Sometimes when searching the web, the results list of your search engine is cluttered with websites that aren’t relevant. For example, if you are searching for historical information about your suburb, you may find the results filled with real estate sites mentioning houses for sale in your area.
One way to overcome this in Google is to add a minus sign in front of words you want to exclude from your search. For example, searching for “Kirwan –real –estate” should help weed out unwanted websites.
Another way to overcome this is to build your own search engine, and include only the sites you want to search. Rollyo is just one of many free services that you can use to create a personalised search engine.
Click the ‘Create Searchroll’ link on the Rollyo homepage and then fill in the form. You can add up to 25 web addresses that you would like to search. Once completed, your personal search tool can be used in a number of ways. All of your search rolls are saved to a dashboard, so you can create a number of different ones depending on your hobbies, job or study.
If you have your own blog or website, you can add your new search tool to your site. Rollyo can provide the HTML code which you can paste on your website, which will produce a search box just like a search engine.
Rollyo already has quite a few search rolls prepared which you are free to use. These include topics like golf, cars, news and computer games.
Another similar service to try is the Google Custom Search Engine.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Monday, November 24, 2008
Information you can trust
The Librarians’ Internet Index (www.lii.org) is a subject directory where the web sites have been chosen and reviewed by librarians. The slogan of LII says it all – Websites you can trust.
LII is organised into categories for easy browsing such as business, computers, sports, and environment or you can enter a search term to search LII only. By entering a search term or browsing a category you are taken to a list of sites which have been described by an information specialist. Beneath each description is a list of subject terms used to catalogue the site - by clicking on these you are taken to all the sites with that subject in their description - much like browsing on the shelves in a library.
A very useful feature on the LII homepage is the Featured Collection section which provides many resources on topical current affairs such as the 2008 US Presidential Election. The LII homepage also shows new sites that have been added or you can opt for a free subscription to receive a weekly email newsletter or RSS feed showing new resources added to LII.
LII is an excellent resource for reliable information for everyone. School or university students should find it useful for assignments. It is a great site to have in your Favourites but bear in mind that it is an American source and not many Australian sites are included. Of course, this can be an advantage if you are researching a topic such as the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. If you get no results from your search, as LII itself explains, "lii.org has records for about 10,000 of the hundreds of millions of available websites … it's possible the resource you are looking for isn't described."
LII provides a More Search Tools section for recommended search engines and news engines where you may have more luck.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
LII is organised into categories for easy browsing such as business, computers, sports, and environment or you can enter a search term to search LII only. By entering a search term or browsing a category you are taken to a list of sites which have been described by an information specialist. Beneath each description is a list of subject terms used to catalogue the site - by clicking on these you are taken to all the sites with that subject in their description - much like browsing on the shelves in a library.
A very useful feature on the LII homepage is the Featured Collection section which provides many resources on topical current affairs such as the 2008 US Presidential Election. The LII homepage also shows new sites that have been added or you can opt for a free subscription to receive a weekly email newsletter or RSS feed showing new resources added to LII.
LII is an excellent resource for reliable information for everyone. School or university students should find it useful for assignments. It is a great site to have in your Favourites but bear in mind that it is an American source and not many Australian sites are included. Of course, this can be an advantage if you are researching a topic such as the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. If you get no results from your search, as LII itself explains, "lii.org has records for about 10,000 of the hundreds of millions of available websites … it's possible the resource you are looking for isn't described."
LII provides a More Search Tools section for recommended search engines and news engines where you may have more luck.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
National Library card unlocks wealth of online resources
We all know that there’s more information available on the internet than you could ever sensibly need in one lifetime, but did you know that there is a genuine treasure-chest of quality information locked away to select users? Fortunately, all you need to unlock these vaults is a library card, which is usually free.
Now most people will be familiar with visiting their local public library to borrow materials, and regular Searchlight readers will also know about the range of online services they can use their library card for. But did you know that you can now become an online member and use the services of one of Australia’s most important libraries? The National Library of Australia, situated in Canberra, has a role in collecting and making available information for all Australians. Recently they have taken an impressive leap forward by allowing people around Australia to register for a library card, and then use that card to unlock dozens of websites where the quality information is stored.
Head to www.nla.gov.au/app/eresources and fill out the online application form. All you need is a residential address in Australia, so they can post the card to you. It only took four days for a card to be delivered to North Queensland – and remember it’s all free!
Some of the treasures waiting to be unlocked cover business directories, art, history, music, book reviews, bioethics, economic data and much more. Mixed in with these databases are a selection of the very best free websites available, so if you can’t wait to get your library card, you may still find something useful from the free site.
Your National Library of Australia card will be good for two years, and the eResources are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just the thing for last minute business reports or homework research.
Don’t forget that the State Library of Queensland also has an e-Services Card. Visit www.slq.qld.gov.au/services/ecard and complete the form. Once again a card will be sent in the mail and you can then unlock a wealth of online databases and e-books from the State Library website.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Searching for Internet gems
An online subject directory is a database of websites that have been collected and organised by people. Imagine a bookshop where the books are shelved according to their subject. Each subject - like sport - is broken down and organised into smaller more specific subjects - like cricket or swimming. A subject directory does the same thing with websites, and this makes them very useful for browsing. The great strength of subject directories is that people, not computers, choose and evaluate the websites in the directory. The main disadvantage of a Directory is their relatively small size. You may have several thousand websites to search through, rather than the tens of millions that a search engine can offer.
Infomine (http://infomine.ucr.edu) is such a directory. Don your hard-hats for an underground tour of this gem of a website.
Infomine is a collection of web resources mostly collected and organised by librarians, the original information experts. Although Infomine is aimed at an academic audience, it contains resources of use and interest to most people. Secondary students will find it great for homework help! Web resources listed in Infomine have a short description or review about the content of online resources. This alone saves valuable minutes while searching, as you don’t have to check every resource to see if it’s useful or not.
One the greatest strengths of Infomine, after its contents, is the many ways you can search through those contents. Try browsing through the list of broad topics, such as Biological, Agricultural and Medical Sciences, Business and Economics, Government Info, Visual and Performing Arts and more. You can also enter your search words into a search box, and then manipulate and refine the results using the “Modify Search” button.
Visit the “Advanced Search” page for more search options, including the ability to browse by Author and Title. This is particularly useful considering Infomine has a good collection of electronic journals, textbooks and conference proceedings.
