THINK LIKE A LIBRARIANELM databases for beginners
MILI 2010-2011LeAnn Suchy, [email protected]
.us http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabi_k/3546466770/
Visible versus Invisible Web “Visible Web” (often called
“Surface Web”)Stuff you find via search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.
“Invisible Web” (often called “Hidden Web” or “Deep Web”)
Things not searchable by regular search engines
Think subscription databases
Visible Web Last year Google indexed its
trillionth webpage (1 trillion unique URLs)
This is only half of the Visible Web
Results are relevancy rankedOver 200 factors determine relevancyPopularity is a large factorRelevancy rankings aren’t always credible
Invisible Web Invisible Web is anywhere from
100 to 500 times bigger than the Visible Web (or even bigger?)
Includes more credible sources
Search engines like Google can’t index the Invisible Web because:
Items found via a queryPasswords
How do I find Invisible Web? Think DATABASES
Database through the government, libraries and state of MN
Databases through your school
Today we’re focusing on: ELM databases (ELM = Electronic Library for Minnesota
Searchasaurus
Kids Search
Academic Search Premier
InfoTrac Junior Edition
InfoTrac Student Edition
¡Informe!
Britannica Online
ProQuest Newsstand Complete
Student Resources in Context
CAMIO
Many more
Almost 50 ELM databases
More databases available through your school, so talk to your media specialist
And now, think like a librarian…
Before recommending, explore Ask these questions of the
database: What type of content is provided? How many publications are included? Years? How frequently is it updated? What navigational tools are provided? Are there tutorials? A help section? Search tips? How are search results displayed? Can I save, email or print articles? RSS feeds? Which students would best be served by this?
These questions and more are on Database Exploration Checklist
Database Exploration Checklist
Detailed Search
Search like a librarian
Between now and our meeting Check out the Database
Exploration Checklist worksheet Go into the ELM databases (or
databases linked from your school library) and use the worksheet to analyze a couple databases
Blog about your experiences When we meet in-person: Bring
an assignment with you where you had to have students research something