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Search Engine Roundup
Phil Bradley has a nice overview of all the major search engines and what they're good at searching.
I really like that at at the bottom of the document, he links to people who have similar lists. It's nice to see someone giving credit online and it's nice to sort of compare and contrast people's takes on search engines. My one complaint? I wish there was a section advising people to use databases. You won't find most database content using search engines (which is why it's called the Invisible Web) but it's amazing information. LaGuardia staff and students have access to a ton of databases through the Library's database page: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/rpa/onlineresearch.htm, but most public libraries provide access to some databases now, too. Internet search engines are great, but a lot of times the things they can't find are the things you really need.
posted by Steve in the Library on Thursday, March 31, 2005
Web Hoaxes
People get fooled and tricked by magazines and newspapers from time to time. So you always have to look at what you're reading with a critical eye.
But on the Internet, hoaxes are just so simple to pull off. Yesterday, there was a post about a student on chat trying to get another student to write a paper for him/her. It's nothing earth-shattering or crazy. Why wouldn't you believe it? The Website BoingBoing is reporting the whole thing is a hoax, though. Looking at the site where the thread originated, they might be admitting the whole thing is a hoax. I can't even tell. And that's the problem with so many Websites. You can't tell if people are being serious or ironic or even honest. At least with standard publications, like the kind found in our databases, you can contact an editor or writer to see what the situation is. But Websites pop-up and go down so quickly, you never know who or what you're dealing with. So be especially critical when you're reading stuff online. Especially with April Fool's Day coming up.
posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Wired Campus
USA Today reports on what a lot of LaGuardia students probably already know: today's college student is pretty wired into technology.
USA Today talks about cell phones, laptops, and iPods, but they leave out a key part of college technology: online access to databases. I'm constantly amazed how much research I can do from my desk or from home. Students and professors also always seem pleasantly surprised when they see how many articles and books they can access from home, just by using some of the Library's databases. iPods are very cool, but you have to love a technology that lets you find another copy of that article you misplaced, at four in the morning.
posted by Steve in the Library on Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Good News and Not-So-Good News
As we've mentioned before, the Library now offers reference help over instant messaging programs like AOL, MSN, and Yahoo!.
But if you use any of those chat clients, especially Yahoo's, be careful. There's a new scam traveling via Yahoo's Instant Messanger, that tries to trick people into giving out their account details. So if anyone sends you a link asking for personal information, don't just fill in the blanks. Remember that someone might be trying to trick you. On a much lighter, happier note, don't forget to come to the Library's book sale. It's today and tomorrow in the Atrium.
posted by Steve in the Library on Monday, March 28, 2005
More Access and Less Access
Over on Slashdot, they have some interesting links to some patents Amazon.com is applying for. The patents are designed to restrict online access to some of their books. Apparently Amazon might be concerned that if they give too much online access to books, people won't buy them.
It's interesting how some companies, like Google, are rushing to put content online, while others are trying to figure out ways to control what people see. It'll be interesting to see which camp, if any, winds up winning.
posted by Steve in the Library on Thursday, March 24, 2005
Database Subject Heading Changes
We made a few small changes to the online database page (http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/rpa/onlineresearch.htm). Hopefully, the changes will make databases easier to find.
We used to have a database subject called "General Reference," but all of the librarians agreed that wasn't specific enough. So we broke them down into more specific subjects. You can see the new subjects here: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/rpa/onlineresearch.htm#biography http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/rpa/onlineresearch.htm#books http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/rpa/onlineresearch.htm#directories http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/rpa/onlineresearch.htm#encyclopedias http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/rpa/onlineresearch.htm#indices I highly recommend the Encyclopedias/Dictionaries area. Those databases have information on just about anything. If I don't know where to start my search, I'll usually check out an encyclopedia, or something like Xreferplus, which is a collection of dictionaries across just about every subject. If you have any comments or questions, send an e-mail to sovadia -at- lagcc.cuny.edu.
posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Finding Full-Text Books Online
Slashdot reports that some of the books Google has scanned as part of their digital imaging project are starting to show up in results. All you need it to include the word book in your search. Like a search for book macbeth gives you the following link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=book+%22macbeth%22&btnG=Search. If you look at the top of the results screen, you see a little book graphic. If you click any of the titles, you'll get a page from MacBeth. If you click on the cover of the book, you get the cover. Arrows at the top let you "turn" pages. So if you wanted, you could read all of MacBeth online.
You can also find MacBeth online via Project Gutenberg, but if you don't know to look there (but you should — they have a huge collection of free ebooks), at least Google will point you in the right direction. Then the question becomes, just how many full-text versions of MacBeth do we need online?
posted by Steve in the Library on Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Brainstorming
Sunday's Times had an article on brainstorming software.