Finally, make sure you check out the “Search Tips” page, available from the homepage. It’s very clear and easy to use. Simple but effective tips include using a truncation at the end of a search word. For example, entering “industr*” with a star at the end, the will retrieve results with the words industry, industries, industrial and industrialisation.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Infomine (http://infomine.ucr.edu) is such a directory. Don your hard-hats for an underground tour of this gem of a website.
Infomine is a collection of web resources mostly collected and organised by librarians, the original information experts. Although Infomine is aimed at an academic audience, it contains resources of use and interest to most people. Secondary students will find it great for homework help! Web resources listed in Infomine have a short description or review about the content of online resources. This alone saves valuable minutes while searching, as you don’t have to check every resource to see if it’s useful or not.
One the greatest strengths of Infomine, after its contents, is the many ways you can search through those contents. Try browsing through the list of broad topics, such as Biological, Agricultural and Medical Sciences, Business and Economics, Government Info, Visual and Performing Arts and more. You can also enter your search words into a search box, and then manipulate and refine the results using the “Modify Search” button.
Visit the “Advanced Search” page for more search options, including the ability to browse by Author and Title. This is particularly useful considering Infomine has a good collection of electronic journals, textbooks and conference proceedings.
Finally, make sure you check out the “Search Tips” page, available from the homepage. It’s very clear and easy to use. Simple but effective tips include using a truncation at the end of a search word. For example, entering “industr*” with a star at the end, the will retrieve results with the words industry, industries, industrial and industrialisation.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Old Skool Google
Sometimes it's scary to look through a photo album and realise that you really did wear some of those weird fashions and hairstyles not-so-long-ago!
It can be just as interesting looking back through a "photo album" of old web pages.
Recently Google celebrated its tenth birthday by revealing the 2001 version of the Google search engine (www.google.com/search2001.html) –be quick to check it out as the site won’t be up for long. Technical issues prevented them from making the 1998 version available, but it’s still amazing to see how far the web has come in the last seven years. Click on a link in the results page and you’ll be taken to the current live version of that page, if it still exists. Look closely at the results and you’ll see a link to “View old version on the Internet Archive”.
The Internet Archive (www.archive.org) is a great way of looking at various web page fashions over the relatively brief history of the internet. From the Internet Archive homepage, type an internet address into the Wayback Machine search box and click the "Take me Back" button to search. If that web site has been archived, you will be presented with a list of dates when the site was "captured" for archiving. Click on a date to see that webpage as it looked in the late 1990's. Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) from 1996 certainly looks different to today's version. The archive isn't complete, and there are plenty of broken links and missing graphics, but it's a fun site to visit.
The Internet Archive also has a serious role preserving the wealth of social, intellectual and cultural information that appears and disappears all too quickly on the Internet. This function makes it a great search tool for web-based information that is several years old. For example, an ABC News page (www.abc.net.au) archived in August 1997, has breaking news stories of the Thredbo landslide disaster.
As well as regular web pages, the Wayback Machine has also archived audio and video files and it has a pretty good Advanced Search feature which is worth a look. Have fun searching the early days of the web.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
It can be just as interesting looking back through a "photo album" of old web pages.
Recently Google celebrated its tenth birthday by revealing the 2001 version of the Google search engine (www.google.com/search2001.html) –be quick to check it out as the site won’t be up for long. Technical issues prevented them from making the 1998 version available, but it’s still amazing to see how far the web has come in the last seven years. Click on a link in the results page and you’ll be taken to the current live version of that page, if it still exists. Look closely at the results and you’ll see a link to “View old version on the Internet Archive”.
The Internet Archive (www.archive.org) is a great way of looking at various web page fashions over the relatively brief history of the internet. From the Internet Archive homepage, type an internet address into the Wayback Machine search box and click the "Take me Back" button to search. If that web site has been archived, you will be presented with a list of dates when the site was "captured" for archiving. Click on a date to see that webpage as it looked in the late 1990's. Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) from 1996 certainly looks different to today's version. The archive isn't complete, and there are plenty of broken links and missing graphics, but it's a fun site to visit.
The Internet Archive also has a serious role preserving the wealth of social, intellectual and cultural information that appears and disappears all too quickly on the Internet. This function makes it a great search tool for web-based information that is several years old. For example, an ABC News page (www.abc.net.au) archived in August 1997, has breaking news stories of the Thredbo landslide disaster.
As well as regular web pages, the Wayback Machine has also archived audio and video files and it has a pretty good Advanced Search feature which is worth a look. Have fun searching the early days of the web.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Friday, October 17, 2008
What will I read now?
It’s always satisfying to get to the end of a series of books by your favourite author. The comfort of a familiar writing style, subject matter and engaging characters all combine to make reading a pleasurable experience, but the downside is always ‘what am I going to read now?’
Citi Libraries’ online databases include a resource called “What do I read next?” The database is accessed through the library’s online catalogue (http://catalogue.townsville.qld.gov.au/spydus.html) by clicking on the link for ‘online databases’.
Do a search by author name to find a list of books by an author you like. Click on one from the list and plot details, character lists, subjects, reader age range and even the time period of the book appear. Searching is also possible by genre and story type.
Perhaps you really enjoyed a particular book and would like to find something similar, but by a different author. You can do a search for similar books by clicking on the ‘Help Me Find a Book’ link. Simply enter the name of the book you enjoyed and then click on the link that comes up.
Try entering the book title ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. You can then choose from a range of options on subjects within the book that you are interested in, as well as settings, time periods and major characters. Take care to spell the title correctly though, as it will return a ‘sorry - no matches’ message if there are any mistakes.
Additionally, you can select whether you want to find books for adults, young adults, children or fiction or non-fiction to narrow down the results.
Another useful feature is the ability to search for award-winning books. The prize-winning lists are extensive, with everything from the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards to Pulitzer Prize winners. Type in Miles Franklin Awards and every book awarded this prize since it was first presented in 1957 comes up. Have a browse and see what takes your interest!
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Citi Libraries’ online databases include a resource called “What do I read next?” The database is accessed through the library’s online catalogue (http://catalogue.townsville.qld.gov.au/spydus.html) by clicking on the link for ‘online databases’.
Do a search by author name to find a list of books by an author you like. Click on one from the list and plot details, character lists, subjects, reader age range and even the time period of the book appear. Searching is also possible by genre and story type.
