Home > Bookshelf > Searching

Title:

Web Search Garage

Review:

This book explores more aspects of Internet searching than I realized existed! As one might expect from the co-author of Google Hacks, it is somewhat Google-centric, but not as much as it might be. The reason for most of that emphasis is that Google (used correctly) is a powerful, flexible search system, not that Calishain is a Google booster.

The book begins with an overview of full-text search engines, exemplified by Google, and indexes, exemplified by Yahoo. It explains the difference between the two types of search tools, then gives quick descriptions of each of the two 'main players', including special syntaxes, shortcuts, etc., related to each. The second chapter covers other search tools, describing which type they are, how to search them, and why one might wish to use one of them rather than Google or Yahoo.

Some of the topics covered may look self-evident to professional searchers, and are the kind of things we might forget to mention to others. The chapter on the importance of vocabulary to get good results might elicit a "well, duh!" response at first, but even advanced searchers may discover new tips. For instance, even after years of looking for jargon on the Internet, I never tried 'means' as a search term. 'Proppant means' didn't get me directly to a definition, but it pointed me right and gave me helpful search terms, which is what Calishain recommends it for.

There are chapters on searching groups, lists and blogs, finding associations, and using existing organizational structures like ZIP codes to find information. One of the most helpful chapters for me was on why to use special syntaxes like 'inurl:' and 'site:'. I'd gone to seminars and read articles about how to use these, but wasn't already using them and couldn't see how they'd improve search results. After reading this chapter, though, I've used them more often.

International readers probably won't get as much out of this book as Americans will. Part of that is the nature of the tools - Google's ZIP Code search, for instance, works only in the US. However, much of the information would be useful anywhere in the world.

Although this book isn't intended to be read cover to cover, it flows fairly well if you choose to do so. The index is very good, and makes an already useful book even more so (especially as the chapter titles aren't always helpful). Screen shots clarify a number of points in the text. There is no Web page associated with the book, but purchasers will get a six-month subscription to ResearchBuzz Extra, the paid version of Calishain's excellent free resource, ResearchBuzz (usually USD 30/year, USD 20 for librarians).

As a long-time reader of the ResearchBuzz, I expected a lot from this book, although wasn't sure I'd learn much because of my long history of Internet searching. However, I now have tabs sticking out from many pages, and will turn to this book when asked for types of searches I don't usually see. I highly recommend it for all levels of searcher.

FreePint Reviewer:

Caryn Wesner-Early is a librarian who is contracted to the United States Patent Office for database and Web searching.

Related Free Pint Links:

• Related Internet Searching book reviews on the Free Pint Bookshelf