These are software packages designed to help you organize your thoughts. You can put in documents, images, Web site addresses, and just plain old ideas, and create links and paths between them all, with the theory being, that when you're done, you have a finished paper or article or book. I've never really used one before, but I see them discussed a lot. The thing is, it's not about the software you use to get to a final product. You just need an organized process. So if you're comfortable using software, you should check out all the different brainstorming packages (although a lot of them are pretty expensive) and see what helps your work. But if paper is easier, feel free to use that. The important thing before writing a paper is to have your thoughts and research organized. But don't worry too much about what you're using to organize your thoughts. The important thing is that you're organizing.
posted by Steve in the Library on Monday, March 21, 2005
Breaking Copyright
Copyright is such a strange thing.
Fiona Apple finished an album, but her label didn't like it, so it wound up sitting on a shelf somewhere. But from wherever it was, it found a way out, and now the album, never officially released, is making its way around the Internet. So people are getting to hear it for free. And Apple's record label still won't release the album. Even though fans are asking for it. So there are demands for an album, but rather than filling the demand, the label is sort of letting people steal the album and violate copyright laws. After all, people willing to pay for the album don't have a way to do so. The only way to hear it is to download it, without giving Sony any money. I'm sure Sony, her label, has their reasons for all of this, but it seems pretty odd. It just makes copyright all the more confusing.
posted by Steve in the Library on Friday, March 18, 2005
Google Experiment Taken Down
Yesterday, I was playing around on the Google Labs site, seeing what cool new things Google was working on.
One of the things I considered linking to today was a version of Google that looked kind of like the Mac. When you scrolled over the images in their menu, they got bigger, just like on the dock bar of a Macintosh computer. Of course, I forgot to link to the page today, but it's just as well. Google took the experimental page down. No one is sure why Google took it down. I'm not sure either. The site didn't work any differently than the ususal Google. It just looked kind of neat. Sometimes a little eye candy helps when you're searching.
posted by Steve in the Library on Thursday, March 17, 2005
Choosing Day Care
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has a nice two page pamphlet on choosing a day care center. You can see it here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/pdf/public/dohmhnews4-1.pdf. It's a PDF, so you'll need Adobe Acrobat to open it. It's got some good tips, though.
posted by Steve in the Library on Wednesday, March 16, 2005
No Free Ride
Newspapers keep coming back to the idea that it's weird to charge for the print newspaper, but to make the same content free online.
Right now, it seems the New York Times is trying to figure out if they'll move their site to a fee-based model. Newspapers are scared to charge online readers, though. They're still not sure what people will pay for and news has been free too long. People expect news to be free. It's tough. We should all be grateful we have access to LexisNexis. That gives the LaGuardia community online access to hundreds of newspapers. Databases are a good way of making sure you always have access to information — even as online news sites play with their news delivery models.
posted by Steve in the Library on Tuesday, March 15, 2005
AIMing for Privacy
This weekend, there was a little bit of controversy over AOL Instant Messenger's privacy policy. Some message boards were reporting that the AOL policy allowed AOL to use whatever you wrote in your AIM messages for their own purposes.
But now AOL is saying that isn't the case. A spokesman told the Houston Chronicle the policy statement people found referred to message board posts. The AOL spokesman said AOL doesn't monitor AIM messages. Why does this matter? What does this have to do with libraries? Today our chat service resumes, and we're now available on AOL, MSN, and Yahoo!. So AOL policies now impact us, in a small way. Luckily, this seems to be a misunderstanding more than a controversy. As for chat: On AOL, we're LaGuardiaLibrary On Yahoo, we're LaGuardiaLibrary On MSN, we're LaGuardiaLibrary@hotmail.com We're on from 2-4 (except for this Wednesday). Try us out on your favorite chat client. It's a quick, easy way to get reference help when you're not in the library.
posted by Steve in the Library on Monday, March 14, 2005
Site Updates
We have some nice site updates to announce, just in time for Spring I:
1) There's a new library map here: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/map/librarymap.htm. This new map is like the old one, only interactive. Run your mouse over it and the image changes to give you more information about a certain part of the library. Some of the areas are clickable to take you to different parts of the site. 2) We now have a very cool CUNY+ movie/tutorial online. You can see it here under A Virtual Tour of the CUNY+ Catalog: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/library/publications/default.htm. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them along to sovadia-at-lagcc.cuny.edu.
posted by Steve in the Library on Thursday, March 10, 2005
Blogging on the Job
I'm lucky I have a job where I'm supposed to blog.
CNET has a look at the risks and legalities of blogging on the job. As more and more people start blogs, this is probably going to become a bigger and bigger issue.
posted by Steve in the Library on Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Google Autolinking: Evil or Great?
Take a look at this Slate article on a newish feature in Google with possibly massive implications:
http://www.slate.com/id/2114308
posted by Paul on Friday, March 04, 2005
More Public Transit Help
A few weeks ago I mentioned Trips123.com, a map site that also gives you mass transit directions.
Here's another mass transit helper to add to the list: www.hopstop.com. I don't know if it's good, but at least it's a start when you're trying to figure out buses (although they don't do Queens buses yet) and trains.
posted by Steve in the Library on Tuesday, March 01, 2005
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