Perhaps you really enjoyed a particular book and would like to find something similar, but by a different author. You can do a search for similar books by clicking on the ‘Help Me Find a Book’ link. Simply enter the name of the book you enjoyed and then click on the link that comes up.
Try entering the book title ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. You can then choose from a range of options on subjects within the book that you are interested in, as well as settings, time periods and major characters. Take care to spell the title correctly though, as it will return a ‘sorry - no matches’ message if there are any mistakes.
Additionally, you can select whether you want to find books for adults, young adults, children or fiction or non-fiction to narrow down the results.
Another useful feature is the ability to search for award-winning books. The prize-winning lists are extensive, with everything from the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards to Pulitzer Prize winners. Type in Miles Franklin Awards and every book awarded this prize since it was first presented in 1957 comes up. Have a browse and see what takes your interest!
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Monday, September 15, 2008
Finding information on children’s health issues
Parents are often faced with the issue of how to best care for a sick child. After other avenues of help, such as medical professionals, have been explored, people sometimes turn to the internet for health information.
The most important thing to remember when searching for health related information on the internet is that you need to stay alert to the origins of what you find. When looking for authoritative health information it is a good idea to restrict your search initially to government sites. You can do this in Google from the “Advanced Search” page by entering .gov in the domain field. To restrict your search to Australian government websites simply use .gov.au
A search using the exact phrase “information for parents” and restricted to Australian government sites leads to a varied list of relevant topics relating to child health in the broadest sense, from communicable diseases to child protection orders. An alternative search which adds the search words “child” and “health” results in a more focused result.
One Australian government health site stands apart from the rest because of its features and searching capabilities. HealthInsite is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. It acts as a gateway to other websites which contain authoritative information on a broad range of contemporary health issues. Websites go through a stringent quality assessment process which involves a number of groups of professional people.
From the left hand navigation bar on the homepage, click on ‘A to Z Health Topics’ to gain access to a substantial listing of health topics arranged in alphabetical order. Go to the ‘Child Health’ section and you’ll be able to choose from a list of specialised subjects ranging from Dental health for children to Child Safety to an A-Z listing of Childhood conditions.
Don’t miss the ‘Life Stages’ link also in the left hand navigation bar which leads to a nifty visual timeline of health events related to different stages in our lives, including birth, childhood and adolescence.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
The most important thing to remember when searching for health related information on the internet is that you need to stay alert to the origins of what you find. When looking for authoritative health information it is a good idea to restrict your search initially to government sites. You can do this in Google from the “Advanced Search” page by entering .gov in the domain field. To restrict your search to Australian government websites simply use .gov.au
A search using the exact phrase “information for parents” and restricted to Australian government sites leads to a varied list of relevant topics relating to child health in the broadest sense, from communicable diseases to child protection orders. An alternative search which adds the search words “child” and “health” results in a more focused result.
One Australian government health site stands apart from the rest because of its features and searching capabilities. HealthInsite is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. It acts as a gateway to other websites which contain authoritative information on a broad range of contemporary health issues. Websites go through a stringent quality assessment process which involves a number of groups of professional people.
From the left hand navigation bar on the homepage, click on ‘A to Z Health Topics’ to gain access to a substantial listing of health topics arranged in alphabetical order. Go to the ‘Child Health’ section and you’ll be able to choose from a list of specialised subjects ranging from Dental health for children to Child Safety to an A-Z listing of Childhood conditions.
Don’t miss the ‘Life Stages’ link also in the left hand navigation bar which leads to a nifty visual timeline of health events related to different stages in our lives, including birth, childhood and adolescence.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Citi Libraries online
If you are reading this column because you have the internet at home, then you might like to know about library services that you can use on your home internet. Many services are available to library members online. We love it when you visit us at the library but we know that sometimes it is quicker to do some things from home.
From the Citilibraries homepage (http://tinyurl.com/5vgktp), click ‘online catalogue search’ to find the library catalogue, which contains a listing of all items (books, DVDs, magazines etc) held by the three branches, Aitkenvale, Flinders Mall and Thuringowa. The mobile Neighbourhood and home services are also listed in this catalogue. You may have children who would prefer to use the Kids’ catalogue, which has easy-to-use navigation menus and contains only materials from the children’s sections of the library.
If you are not a member already, you can apply for membership online – just click the 'join online' option on the library catalogue page (http://tinyurl.com/5zu64v). After completing your online registration you will receive an online membership number. Current members will find their membership number on the back of their library card. Membership is free and available to all Townsville residents.
From the catalogue you can login to view your current details and place reserves and requests on items you wish to borrow. If you don’t find what you are looking for, here you may wish to place a request with us to obtain the item for you by purchase or interlibrary loan. You will find the online form on the catalogue page under Services.
Library membership will allow you access to online databases – look for the link on the left-hand menu on the online catalogue. Some of these are: Encyclopaedia Britannica, World Book Encyclopedia, Access Science, Newsbank and Health and Wellness Resource Centre. For young people there is also Your Tutor, a free online tutoring service and resources such as Worldbook for Kids, Ziptales and Tumblebooks. Have a look, you may be surprised!
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
From the Citilibraries homepage (http://tinyurl.com/5vgktp), click ‘online catalogue search’ to find the library catalogue, which contains a listing of all items (books, DVDs, magazines etc) held by the three branches, Aitkenvale, Flinders Mall and Thuringowa. The mobile Neighbourhood and home services are also listed in this catalogue. You may have children who would prefer to use the Kids’ catalogue, which has easy-to-use navigation menus and contains only materials from the children’s sections of the library.
If you are not a member already, you can apply for membership online – just click the 'join online' option on the library catalogue page (http://tinyurl.com/5zu64v). After completing your online registration you will receive an online membership number. Current members will find their membership number on the back of their library card. Membership is free and available to all Townsville residents.
From the catalogue you can login to view your current details and place reserves and requests on items you wish to borrow. If you don’t find what you are looking for, here you may wish to place a request with us to obtain the item for you by purchase or interlibrary loan. You will find the online form on the catalogue page under Services.
Library membership will allow you access to online databases – look for the link on the left-hand menu on the online catalogue. Some of these are: Encyclopaedia Britannica, World Book Encyclopedia, Access Science, Newsbank and Health and Wellness Resource Centre. For young people there is also Your Tutor, a free online tutoring service and resources such as Worldbook for Kids, Ziptales and Tumblebooks. Have a look, you may be surprised!
