2. Library Orientation Review By: Mrs. Sanderman

3. Databases There are four main Database Providers that Alter subscribes to: Facts on File INFOhio ProQuest Gale Student Resource Center

4. INFOhio Facts on File Gale Student Resource Center ProQuest

5. How to Access These Each of these databases can be accessed from the Library Media Center Homepage of Alter’s website. http://www.alterhs.org

6. Passwords?

7. Gale Student Resource Center A comprehensive database that provides you with massive amounts of information on nearly ANY subject – similar to Google.

8. Power Searching Strategies What you really need to know about online searching and search tools!

9. Search, don’t surf! Rather than surfing aimlessly, have a plan!

10. We already know how to use the Web! Just because you live on the Web, doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to use it more effectively and more powerfully! Why is this Necessary?

11. Effective searching Brainstorming/ Questioning/ Planning Understanding strategy/ syntax Evaluating results! Choosing the right type of search tool Staying up to date

12. 4 Tips for Searching Better Focus—What is your mission or question? Strategize—Which search tools will you use? Which keywords and search terms will you use and how will you express them? Refine—How might I improve my search results? Evaluate—Which results will you visit? Which sites or documents are worthy enough to use?

13. Good searchers also: Use peripheral vision—they hunt within their results for additional search terms Consult several search engines Make use of advanced search screens Try more than one combination of search terms Modify or refine their searches if the results they get aren’t what they are looking for Search the free Web and subscription databases

14. Google provides you with the absolute best information possible If it’s on the web, it must be trueIf it’s on the web, it must be true Webmasters can fool a search engine into ranking a page more highly in its search results Eileen Stec, Rutgers, ALA Preconference 1/03

15. Conducting Better Searches

16. Boolean Operators Adding the words AND, OR, or NOT to a search string to get the best results possible.

17. Narrowing your search with AND Search: music AND censorship

18. Expanding your search with OR OR is generally used for synonyms or related words.

19. Search: eagles NOT Philadelphia Limiting your search with NOT

20. Project Boolify http://boolify.org/

21. “Phrase searching” One of your best searching tools! Use only for legitimate phrases, names, titles “vitamin A” “John Quincy Adams” Titles “An Officer and a Gentleman” Phrase searching is sometimes overused: Remember: not every group of words is a phrase

22. When to use Search Engines When you have a narrow topic or several keywords When you are looking for a specific site When you want to do a comprehensive search and retrieve a large number of results on your topic When you want to make use of the features in an advanced search screen or search for particular types of documents, file types, source locations, languages, date last modified, etc.

23. Databases vs. Search Engines Databases Purchased by the school for students to use. Content is reviewed and recommended by teachers, librarians, and experts. Information is organized. Information is stable / always there. Search Engines Free to anyone with computer access. No review standards with regard to content. Information is not organized. Information is not stable; locations and content continually change.