide to web searches is biased obviously towards finding information on the Web verses print sources, but this is understandable and her information can be utilized for the online aspects of locating reliable information. Her guide is not dense and can be referred to readily. She has hyperlinked a number of frequently asked questions, such as “How to Develop a Search Plan.” Her site is recommended for a basic or beginning online searchers.

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems 3

Cohen, L. (2001, November). “10 Tips for Teaching How to Search the Web.”, American Libraries. 32(10), 44. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.007, September) http://web.ebscohost.com. Author Laura B. Cohen, is the network services librarian and Webmaster at the State University of New York/University at Albany. Cohen’s article is meant to lead the librarian to help searchers navigate the Web via a “query-based approach” rather than a “descriptive” approach that points out features of search engine-specific search tools. This latter approach encourages memorization of specific search engines processes. In Cohen’s opinion, search engine-specific search tools can be there one day, and gone the next, leaving the searcher floundering despite their experience and skill in utilizing favorite search engines. Therefore, to use an approach that will endure, she recommends that librarians rely on what they know about library resources and base teaching how to search the Web on a “query-based approach.” Her advice reinforces skills that librarians have been taught and can utilize to help patrons/students. She affirms the library profession, pointing out that rather than being successful in teaching on-the-fly navigation methods of specific search engines, a librarian can be successful in searches using a query-based approach that ties in with librarianship training and skills. Cohen does describe the three major types of information-finding tools on the Web, which are directories, search engines and the deep Web. For each tools, she gives an example of a query, the Web-based tool that would be best, bassed on that query. This was helpful, as she gave examples of each of these tools and the reasons for using each for each specific query. However, the list of search tools and their URLS is dated, as some have been transformed into other tools with different URLS. In spite of that, her overall guidance, of giving attention to the query and what its needs dictate, mean that her methods can be used over a greater period of time than the life of some search engines and make her article worth reading.

Cuil.com. (2008). Retrieved July 28, 2008, from http://www.cuil.com. A new search engine that has a new search method is on the Web; it is Cuil, which means knowledge in Irish, according to the site. The organization of information on this search engine claims to be different from other search engines, which makes its claims intriguing. Cuil claims to search more pages on the Web than any other search engine; three times the number that Google searches and ten times as many as Microsoft, bringing the number of pages packed in its index to 120 billion. Google ranks Internet pages according to clicks or popularity; Cuil (pronounced cool) allegedly ranks pages according to their content and relevance. It groups similar results under different menus. Keywords may bring up a page on Cuil, but the search engine founders claim it analyzes the rest of the page’s contents, its concepts, inter-relationships and coherency to bring up additional results for the searcher. Google’s system of ranking pages according to popularity is not the method used at Cuil, which is founded by former Google engineers, incidentally. Cuil therefore seems to be claiming more relevancy, which indeed would be helpful for scholars and daily information seekers. Also, the results are in an optional two or three column format, with hyperlinked headings and a short, lead-in paragraph on each result. The intended audience seems to be a more mature, possible older teens to adults. The result page seems strange, because users are familiar with a linear format; Cuil’s format is more graphic. A search for “Kuhlthau AND ISP” brought up results on the first page that were accurate. However, the connection