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Ungoogling Kids
Have you searched the internet for hours to help a child with a school project and been presented with thousands of possible results by Google but still ‘couldn’t find anything on the ‘net?’ Citi Libraries could be the answer you’ve been waiting for.
Today, public libraries offer many enhanced services and so do their online catalogues. New technology means that in addition to identifying what books are in the library, online catalogues can also help to find excellent websites and display them with just a click or two. Think of the last topic your child needed help with and go to the CitiLibraries online catalogue at (http://catalogue.townsville.qld.gov.au/spydus.html)
Select an Advanced Search and type your project topic in the ‘Anywhere field – e.g. Antarctica. A little down the page, you’ll see a ‘Collections’ window. Scroll through that menu and click on “web links” then OK. When the results load, all the titles will show [website] beside it. Clicking on the title will load a page which briefly describes the contents of the website. If you think it’s relevant, simply select the website address (under the blue Electronic Access bar) and the website loads before your eyes.
Why can this be better than Google? The websites you’ll find in your CitiLibraries catalogue have been chosen by teachers and librarians especially for school students. In other words, the work of deciding whether a website contains accurate, relevant and up-to-date information has been done for you! A quick glance at the site will let you know if it is for primary or secondary school students.
Next time your child needs to research a project, ungoogle them and take them to the library … at home. Start your project research with the CitiLibraries online catalogue.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi Library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Today, public libraries offer many enhanced services and so do their online catalogues. New technology means that in addition to identifying what books are in the library, online catalogues can also help to find excellent websites and display them with just a click or two. Think of the last topic your child needed help with and go to the CitiLibraries online catalogue at (http://catalogue.townsville.qld.gov.au/spydus.html)
Select an Advanced Search and type your project topic in the ‘Anywhere field – e.g. Antarctica. A little down the page, you’ll see a ‘Collections’ window. Scroll through that menu and click on “web links” then OK. When the results load, all the titles will show [website] beside it. Clicking on the title will load a page which briefly describes the contents of the website. If you think it’s relevant, simply select the website address (under the blue Electronic Access bar) and the website loads before your eyes.
Why can this be better than Google? The websites you’ll find in your CitiLibraries catalogue have been chosen by teachers and librarians especially for school students. In other words, the work of deciding whether a website contains accurate, relevant and up-to-date information has been done for you! A quick glance at the site will let you know if it is for primary or secondary school students.
Next time your child needs to research a project, ungoogle them and take them to the library … at home. Start your project research with the CitiLibraries online catalogue.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi Library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Monday, April 24, 2006
Anzac story kept alive on the net
The word 'Anzac' is instantly recognisable throughout Australia and New Zealand and is even protected by Commonwealth Law under the “Protection of Word ‘Anzac’ Regulations”. It is a part of Aussie thought, language and life and is integral to many family histories and the country’s wartime heritage. Tomorrow is Anzac Day, a day to remember and acknowledge the ANZAC troops.
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs has a number of commemorative websites for World War I. The Visit Gallipoli site (www.anzacsite.gov.au) is a special ANZAC site dedicated to those who served at Gallipoli. You can explore the ‘Landing’ and ‘Research’ sections for an overview of the campaign and war, nurses stories, diary entries, reports from war correspondents, photograph galleries and even an online book titled ‘A duty clear before us’. The Highlights section contains objects of interest such as watercolours and drawings.
Are you planning to make the pilgrimage to Gallipoli? See the sights in the ‘Visiting’ section of the Visit Gallipoli site with interactive media about Gallipoli today from the Commemorative Anzac Site at North Beach, war grave sites and the Anzac Walk. You can also download the guided audio tours on your MP3 player and take them with you.
If you have war memorabilia within the family, the Department of Veteran Affairs has a free online publication ‘Caring for your wartime memorabilia’ at www.dva.gov.au/media/publicat/2001/memorabilia/index.htm Learn how to care for and look after medals, wartime diaries, letters, postcards, film and tapes.
The Australian War Memorial site is another good place to visit. Check the ‘First Wold War Nominal Roll’ database and ‘First World War Unit Embarkation Roll’ database at www.awm.gov.au/research/infosheets/served_ww1.asp to discover whether any family members served overseas during the Great War.
There are also several great image resources on the ANZACS, Anzac Day services and memorials. Two noteworthy collections are ‘Picture Queensland’ (www.pictureqld.slq.qld.gov.au) and ‘Picture Australia’ (www.pictureaustralia.org). Simply type in ‘anzac’ in the search box of each site. The digitised images that appear belong to photographic collections at the State Library of Queensland, National Library of Australia and numerous institutions throughout Australia such as public libraries, universities, museums and galleries.
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs has a number of commemorative websites for World War I. The Visit Gallipoli site (www.anzacsite.gov.au) is a special ANZAC site dedicated to those who served at Gallipoli. You can explore the ‘Landing’ and ‘Research’ sections for an overview of the campaign and war, nurses stories, diary entries, reports from war correspondents, photograph galleries and even an online book titled ‘A duty clear before us’. The Highlights section contains objects of interest such as watercolours and drawings.
Are you planning to make the pilgrimage to Gallipoli? See the sights in the ‘Visiting’ section of the Visit Gallipoli site with interactive media about Gallipoli today from the Commemorative Anzac Site at North Beach, war grave sites and the Anzac Walk. You can also download the guided audio tours on your MP3 player and take them with you.
If you have war memorabilia within the family, the Department of Veteran Affairs has a free online publication ‘Caring for your wartime memorabilia’ at www.dva.gov.au/media/publicat/2001/memorabilia/index.htm Learn how to care for and look after medals, wartime diaries, letters, postcards, film and tapes.
The Australian War Memorial site is another good place to visit. Check the ‘First Wold War Nominal Roll’ database and ‘First World War Unit Embarkation Roll’ database at www.awm.gov.au/research/infosheets/served_ww1.asp to discover whether any family members served overseas during the Great War.
There are also several great image resources on the ANZACS, Anzac Day services and memorials. Two noteworthy collections are ‘Picture Queensland’ (www.pictureqld.slq.qld.gov.au) and ‘Picture Australia’ (www.pictureaustralia.org). Simply type in ‘anzac’ in the search box of each site. The digitised images that appear belong to photographic collections at the State Library of Queensland, National Library of Australia and numerous institutions throughout Australia such as public libraries, universities, museums and galleries.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Anzac Day
It is with great respect that we acknowledge the sacrifices made by men and women who have fought and died in all theatres of war.
