Discussion Topic

Search Engines Versus Library Databases

A. Difference between Search engines and library databases.

B. How to access our library databases.

C. Basic searching between a search engine and library database.

D. What are search engines?

i) A website that searches for webpages and other documents on the internet based on the keywords or phrases entered.

E. Types of Search Engines

i) Crawlers

ii) These types of search engines use a "spider" or a "crawler" to search the Internet. The crawler digs through individual web pages, pulls out keywords and then adds the pages to the search engine's database. Examples: Google and Bing

iii) Meta: Meta search engines are ones that search several other search engines at once and combines the results into one list. Ex. Dogpile and Yippo

iv) Directories: Directories are human powered search engines. A website is submitted to the directory and must be approved for inclusion by editorial staff. Examples: Internet Public Library and Open Directory Project

F. Why are search engines so awesome?

i) Quick and Numerous Results

ii) Quick Background Information

iii) Quickly find statistics

iv) Most Information is Free

G. Why are they so bad?

i) Some results may be irrelevant to search.

ii) Webpages sometimes magically disappear.

iii) “Grab Bag of Fruit”

iv) Anyone can add opinions and/or false information.

H. What is a library database?

i) A collection of articles from newspapers, magazines and journals.

ii) Electronic source NOT an Internet source.

I. Why are databases useful?

i) Reliable information

ii) Can narrow search down by subject, date, and publication

iii) Citation tool for the reference page

iv) Full access to articles

v) Available 24/7

J. Why are databases get a ‘thumbs down’?

i) Not sure which database to use

ii) Articles are too long

iii) Not everyone has access

K. Where do I access the library databases?

i) MyMonroe

L. Search Tips

i) Quotation Marks (“”)

ii) Boolean ( AND OR NOT)