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems 4 to Cuil seems to be inconsistent, but the 28th of July is the first day Cuil is online, so there might be technical adjustments. If Cuil can indeed search for pages more relevantly, and if it stands the test of time, information seekers will benefit. It is worth trying this site and comparing to other search engines as to how relevant the page results are; the user can then choose accordingly. It is worth trying to use Cuil to compare search results and check out their claim to be more relevant. Fitzgerald, M. (2005). Critical thinking 101: The basics of evaluating information. In B. Woolls and D. Loertscher (Ed.) The Whole School Library Handbook. Chicago: The American Library Association. Woolls and Loertscher have compiled articles for pertinent issues today from the expert professionals in school library media in this one volume. The topics include sections on history, professionalism, materials, guidelines, evaluation, credentials, technology, operations, staff development, issues, diversity and one chapter amusingly called “librariana.” The resources included are lesson plans and outlines, checklists, and contact/bibliographic information. One of the book chapters is devoted to library programs including obtaining information and evaluating it, including the article “Critical thinking 101: The basics of evaluating information” by Mary Ann Fitzgerald, p. 271-276. This topic is based on one of the nine information literacy standards from Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning, (1998). Evaluation is crucial today as students can access a myriad of articles on the Web, some created by experts as well as novices, and these articles need to be weeded out and chosen carefully, according to Fitzgerald. Evaluation is a difficult task, as Fitzgerald points out, and is influenced by a host of contextual factors. Her bias is that it is essential that schools and librarians work to prepare students to apply critical thinking skills in the evaluation process not just over one year, but over the duration of years that students have library media teachers. She has instructional strategies for library media teachers and the groundwork for the applications. The information is readily understood and the intended audience is for library professionals. This article is recommended for all who work in libraries, whether academic, public or schools, as each article on the Web today, needs a critical eye. The book covers topics pertinent for all aspects of the school library today and is also recommended for the expert information therein. “Help for SIRS Knowledge Source.” (2008). SIRS Knowledge Source. Retrieved July 28, 2008, from http://www.proquestk12.com/lsm/sirs/sks-help.htm. The “Help” feature on the SIRS Knowledge Source, a database to which many school districts, academic libraries and public subscribe, has instructions on how to navigate or search the SIRS database site. The linear listing of helpful links and portals to navigating the SIRS site is easy to read; additional information can be obtained by hyperlinked keywords, such as “quick search” or “advance search.” Once a hyperlinked topic is clicked, the user sees a descriptive page which may have graphics using screen shots from the SIRS database website. By returning to the linear list, one can quickly peruse the listing and see what is still needed. Instruction on how articles can be tagged, e-mail set up to send SIRS articles, how to read lexile scores per article, and how to use descriptors are Help features. Tabs for Content, Index and a Search Box are accessible on the left side of the navigation screen. Each article in the Help feature has a reference to “Related Topics” which is easy to find. Overall, the Help feature seem pertinent to the database user. Perhaps in addition to the screen shots, actual hyperlinks would be valuable, as the text seems somewhat dull. The intended audience is for teens through adults; the format

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems 5 is clean and easy to read. This section of the SIRS database is highly recommended reading for information seekers as they learn to navigate the database. Hock, R. (2007). The Extreme searcher’s internet handbook: for the serious searcher. (2nd ed.) Medford, NJ: CyberAge Books. When high school students think of finding information, they seem to immediately go the Web. Library teachers, English teachers and librarians need to be able to help them direct their searches, help them use Boolean searching and keywords, and traverse the Web via various search engines. This involves continual updated training for the professionals, and this handbook is one of the many guides available that focuses strictly on the Web as an information source. The book covers current information in chapters on basics for the serious searcher, general web directories/portals, specialized directories, backgrounds and information on search engines, as well as news sources, finding product information, and multimedia searching. One negative characteristic about books such as Hock’s is that websites (URLS) may disappear overnight, including his featured sites. This leaves the reader/searcher hanging. However, to counteract this disappointment and modern dilemma over which there’s not control, the author maintains a web page at www.extremesearcher.com with information, links to sites included in this book, as well information about which featured sites no longer work. This wouldn’t be the first source recommended to those seeking how to search for information on the Web, because the writing is somewhat boring and predictable. The reading audience is the average Web user; geeks probably already know all of this information. The best part of the content is websites on important topics that Holt refers to, such as ResourceShelf (www.resourceshelf.com) and FreePint (www.freepint.com), which can keep the searcher up to date on website information. Otherwise, if one can stay alive mentally while reading, the content can inform current best-use procedures on the Web. King, D. (2000, May). Specialized search engines. Online, 24(3), 67. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database at http://web.ebscohost.com. In spite of resources online such as the major search engines, databases, and directories, there are times when the searcher knows the main overall topic and would simply like to read what a specialist in that topic says. The seeker desires up-to-date information from experts, and doesn’t want to spend a lot of time finding the information. King’s article brings the reader to some specialized databases, compiled and maintained for a specific field of information or topic, such as law, medicine and health, science, or multimedia (images, music, video, and streaming video clips). One criticism of the article is the inherent problem of sites that are disclosed are not available because they are not maintained and therefore disappear. However, only three of the specialized search engines mentioned in the article, which was printed in 2000, were dead links; seven law sites, two science sites and two multimedia sites were active. Helpful site-specific tips are given on how to search that site, with tips on Boolean, basic and advanced features. If an information searcher desires to locate a specialized search engine but doesn’t know how to find one, King gives several sites to do so. Danny Sullivan’s Search Engine Watch (http://www.searchenginewatch.com/links), Search Engine Guide.Com (http://searchengineguide.com), and Chris Sherman (http://websearch.about.com) keep links to specialized sites up to date. Overall, the article guides a searcher to ways to find specialized search engines. There was a lack of sites pertaining to the humanities and arts; as there are some valuable ones in this category, it is regrettable those