Reading about the events of the Gallipoli landings, and other conflicts where Australians have served, is being made easier by the digitisation of old records, newspapers, diaries and images, and many of these valuable collections are being made available on the internet.
Thuringowa Library members can access the Times Digital Archive at http://library.thuringowa.qld.gov.au/databases.htm and search the full text of every page of the London Times newspaper, from 1785 to 1985. This amazing resource allows users to search by keyword (try search words like Gallipoli or Anzac) or date (try starting from the 27th April, 1915). You can progress through the days, weeks, and months that follow, reading first-hand reporting of the Gallipoli campaign, admittedly from an English point of view.
The articles appear as original copies from the newspaper, which lends an authentic feel to the writing. Articles can be saved, emailed or printed.
PictureAustralia (www.pictureaustralia.org) is a feely accessible website with over a million images of Australia’s history and culture. Browse a special Gallipoli – 90 years ‘picture trail’. It draws together an incredible collection of historical images of Anzac soldiers. There is a search facility on this site, which is very useful if you are looking for a particular military unit or person.
Finally, go to the Visit Gallipoli site (www.anzacsite.gov.au) by the Department of Veteran Affairs, and click on Links for a comprehensive list of links to other websites about the Anzacs and Gallipoli. This first link, and possibly one of the best, is to the excellent Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au) website. There is a wealth of information here for people wanting to research family members who have served.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Reading about the events of the Gallipoli landings, and other conflicts where Australians have served, is being made easier by the digitisation of old records, newspapers, diaries and images, and many of these valuable collections are being made available on the internet.
Thuringowa Library members can access the Times Digital Archive at http://library.thuringowa.qld.gov.au/databases.htm and search the full text of every page of the London Times newspaper, from 1785 to 1985. This amazing resource allows users to search by keyword (try search words like Gallipoli or Anzac) or date (try starting from the 27th April, 1915). You can progress through the days, weeks, and months that follow, reading first-hand reporting of the Gallipoli campaign, admittedly from an English point of view.
The articles appear as original copies from the newspaper, which lends an authentic feel to the writing. Articles can be saved, emailed or printed.
PictureAustralia (www.pictureaustralia.org) is a feely accessible website with over a million images of Australia’s history and culture. Browse a special Gallipoli – 90 years ‘picture trail’. It draws together an incredible collection of historical images of Anzac soldiers. There is a search facility on this site, which is very useful if you are looking for a particular military unit or person.
Finally, go to the Visit Gallipoli site (www.anzacsite.gov.au) by the Department of Veteran Affairs, and click on Links for a comprehensive list of links to other websites about the Anzacs and Gallipoli. This first link, and possibly one of the best, is to the excellent Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au) website. There is a wealth of information here for people wanting to research family members who have served.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Centenary milestone for Searchlight
Just over two years ago the Searchlight column made its debut on these pages. With a bunch of ideas about internet searching, a lot of support from the staff at the Townsville Bulletin, and some great search questions from readers, librarians from Thuringowa Library Services have managed to keep up a steady stream of columns and today we celebrate our 100th Searchlight with a look to the past and future.
In our very first Searchlight column, we made the claim that “searching for information on the internet is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Sometimes it's like looking for a needle in a pile of needles! Fortunately librarians have been finding and organising information for thousands of years. The internet is an information tool that we use on a daily basis, and we enjoy helping others find the information they require. The best part about the service public libraries provide is it's free!”
Not much has changed there, except that now the internet seems to play an even bigger part of our working and personal lives.
We have received positive feedback from far and wide about how useful Searchlight is to people. Some people cut out each article and keep it by their computer for future reference, and others pass articles on to family and friends. We have helped many people with tricky internet search questions, and have even won a national award for this innovative service.
Today we take great pride in launching Searchlight by email. If you would like to receive Searchlight by email every Wednesday (after publication in the Townsville Bulletin on Mondays), send an email to join-searchlight@lists.slq.qld.gov.au leaving the subject line and message fields blank. You will receive an email message asking you to reply to authenticate your subscription. Then you will receive a welcoming email, giving you a brief description of the email list and information on how to unsubscribe from the Searchlight email list.
As much as the internet and online information continues to evolve and change, we are still convinced that libraries can offer a free, unique service in helping people to find, evaluate and use information. We will continue to share our hints, tips and tools-of-the-trade via this column, to help make your internet searching more efficient, effective and fun!
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
In our very first Searchlight column, we made the claim that “searching for information on the internet is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Sometimes it's like looking for a needle in a pile of needles! Fortunately librarians have been finding and organising information for thousands of years. The internet is an information tool that we use on a daily basis, and we enjoy helping others find the information they require. The best part about the service public libraries provide is it's free!”
Not much has changed there, except that now the internet seems to play an even bigger part of our working and personal lives.
We have received positive feedback from far and wide about how useful Searchlight is to people. Some people cut out each article and keep it by their computer for future reference, and others pass articles on to family and friends. We have helped many people with tricky internet search questions, and have even won a national award for this innovative service.
Today we take great pride in launching Searchlight by email. If you would like to receive Searchlight by email every Wednesday (after publication in the Townsville Bulletin on Mondays), send an email to join-searchlight@lists.slq.qld.gov.au leaving the subject line and message fields blank. You will receive an email message asking you to reply to authenticate your subscription. Then you will receive a welcoming email, giving you a brief description of the email list and information on how to unsubscribe from the Searchlight email list.
As much as the internet and online information continues to evolve and change, we are still convinced that libraries can offer a free, unique service in helping people to find, evaluate and use information. We will continue to share our hints, tips and tools-of-the-trade via this column, to help make your internet searching more efficient, effective and fun!
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Friday, April 15, 2005
Academic journals may hold answers
Occasionally you may need to research a particular topic in-depth, and an academic article or journal may hold the answers you seek. Academic journals are respected sources of information as often they contain peer-reviewed articles written by academics. While many journals are only available through databases to which an institution subscribes, such as those available through Thuringowa library, there are a couple of places to try for free access to academic articles.One option is to try a quick search in a search engine by typing inthe name or topic of the article and the name of the author. You may be luckyenough to find the article but it may come together with a lot of unrelatedinformation.Google scholar (http://scholar.google.com) is a recent product from Google intesting (beta version). This free service enables searching for academic articles, theses and reports from a variety of academic sources and the web. Simple and advanced searching allows you to search by keyword, author, title, publication name and date. The results will include a mix of free and restricted access articles. It is worth reading About Google Scholar section for more information on the service and to access Frequently Asked Questions.
