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The Internet can be a pretty neat place, but sometimes trying to find the information you're looking for is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Take heart, there's help! This page includes a collection of links to tools for searching the Internet.

You may also want to look at our tips on searching the Net, or our glossary of search terms. Also be sure to check out our information on how to evaluate what you find on the Internet. For more detailed information on how to search the Internet, check out some of the online searching tutorials listed at the bottom of this page.

The library has lots of good books on how to use the Internet, how to search the Internet, and even books that list Internet sites on various topics such as health, law, government, finance, and more. Next time you are in the area, stop by and check one out!

• Ask Jeeves — Ask a question in everyday language and Ask Jeeves will try to find the answer. This is a neat variation on search engines.
  Kids will like Ask Jeeves for Kids, designed specifically to answer questions for kids.
• Google — Considered by many librarians to be the best all-round search engine!! It is generally acknowledged to be the strictest about separating the genuine answers from the paid advertisers.
• HotBot — a great all-purpose search engine with excellent features advanced features.
• AltaVista - The first search engine, AltaVista has fallen on hard times but is improving!
• Lycos - One of the oldest search engines on the Web and still worth a try.
• Yahoo - a search engine as well as a subject guide (see below).

• Excite — a subject guide to the Internet that can be personalized to meet your needs.
• Galaxy — "The professional's guide to a world of information."
• Internet Public Library -- A wealth of information organized within interesting topics.
• Librarian's Index to the Internet — maintained by the Berkeley Public Library, this is a comprehensive index to the Internet, organized by subject and updated frequently.
• LookSmart — Allows you to search for links to Web sites within categories such as automotive, hobbies and interests, society and politics, and more.
• MSN Search - Microsoft has put a lot of its computer know-how into this subject guide.
• Yahoo — this subject guide is one of the most popular sites on the Internet.

• Dogpile
• Meta Find
• ProFusion
• SavvySearch

• BigBook Yellow Pages — search for businesses by category or by name within a city or state that you choose. You can search for business web sites by company name, and you can search for businesses in Canada as well as the U.S.
• BigYellow — search for businesses by name or by category. An extended search is available for more options, and you can also find people and e-mail addresses here.
• Switchboard — Switchboard's yellow pages, searchable by city and state and by type of business, provides telephone numbers and addresses of businesses all over the country.
• WorldPages — with links to residential and business search tools in countries all over the world, this is a great place to look for resources outside the U.S.
• Yahoo Yellow Pages — search for businesses in a city or near a location you choose.

• AltaVista

• Amazing Picture Machine

• Ditto

• Google's Image Search

• Lycos Image Gallery

• AnyWho Directory Service — a service of AT&T, providing peoples' name, address, and phone numbers. A reverse telephone directory service is available.
• Bigfoot — An e-mail address finder.
• InfoSpace - allows you to search online yellow pages for businesses, or white pages for people. International search is also available, as is reverse lookup.
• Yahoo! People Search — Provides information about e-mail addresses and telephone numbers.
• Switchboard — Provides telephone numbers and "snail-mail" addresses of people and businesses all over the country.
• WhoWhere — an online directory including email, telephone numbers, and even links to peoples' home pages.

• Search several different subject guides and search engines, because while there will be some information overlap, they don't all index the same exact material.

• If you don’t come up with any useful sites when you search the first time, try using alternate terms and synonyms to describe your question. (For example, search for both origami and paper folding.)

• Beware of terms or phrases that could mean more than one thing. (For example, Macintosh apple could mean a computer or an apple. )

• Make sure you’re spelling things correctly. It's a very common mistake to misspell search terms.

• Don't use stop words, which are too common and are not indexed by the search engines. Different search engines may have different stop words, but you should be able to find a list of stop words in the help. Some examples of stop words are the, a, and an.

• Use Boolean logic to help you do your search — AND, OR and NOT.

• Use quotation marks to frame a phrase you’re searching for — "Microsoft Word."

• Depending on how many hits your search retrieves, you may need to narrow it or broaden it by adding, removing, or changing search terms.

• Read the online help to find out how to search effectively. Each subject guide and search engine has different ways of processing your search.

• If you can't find the information you are looking for on the Internet, try looking in books, magazines, or encyclopedias; and ask your local librarian for help.

Glossary of Search Terminology

Boolean logic — Allows you to carefully design a search query by using AND, OR and NOT to link words together. For example:

origami AND cranes will find documents that include both of these words.
origami OR paper folding will find documents that include either of these words.
Macintosh NOT computer will find documents that include the word Macintosh but not the word Computer.

Hits — The number of documents the search engine or catalog retrieved in response to your search.

Intelligent agent — A program that gathers information for you automatically, on a regular schedule. You set up an agent program by answering a series of questions that it uses to find out about you and your preferences. Then you sit back and it does the work!

Meta-search — A search tool that allows you to search more than one search engine at a time.

Natural language query — A question that you ask, using normal language, such as "What is the population of Arkansas?" The computer then translates the question into a format that it can understand.

Push technology — Uses e-mail or other tools to actively provide you with information, instead of waiting for you to go get the information (known as pull technology).

Query — A question you ask a search engine or online database.

Search Engine — An Internet search tool that indexes millions of Web sites.

Stop word — A frequently-used word that search engines do not search for, because it would retrieve too many documents. Examples of common stop words are a, and, and the. If you use a stop word in your query, it will be ignored.

Subject Guide — Also known as a catalog, this is a search tool that tries to organize Internet and Web sites into categories of information. Most subject guides are maintained by human beings who find new Web sites, evaluate them, and then add them. Subject guides tend to be better-organized, but usually hold information about fewer Web sites, than search engines.

Web spider — An automated tool used by search engines. Web spiders search the Internet for new Web sites and make sure older Web sites have not changed location or disappeared. The information they find is added to the search engine’s index of Web sites.

Evaluating what you find

When you are evaluating a Web site or Web page that you found on the Internet, consider these factors:

• Currency: When was the information last updated? Some topics, such as health, government, and current events, change very quickly. You want to make sure you get the most recent information. If you can't find the last time the site was updated, be wary.

• Credentials: Unlike the publishing industry where books and magazines are edited before they are published, anyone at all can easily publish information on the Internet. Therefore, it's important to know who is the source of the information you are looking at. What are the credentials of the people who maintain the site? What are their qualifications? Who are they affiliated with?

• Source of the information: Where did the information come from? References and sources of information should be clearly posted. If a statement is made, the site should back it up.

• Site funding: Sources of funding, including site sponsors and advertisers, should be made known.

• Usefulness: Does the site contain information you can use, or is it just an advertisement for a product?

• Navigation: How easy is it to navigate the site and find the information you're looking for? Does the site have an index or a way to search for information?

Online Tutorials on Searching the Net

• Guide to Effective Searching of the Internet — This 10-part tutorial is very comprehensive. Part 7, Search Pitfalls to Avoid, is especially useful.

• How to Search the World Wide Web — A tutorial for beginners and non-experts.

• Sink or Swim: Internet Search Tools and Techniques — Some helpful tips from our neighbors in Canada

• Search Guide: How to Choose and Use Top Search Engines and Directories — This site has some great search hints and suggestions on how to choose your search terms.

• SearchIQ - A directory of search engines that includes reviews, search tips, and top-ranked search tools.

• WebSerch [sic] -"The Web Research Resource." Pick up search tips, learn how to evaluate search engines and the information they index, and more.