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems 6 subjects were left out. However, searchers can use the sites that King points to for locating specific subjects. The article could be understood by teens and adults. Recommended if a person doesn’t mind a few dead links and needs information about specialized databases. Kuhlthau, C. C. (2004). Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services. (2nd ed.) Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Carol Collier Kuhlthau is a professor at the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. In 1993, she wrote the original book based on her research with high school students; it was also entitled Seeking Meaning. From her research and the information she gleaned from her studies, she developed the Information Search Process, or ISP. This edition of the book expands her original edition by the addition of two chapters based on the ISP process approach in the contexts of education and the workplace. It reflects her rethinking of the ISP and considers the advances of information technology and related research in library and information science over the last decade. If she has a bias, it would be that, library and information services are at a tenuous crossroads and that continuing and additional research need to be implemented in order to bring the best services in library and information services. She advocates that this continuing research and application of the process approach be continued, enhanced and analyzed. This is a valuable source for library professionals who are striving to be relevant and pertinent in helping students/patrons increase access to sources, information and ideas, while emphasizing the process involved. Kuhlthau, C. C. (1994). Teaching the Library Search Process. (2nd ed.) Metuchen, N. J.: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. C. C. Kuhlthau is a former an elementary school teacher, and elementary and high school library media teacher. She wrote the first edition of Teacher in the Library Research Process in 1985, and continued to investigate the search process in students in the following ten years. At the time of writing this edition, she had completed five studies with both qualitative and quantitative analyses on how students obtain information. She has defined seven stages in the search process, and has divided the book chapters accordingly. In the fifth stage of Kuhlthau’s search process, students gather information relevant to their narrowed topic. Although written before Web 2.0, the search process that she emphasizes can be the basis for searches on the Web as well as in the library with print sources. Her biases are that it’s crucial for students to understand the organization of information in the library, and that it’s important to recognize the feelings of students as they process through the search for information. She includes copies of student handouts that go along with the activities in each chapter. Kuhlthau’s biases are based on her research and have solid data; they can be trusted. This volume is timeless for library media teachers, even though searching the Web needs to be addressed today. Her seven stages of the library research process are a foundation to stand on for all information sources, including the Web. This volume is recommended reading for all teaching library media librarians, albeit the need to coupling with searching the Web. LII: Search Tips and Help. (2008). Librarians’ Internet Index. Retrieved July 23, 2008 from http://lii.org/pub/htdocs/search_help.htm. Facet navigation along with text search are used to help information seekers on the Librarians’ Internet Index website. The “Search Tips and Help” section is written for an audience in high education or for