Highwire Press (http://highwire.stanford.edu./lists/freeart.dtl) is another serviceproviding free online access to journals and magazines with a particularemphasis on science. Highwire Press provides excellent subject searchingcapabilities. When you enter search words such as "global warming" a list of related search terms such as Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change appear on the right hand side. You can click on these to further pursue your research trail.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Highwire Press (http://highwire.stanford.edu./lists/freeart.dtl) is another serviceproviding free online access to journals and magazines with a particularemphasis on science. Highwire Press provides excellent subject searchingcapabilities. When you enter search words such as "global warming" a list of related search terms such as Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change appear on the right hand side. You can click on these to further pursue your research trail.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Factmonster: both fun and factual!
Did you know that on this day Martin Luthar King, Jr. was assassinated (in 1968), the ribbon was cut to open the World Trade Centre in New York City (in1973) and the town of Kangra in India suffered an earthquake which killed more than 20, 000 citizens (in 1905)?
If its timely facts like this which fascinate you then you ought to visit Factmonster (www.factmonster.com). This vibrantly coloured website is aimed at kids (aged 8 – 14 yrs) and has a number of daily updated features including “today in history”, “today’s birthday”, a “word quiz” (with a sound file attached for pronunciation), a daily “analogy” and a “spelling bee”. All of these elements are just as entertaining and educational for adults!
However if you are on a mission to do your homework (or assist your child with their homework) then Factmonster can offer you easy access to an online atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia and several almanacs (which feature current facts on a wide range of topics). It’s a single search engine which allows you to search several sources at the same time.
To conduct a search, enter a keyword into the search box at the top of the homepage and click on “go”. Factmonster will trawl through all the almanacs, the Columbia Encyclopedia and the Infoplease Dictionary at once. On your search result page you’ll be able to easily identify from which source the information has been extracted. Be aware that Factmonster is a US site and therefore presents information primarily of interest to North Americans. Consequently, a search on an Australian topic may return limited information.
Standard, clickable categories presented on the homepage include Sports, Science, Math, Games & Quizzes and a Homework Centre. Click on one of these topics to drill down through subcategories. The Homework Centre features six subjects (English, Math, Science, Geography, Language Arts and Social Studies) as well as tips to improve writing, speaking and listening skills.
Don’t miss the Help button to access a list of frequently asked questions and the details of the actual information sources (encyclopedia, almanacs etc) used by the search engine. If you are engaged in serious research don’t miss the “Citing Fact Monster” link down the very bottom of the homepage for helpful instructions on how to reference the information you have found in your assignment or project.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
If its timely facts like this which fascinate you then you ought to visit Factmonster (www.factmonster.com). This vibrantly coloured website is aimed at kids (aged 8 – 14 yrs) and has a number of daily updated features including “today in history”, “today’s birthday”, a “word quiz” (with a sound file attached for pronunciation), a daily “analogy” and a “spelling bee”. All of these elements are just as entertaining and educational for adults!
However if you are on a mission to do your homework (or assist your child with their homework) then Factmonster can offer you easy access to an online atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia and several almanacs (which feature current facts on a wide range of topics). It’s a single search engine which allows you to search several sources at the same time.
To conduct a search, enter a keyword into the search box at the top of the homepage and click on “go”. Factmonster will trawl through all the almanacs, the Columbia Encyclopedia and the Infoplease Dictionary at once. On your search result page you’ll be able to easily identify from which source the information has been extracted. Be aware that Factmonster is a US site and therefore presents information primarily of interest to North Americans. Consequently, a search on an Australian topic may return limited information.
Standard, clickable categories presented on the homepage include Sports, Science, Math, Games & Quizzes and a Homework Centre. Click on one of these topics to drill down through subcategories. The Homework Centre features six subjects (English, Math, Science, Geography, Language Arts and Social Studies) as well as tips to improve writing, speaking and listening skills.
Don’t miss the Help button to access a list of frequently asked questions and the details of the actual information sources (encyclopedia, almanacs etc) used by the search engine. If you are engaged in serious research don’t miss the “Citing Fact Monster” link down the very bottom of the homepage for helpful instructions on how to reference the information you have found in your assignment or project.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Friday, April 08, 2005
Thursday, March 31, 2005
'Face-to-face' help on careers
The internet has a wealth of information for jobseekers, however knowing where to look for quality information, and then making sense of it, is sometimes difficult. Wouldn’t it be great to have a helping hand to guide you though the information maze?
ASK (Adult Skills and Knowledge) is an innovative chat service being piloted by the State Library of Queensland. The service is for adults looking for information about careers, jobs, resumes, job applications, interview technique, apprenticeships, study, volunteer work and more.
Log on to www.slq.qld.gov.au/ask and click on the big ASK logo, and a special chat window will open in a new screen. Simply enter your name, email address and a question, and a librarian from the State Library will answer your request. If you are not familiar with ‘chatting’ on the internet, it is very similar to having a conversation with someone face-to-face. As the librarians type in an answer, it appears on your screen. You can then respond with a comment or another question, and the conversation or chat goes back and forth until your question is answered. The really smart thing about the ASK service is that they can ‘push’ webpages to your screen. For example, if you need information about what study courses are available in a certain trade, the librarian can do some internet searching for you, and then ‘push’ a suitable webpage that may answer your question, to your screen. You can then read and navigate through that screen, and ask further questions using the chat section.
Finally, once the chat session is complete, the ASK program produces a list of all the websites that the librarian ‘pushed’ to your screen during the session. This is invaluable as it provides a ready list of websites to visit later, without having to search for them all over again. If you supply an email address when you log into the service, you will receive a transcript of the entire conversation you had with the librarian.
If your question really stumps the librarian, they will get back to you within five working days.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
ASK (Adult Skills and Knowledge) is an innovative chat service being piloted by the State Library of Queensland. The service is for adults looking for information about careers, jobs, resumes, job applications, interview technique, apprenticeships, study, volunteer work and more.
