Bing offers some links for users to refine their searches on the results page. If you do a search for a video, hover over one of the thumbnails to stream the video without ever leaving the search results page. If you do a search for a product, like digital cameras, Bing provides some nice links at the top of the page to find cameras within a certain price range or to go directly to buying guides from reputable sites.
It may not be enough to get you to move from Google for the majority of your searches, but if you have difficulty finding something in Google, you may want to give Bing a try. If you've tried Bing, what has your experience been?
]]>Before it disappears due to lack of funding, you really should give it a try. I think it is an amazing service to patrons, and we help loads of students and adults whenever we cover the service. Believe me, people do still need reference help even (especially) if they are on the web.
You can also now follow Falmouth Public Library on twitter (falpublib) or on our Facebook page. Is your library using Twitter or Facebook? How is it going?
Jill Erickson, Falmouth Public Library, Regional Reference Center
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Jill
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]]>As it turns out there seems to be a general feeling (at least at the meeting yesterday) to stop funding ALL the Regional Reference Centers, or reduce their funding considerably. In tough economic times, tough decisions must be made. I'm thinking that if more money was spent on advertising MassAnswers as a service that we would be helping more students in Massachusetts rather than in other states that DO advertise the service.
Does it make sense that a 6th grader, without any school librarian, should be able to naviagate the bottomless world of the Internet, or an 8th grader, or an adult for that matter without a Reference Librarian to help them out? How do they tell the difference between a reliable source and a hoax? I certainly understand the impact the Internet has had on Reference Services, but really isn't it just another Reference tool? Isn't it our job to help sort through the plethora of information?
I hope we can discuss some of these issues at next week's Reference Roundtable, which is going to be held Thursday, January 15th at 10:30 at the Falmouth Public Library. You can still sign up on the SEMLS web page. What DOES it mean to be a Reference Librarian in 2009?
]]>At yesterday’s Reference Roundtable we discussed various databases subscribed to by single libraries. One that was deemed useful--and inexpensive! was The Global Road Warrier. Here is a link to the book version of the product, which calls itself the “175-Country Handbook for the International Business Communicator and Traveler.”
http://www.worldtradepress.com/Global_Road_Warrior.html
To take a look at the online product, go to http://www.globalroadwarrior.com/index2.asp A brief look shows a database will be great for travelers—for questions like “Can I use my cell phone in the country I’m going to? What kind of electrical current do they have? Are there discount train passes? Can I find an internet café?” But there is more, including lots of information for uses other than travel. The Society & Culture section includes a great section Life Cycles that details the society’s customs of marriage, family, old age and death. Just think of the homework questions this could answer! Free trials are available. Questions? Both David Murphy in Duxbury and Moira Cavanaugh in
http://support.epnet.com/training/flash_videos/PlusTourFiles/NoveListPlusTour.htm
or call Kathy Leahy for her thoughts on the product.
I did a demo of Google Scholar’s new attempt to help users get access to the full text of articles listed by linking the user to his public library’s databases. If you are in OCLN library, go to Google Scholar and do a search. (Let me know how this works from CLAMS.) Scan the citations displayed, keeping an eye out for AONE Full Text @ MBLC Warning—this is not ready for prime-time, ‘cause clicking on the link does not actually bring you to the article—yet! But it’s a way to use the fabulous google search engine to come up with great articles ---and be assured that the full text is a step away. To see the process work better, go to the new BPL homepage and click electronic resources. At the bottom of the page, click on
Do you use Google Scholar?
Include Full-Text @ BPL content in Google Scholar results
Valid BPL library card required for remote access. (sign up for an ecard if you need one!)
Give it a try--it's the wave of the future, as libraries try to meet their patrons where they lurk...on google...and then lure them into the databases that give them free access to articles they need.
Linda Beeler, Thomas Crane Library, Quincy
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This week in Advanced Google we ae talking about major and alternative search engines. Turns out that no one really wants to compete directly with google, so there are an increasing number of search engines that look at specific types of searches ... like video or photographs. You can get news about these search engines at Alternative Search Engines (www.altsearchengines.com).
I was also reminded this week of a great resource the InfoPeople best search engines chart which you can find at http://infopeople.org/search/chart.html.
What search engine are you using other than google? Has anyone tried Clusty? (www.clusty.com ... which is my second choice after google) Let's talk about search engines!
Oh ... and on another matter completely, you can see my latest mini film, a little tribute to our summer puzzles, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvBKxk_iCow ... be sure to have your speakers on!
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