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems 7 professionals. The site is publicly funded, with financial support from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. The website incidentally sends out a weekly newsletter, that is free, and it reveals high-quality websites compiled by the site’s librarians. The site has over 20,000 entries of selected best sites on topics such as current events and issues, holidays and seasons, helpful tools for information users, human interest, and more. The intended audience is most likely library professionals who would gain from regular perusal of the weekly selected sites, in order to serve their patrons/students better. The “Search Tips and Help: gives directions clearly on using the LII search box, and how the user can refine their search by topic, data added to LIKI, publisher and other helpful facets. The Facet Navigation Help Topics include how to select topic filters, how to release a filter or conduct a sideways search, grouping and sorting. The Test Search Help Topics include using Boolean operators, stemming, stop words, spelling correction, and selection certain fields, parts of the collection or the entire collection. The search strategies appear to be effective and clear. The “Search Tips and Help” article is highly recommended for searcher on the Web. Mann, T. (2005). The Oxford guide to library research: How to find reliable information online and offline. New York: Oxford University Press. Thomas Mann, Ph. D., is a reference librarian in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress, a position he has held for approximately 25 years. In this third edition of The Oxford guide to library research, he includes online instruction as well as print sources. He has also added a chapter on wisdom, as an appendix, which in his opinion comes not at the end of the hierarchy of obtaining information but along the way, encompassing the schema the searcher brings. His general bias would be that computers now have access to information for scholars and researchers that is even more valuable than the general searching by users on the Web; this is definitely good support for bibliophiles. This book can help students from high school to college and beyond, as well as the person who wants to become a better user of all the resources available today, within the library or at a computer search station. Because Mann so effectively incorporates searching the Web as well as the resources in physical library, he cannot be criticized for favoring one resource over another. The reader will have the knowledge to be a richly, well-rounded searcher for information by reading this book. In the chapters on subject headings or descriptors and keyword, one learns how these apply to the print cataloging and also to searching online. The beginning library information searcher will benefit, because he explains from the ground up. He gives examples and descriptions of databases and procedures of searching them, along with stories of students and professors. An in-depth explanation of how to use Boolean searching in multiple databases is valuable to the average searcher as well as to the scholar. Overall, Mann’s message would be to both scholars and average searchers, to enjoy the process by learning how it can be done well in today’s information rich culture, and that searching can be enjoyable as well as doable. This book is highly recommended for everyone, which includes those seeking information and those teaching how to seek.

Search Methods for Different Classification Systems 8 Spink, A. (2003, Fall2003). Web Search: Emerging Patterns. Library Trends, 52(2), 299-306. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database at http://web.ebscohost.com. Amanda Spink, an Associate Professor of the School of Information Sciences, at the University of Pittsburgh, has collected data on the emerging patterns of searching the Web and has organized these findings to write “Web Search: Emerging Patterns.” She has written numerous scholarly articles, as noted in the bibliography, and refers to one in particular in this paper, E-commerce Web Queries: Excite and AskJeeves study, (2001, July), written by Spinks and O. Guner for First Monday, 6 (7). Her goal was to track trends in the public’s searching online, and she was able to elicit data from several commercial Web companies, including Excite, AskJeeves and AlltheWeb.com; Google did not share its data. Given the fact that most searchers use Google, the study has somewhat incomplete results. Neverthe-less, Spink’s findings are interesting particularly to an audience such as librarians, teachers, and Web designers, who are concerned with user’s habits and trends. The study used data from the aforementioned Web companies that was compiled from 1997 to 2002. The collected data included what patterns were emerging, such as web query length, use and success of Boolean operators, number of queries per use, a “question query” vs. request format, percentage of high frequency and low frequency terms, number of pages user views per result list, and the frequency of relevance feedback. The results can help professionals in designing teaching strategies for Web searches and could also help those interested in designing Web pages. One interesting shift in topic searches is the shift to ecommerce, and as Spink notes, the Web content in general has been shifting to commerce and business use. Specialized medical and health-related websites are increasing as the public’s interest increases as well, increasing the search on the specialized sites. The reading level is somewhat dense and reveals resultant data. However, it’s written well and those interested in this topic will find it to be useful and understandable. It is recommended for the general public.