Log on to www.slq.qld.gov.au/ask and click on the big ASK logo, and a special chat window will open in a new screen. Simply enter your name, email address and a question, and a librarian from the State Library will answer your request. If you are not familiar with ‘chatting’ on the internet, it is very similar to having a conversation with someone face-to-face. As the librarians type in an answer, it appears on your screen. You can then respond with a comment or another question, and the conversation or chat goes back and forth until your question is answered. The really smart thing about the ASK service is that they can ‘push’ webpages to your screen. For example, if you need information about what study courses are available in a certain trade, the librarian can do some internet searching for you, and then ‘push’ a suitable webpage that may answer your question, to your screen. You can then read and navigate through that screen, and ask further questions using the chat section.
Finally, once the chat session is complete, the ASK program produces a list of all the websites that the librarian ‘pushed’ to your screen during the session. This is invaluable as it provides a ready list of websites to visit later, without having to search for them all over again. If you supply an email address when you log into the service, you will receive a transcript of the entire conversation you had with the librarian.
If your question really stumps the librarian, they will get back to you within five working days.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Monday, March 21, 2005
Uni experts lend a hand
University and academic institutions such as James Cook University are a very useful resource when seeking quality information on the internet. With the right search approach you may be able to access Subject Guides recommending specific internet resources in the area you need. Subject Guides are usually developed by librarians in consultation with faculty and lecturers in the courses offered by educational institutions. The guides are usually constantly updated, monitored for quality, and reviewed for relevance by information experts in their field who keep up to date with what is required by lecturers, course providers and industry.
Some resources listed will only be accessible by university staff and students, but often there will be free online resources selected and recommended because of their quality. These websites are often appropriate for school use and general knowledge.
There a couple of different search techniques to try when seeking online academic Subject Guides.
It is possible to search Google University (http://www.google.com.au/options/universities.html) which lists universities alphabetically and has worldwide coverage. Only some of the major Australian universities are listed, such as Monash University, QUT and University of New South Wales. Click on the link to the university and Google University allows you to search within that institution's web pages. For example, clicking on University of New South Wales and entering “criminal law subject guide” as a search takes you straight to the Library's Subject Guide page for criminal law.
An alternative approach is to first find the university home page using a search engine. Once within that homepage, locate the Library homepage and either browse looking for Subject Guides, Subject Resources or Pathfinders, or search within the site if such a facility is available.
The third way to search is to choose Advanced Search within a search engine such as Google, Yahoo or Alltheweb. Type your topic name together with the words “subject guide” in the search space, for instance “biology subject guide”. Most importantly, restrict the domain in advanced search to .edu or .edu.au to restrict the results to educational sites within Australia. In this example the first result returned in a Google Advanced search was the Central Queensland University's Biology Subject Guide which provides a list of Biology-related web sites.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Some resources listed will only be accessible by university staff and students, but often there will be free online resources selected and recommended because of their quality. These websites are often appropriate for school use and general knowledge.
There a couple of different search techniques to try when seeking online academic Subject Guides.
It is possible to search Google University (http://www.google.com.au/options/universities.html) which lists universities alphabetically and has worldwide coverage. Only some of the major Australian universities are listed, such as Monash University, QUT and University of New South Wales. Click on the link to the university and Google University allows you to search within that institution's web pages. For example, clicking on University of New South Wales and entering “criminal law subject guide” as a search takes you straight to the Library's Subject Guide page for criminal law.
An alternative approach is to first find the university home page using a search engine. Once within that homepage, locate the Library homepage and either browse looking for Subject Guides, Subject Resources or Pathfinders, or search within the site if such a facility is available.
The third way to search is to choose Advanced Search within a search engine such as Google, Yahoo or Alltheweb. Type your topic name together with the words “subject guide” in the search space, for instance “biology subject guide”. Most importantly, restrict the domain in advanced search to .edu or .edu.au to restrict the results to educational sites within Australia. In this example the first result returned in a Google Advanced search was the Central Queensland University's Biology Subject Guide which provides a list of Biology-related web sites.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Monday, March 14, 2005
Searching for Answers
When you think about your internet search habits, would you agree that you’re often searching for an ‘answer’, rather than a ‘webpage’? For example, you may want to check what time a movie is screening this weekend. To find that, you first have to search for the cinema’s homepage, then look up the movie times. Wouldn’t it be great if you could find the movie times with one quick search? Some of the bigger search tools such as Yahoo! (http://au.yahoo.com/) now have a range of shortcuts which help you to find ‘answers’ quickly and easily, without wading through ‘websites’.
If you need to find out the current time in London, you could type search words such as “international time” or “time conversion” into a search engine, choose a likely website from the results, then use the conversion tool on that website. With Yahoo!, simply type “time in London”, and the first result presented is a Yahoo! Shortcut which tells you the current time and date in London, UK. Below that you will find the usual list of search results.
Try typing “weather Perth” into Yahoo! and the first result is another Yahoo! Shortcut, this time showing the current time, temperature, conditions (raining, fine etc) and expected high and low temperatures for Perth.
A full list of Shortcuts relevant to Australian searchers is available at http://au.docs.yahoo.com/info/search/shortcuts.html
To see how far Yahoo! has extended this type of service, check out the US Shortcuts list at http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/
Another useful service that Yahoo! offers is its speciality sites (http://au.docs.yahoo.com/more/index.html), which act as one-stop-shops for a variety of searches, products and services. For example, the Sports area has a NRL site at http://au.sports.yahoo.com/nrl/ where you can keep track of Rugby League news, check the points table, enter your comments in a discussion board, get information about the teams and much more. Check out the other specialty services such as News, Finance, Cars, Real Estate and Jobs.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
If you need to find out the current time in London, you could type search words such as “international time” or “time conversion” into a search engine, choose a likely website from the results, then use the conversion tool on that website. With Yahoo!, simply type “time in London”, and the first result presented is a Yahoo! Shortcut which tells you the current time and date in London, UK. Below that you will find the usual list of search results.
Try typing “weather Perth” into Yahoo! and the first result is another Yahoo! Shortcut, this time showing the current time, temperature, conditions (raining, fine etc) and expected high and low temperatures for Perth.
A full list of Shortcuts relevant to Australian searchers is available at http://au.docs.yahoo.com/info/search/shortcuts.html
To see how far Yahoo! has extended this type of service, check out the US Shortcuts list at http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/
Another useful service that Yahoo! offers is its speciality sites (http://au.docs.yahoo.com/more/index.html), which act as one-stop-shops for a variety of searches, products and services. For example, the Sports area has a NRL site at http://au.sports.yahoo.com/nrl/ where you can keep track of Rugby League news, check the points table, enter your comments in a discussion board, get information about the teams and much more. Check out the other specialty services such as News, Finance, Cars, Real Estate and Jobs.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Searching with A9
The Internet is easy to use, but using it well is not easy.
