Information Technology People © Tefko Saracevic1 Keeping up & up & up & up & up & up Key to you professional success & even longevity.

© Tefko Saracevic 1

Information

Technology

People

Keeping up & up & up & up & Keeping up & up & up & up & up & upup & up

Key to you professional success & Key to you professional success & even longevity even longevity

© Tefko Saracevic 2Principles of Searching

Why to keep up?Why to keep up?

Imperative for professional performanceImperative for professional performance– essential part of being a professionalessential part of being a professional

Advancing in your jobAdvancing in your job– even keeping the jobeven keeping the job

While principles of searching remain the While principles of searching remain the same, everything else is changing same, everything else is changing rapidlyrapidly– constantly new sources, ways of searching constantly new sources, ways of searching

… … remember about seven dog years? Web is the remember about seven dog years? Web is the

opposite: in one of your years web jumped seven opposite: in one of your years web jumped seven years ahead of you & you are risking of being years ahead of you & you are risking of being seven years behindseven years behind

© Tefko Saracevic 3Principles of Searching

Where to find stuff to Where to find stuff to keep up?keep up?

In many places, but web is a In many places, but web is a goldminegoldmine

We have already covered a We have already covered a number of them in other lecturesnumber of them in other lectures

Some are repeated here to put Some are repeated here to put them all together & a few more are them all together & a few more are addedadded

Browse & get familiar!Browse & get familiar!

© Tefko Saracevic 4Principles of Searching

Who is Who is responsible?responsible?

Primarily youPrimarily you But also very much your employerBut also very much your employer

– providing opportunities to keep upproviding opportunities to keep up– making sure that all keep upmaking sure that all keep up

If not part of employer’s policy, you If not part of employer’s policy, you should explain & pressure to make it should explain & pressure to make it a policy – so you can do expected a policy – so you can do expected jobjob

Also part of professional associations Also part of professional associations job on local, regional, national levelsjob on local, regional, national levels

© Tefko Saracevic 5Principles of Searching

How to keep up?How to keep up?

Great many ways – should become a Great many ways – should become a habit & part of regular job every dayhabit & part of regular job every day– following relevant literature, newsfollowing relevant literature, news– attending professional meetingsattending professional meetings– being active in professional societiesbeing active in professional societies– taking workshops, tutorialstaking workshops, tutorials– talking to colleagues, keeping contactstalking to colleagues, keeping contacts– visiting places to pick up best practicesvisiting places to pick up best practices– being creative in ways & means to do itbeing creative in ways & means to do it

© Tefko Saracevic 6Principles of Searching

Keeping up??? They did Keeping up??? They did it too!it too!

This is a Sumerian tablet 2600 BC, considered among the oldest known “books”. It provides commandments …

Can you find the text?

© Tefko Saracevic 7

Information industry

Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionalsarticles on current issues, news, opinions

Information Today information industry news

Freepintnewsletter, articles, links; nice & sometimes

quirky

Ex Libris a private weekly ezine for librarians

Ariadne“targeted principally at information science professionals in academia”

© Tefko Saracevic 8

Internet

Resource Shelf bloger about internet (and some other stuff)

with archive; it has really good and really bad exchanges & threads

Internet Resources Newsletter UK based; monthly newsletter for “academics,

students, engineers, scientists and social scientists”

ResearchBuzz daily updates; many aspects; “Collection of items on

search engines, online databases, and other information resources”

About.com Web Search • tools, Web Search Forum

© Tefko Saracevic 9

Searching

SiteLinesa blog, written by Rita Vine, a professional

librarian, & web search trainer; many evaluations in archive

ResourceShelf“Resources and News for Information

Professionals,” edited by Gary Price, a librarian & author of Invisible Web – has extensive archive

WebsearchAboutnot evaluative, but provides news, capabilities,

sources, articles about web searching

© Tefko Saracevic 10

Search engines & internet news

Search Engine Watch ratings, news, statistics, charts, explanations, tutorials

Search Engine Showdown “The users’ guide to web searching” - run by a

librarian, news links, ratings

Search engine guide“the definitive guide to search engine information on the Internet.” Oh, well…

Phil Bradley's website“Information on search engines, searching the internet, keeping up to date on internet events…”

© Tefko Saracevic 11

Web resources

The invisible web directory Chris Sherman & Gary

Price companion to The Invisible Web: Finding Hidden Internet

Resources Search Engines Can't See by

Extreme Searcher Randolph Hock• update of a popular book; links by chapter topics

The web library Nicholas G. Tomaiuolospotlights free resources, links by chapter and new topics –

done by a librarian

Internet resources for library science U Delawaremany links to guides, associations, schools, tools, including to list at other institutions

© Tefko Saracevic 12

Digital libraries

University of California, Berkeley a most elaborate effort with many guides, tutorials, lists;

done together with Sun Corporation

LibWeb U California, Berkeley“lists currently over 7200 pages from libraries in over 125

countries”

D-Lib Magazine“focus on digital library research and development…”

Digital libraries: Resources and projectsIFLANET, considerable resources & links

© Tefko Saracevic 13

Evaluation criteria

Virtual Chase a site about “Teaching Legal Professionals How To Do

Research;,” this section has very good tips and links for consideration of quality on the web

MLA user guidefor finding & evaluating health information on the web

Evaluating web pages UC Berkeleytutorial and guide

Evaluating web sites Cornell Ucriteria & tools

© Tefko Saracevic 14

No, you do not want to keep up with some of these, but

others are OK• UFO's, Aliens & Abductions • Dark side of the net• Find a grave• The skeptic's dictionary• Cliché finder• How things work explaining the physics of everyday life

• The why files science behind the news, includes searching

• Political information search engine for politics, policy & political news

© Tefko Saracevic 15

Welcome to the profession!

© Tefko Saracevic 16

From other lectures …