Spiders and Worms and Crawlers, Oh My: Searching on the World Wide Web

Goals of the workshop:

To introduce participants to a variety of Web search engines. To explain when and why to use specific search engines. To provide exercises and practice time for better retention of material covered.

Searching on the World Wide Web can be confusing. A myriad of search engines exist, often with little or no documentation, and many of these search engines work differently from the standard commerical search engines we are used to using.

The workshop will begin with a written test of current knowledge. At the completion of the test, participants will be given a detailed information packet containing the material to be covered during the session. We will then describe and demonstrate the use of several representative Web search engines, explain some of the differences between Web search engines, provide guided exercises for hands-on participation, and answer questions from the audience. The workshop will end with a written post-test and evaluation. This workshop is aimed at librarians desiring to know how, when and why to search the Internet.