Have you ever discovered a really useful website and then not been able to locate it again? This is not an uncommon event, however there is a search engine that will remember your search history for you and store it so that you can access it from any computer.
A9 (www.a9.com) is a search engine subsidised by Amazon.com (a premier online bookstore). It combines a number of searchable online resources into one site. For instance, enter a keyword/s to describe your topic and you’ll be able to view a number of search results all on one page, displayed in a flexible column format which can be customised by you. There will be a web and image result sourced from Google, a movie result courtesy of the Internet Movie Database and a reference result from GuruNet. GuruNet is a search engine which provides access to a range of reference tools such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. Consequently it will not direct you to other websites but instantly provide you with facts and information.
A9’s ability to search a number of resources at once is a great time saver, however it’s the additional features made available through the toolbar that make it truly worthwhile. The A9 toolbar, which can be picked up from the site, should only take a few minutes to download.
Once you have it, A9 will log where you have been on the Internet and will indicate when you last visited a site eg “clicked on 1 month ago” or “clicked on 2 hours ago”.
It will reference the web pages you saw and automatically save your entries. You can even make a diary of personalised notes about the web pages you have viewed. Other features include the ability to create your own bookmarks and automatic highlighting of search terms. Your bookmarks, search history and diary are stored on the A9 servers and are therefore accessible from any computer you use.
Useful tools such as those provided by A9 give all of us the opportunity to increase our Internet research skills by tracking and documenting our own personal searching behaviour. It allows us the chance to reflect on our previous search strategies via the diary and search history and become more efficient users of the Internet.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Have you ever discovered a really useful website and then not been able to locate it again? This is not an uncommon event, however there is a search engine that will remember your search history for you and store it so that you can access it from any computer.
A9 (www.a9.com) is a search engine subsidised by Amazon.com (a premier online bookstore). It combines a number of searchable online resources into one site. For instance, enter a keyword/s to describe your topic and you’ll be able to view a number of search results all on one page, displayed in a flexible column format which can be customised by you. There will be a web and image result sourced from Google, a movie result courtesy of the Internet Movie Database and a reference result from GuruNet. GuruNet is a search engine which provides access to a range of reference tools such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. Consequently it will not direct you to other websites but instantly provide you with facts and information.
A9’s ability to search a number of resources at once is a great time saver, however it’s the additional features made available through the toolbar that make it truly worthwhile. The A9 toolbar, which can be picked up from the site, should only take a few minutes to download.
Once you have it, A9 will log where you have been on the Internet and will indicate when you last visited a site eg “clicked on 1 month ago” or “clicked on 2 hours ago”.
It will reference the web pages you saw and automatically save your entries. You can even make a diary of personalised notes about the web pages you have viewed. Other features include the ability to create your own bookmarks and automatic highlighting of search terms. Your bookmarks, search history and diary are stored on the A9 servers and are therefore accessible from any computer you use.
Useful tools such as those provided by A9 give all of us the opportunity to increase our Internet research skills by tracking and documenting our own personal searching behaviour. It allows us the chance to reflect on our previous search strategies via the diary and search history and become more efficient users of the Internet.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Searching the Family Tree
The Internet is an excellent resource to use when undertaking research in family history. In fact researching one’s family tree and ancestral background can often lead to people’s first taste of the internet and there are plenty of quality research avenues to follow. The topic is too broad to review in depth therefore this article will refer you to key sites where you can find guides to Internet resources on family history.
Searchlight recommends using the experience and know-how of the National Library of Australia (NLA) and the State Library of Queensland (SLQ). These institutions hold specialist collections in family history and field questions from all over Australia about the topic on a daily basis. Both libraries have developed excellent subject guides which list freely available internet resources on family history.
The SLQ website for family and local historians (www.slq.qld.gov.au/serv/fh) has some very handy guides about how to start your research. Topics include How to trace your family tree and Convict information: getting started. The guide also recommends searching in Queensland Web or Netlinks (www.slq.qld.gov.au/find/sites) where you can browse through geographical and other subdivisions. This is a great way to find the details of family history associations in other towns and cities.
THE NLA’s guide is titled Australian Family History and Genealogy on the Internet (www.nla.gov.au/oz/genelist.html). This guide lists the key original source websites which can provide records on births, marriages, deaths, cemeteries, convicts, military/service records and more. For those searching for ancestral information overseas, the NLA site points to important and interesting resources such as the Proceedings of the Old Bailey, where you can search through the accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court!
For a more local flavour the Family History Association of North Queensland Inc. has a website useful for those interested in their North Queensland origins located at http://members.hn.ozemail.com.au/fhanq
Take advantage of the free valuable expertise and collections that your State and National libraries have to offer to make your family history fact finding as successful as possible. Both these institutions provide email and telephone contact details for further advice.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Searchlight recommends using the experience and know-how of the National Library of Australia (NLA) and the State Library of Queensland (SLQ). These institutions hold specialist collections in family history and field questions from all over Australia about the topic on a daily basis. Both libraries have developed excellent subject guides which list freely available internet resources on family history.
The SLQ website for family and local historians (www.slq.qld.gov.au/serv/fh) has some very handy guides about how to start your research. Topics include How to trace your family tree and Convict information: getting started. The guide also recommends searching in Queensland Web or Netlinks (www.slq.qld.gov.au/find/sites) where you can browse through geographical and other subdivisions. This is a great way to find the details of family history associations in other towns and cities.
THE NLA’s guide is titled Australian Family History and Genealogy on the Internet (www.nla.gov.au/oz/genelist.html). This guide lists the key original source websites which can provide records on births, marriages, deaths, cemeteries, convicts, military/service records and more. For those searching for ancestral information overseas, the NLA site points to important and interesting resources such as the Proceedings of the Old Bailey, where you can search through the accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court!
For a more local flavour the Family History Association of North Queensland Inc. has a website useful for those interested in their North Queensland origins located at http://members.hn.ozemail.com.au/fhanq
Take advantage of the free valuable expertise and collections that your State and National libraries have to offer to make your family history fact finding as successful as possible. Both these institutions provide email and telephone contact details for further advice.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
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