Paper details
Tales of Whales and Herrings: Comparing Search Functionality Among Web and Subscription Database Searches
Author
Marydee Ojala, Online Searcher, United States
Documents to download
Foto přednášejícího / Picture Presentation
Abstract
Institutions spend a great deal of money on subscription databases for their libraries. This is the whale that dominates our research endeavors. And yet, most people, even librarians, start their search with a web search engine, usually Google. They find many herring swimming in their search results but can they tell the difference between whales and herring? They don't look alike, they're not the same species, but they do both live in water. Libraries need to reconcile this dichotomy: Libraries spend money on subscription databases; students search the web for free. How relevant are the results from web search engines? How about from the subscription databases? How do we convince students to use the resources we've spent money on? Without usage, it's hard to justify renewals. Several case studies, actual searches, in various disciplines will provide hard evidence to convince students (and others) to effectively use subscription files, to decide when one resource is more appropriate than another, and to glean some answers about the whale/herring dilemma.
Author's professional CV
Marydee Ojala edits Online Searcher: Information Discovery, Technology, Strategies and writes its business research column (“The Dollar Sign”). She contributes feature articles and news stories to other Information Today, Inc. publications. She plans conference programs for Internet Librarian International (London, UK), WebSearch University (various sites in the U.S. and Europe), and Enterprise Search & Discovery. A long-time observer of the information industry, she speaks frequently at international conferences. She has adjunct faculty status at IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis) teaching business information resources and online searching. Her professional career began at BankAmerica Corporation directing a worldwide program of research and information services. She is active in the Indiana chapter of SLA, IFLA's Reference and Information Services Section, and IOLUG (Indiana Online User Group). Her undergraduate degree is from Brown University and her MLS was earned at the University of Pittsburgh. Is
