Sedona
Library news for the week of October 12th
By Carla M. Felsted, Reference
Librarian |
Sedona Public Library
Sedona, Ariz. -
October 12, 2007 - As anti-hero Michael from
The Office concluded in a recent TV
episode, “Life and business are about human
connections. Computers are about trying to
murder you in a lake.”
The first I am
wholly in agreement with. The second may be
overstated but bears a hint of truth. Computers
can literally save your life, or at least
enhance it, but using them injudiciously can
wreck relationships and even cars, as Michael
demonstrated by following onboard, computerized
driving instructions too literally and hastily.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a computer that
wanted to murder me, but have had reverse
fantasies about bricks and monitors and even
airborne mechanical parts (die fledermaus?) over
my 30 years with these machines. Still, one of
the greatest enhancements to my life and career
has been the internet search engine. I even like
the term, as it conveys the image of something
reaching out and grabbing information needed for
my personal use or to meet the needs of our many
library customers. My librarian colleagues and I
do leave our keyboards from time to time and
stroll over to just the right section and hand
just the right book to a grateful patron, thus
being a “human search engine.” For now I will
dispense some advice to the readers of this
column on using the computerized kind.
Google, of course, comes to mind immediately. In
fact the very name of the company has been “verbed,”
and is now included in the venerable Oxford
English Dictionary denoting the use of that
search engine to find a “person, place or
thing.” Even the computer-shy are amazed by its
utility. Artists looking for pictures have been
greatly pleased when we at the Reference Desk
have gone to Google Images, a feature on the
main search menu, and typed in key words like
“male angel” and pulled up dozens of examples to
study for inspiration. For a frequently asked
question about certain banded snakes, using
Google Images and the words “king coral snake”
retrieves pictorial representations of coral and
king snakes, and some of the “ditties” used to
remember the way to distinguish them.
Google Earth, a “virtual globe” program that
allows one to view not just rivers and lakes,
but the Grand Canyon or Mount Kilimanjaro in
three dimensions, has been spoken of in an
earlier Library column. A good place to start is
choosing “Maps” from Google’s main page, typing
your own address and getting a satellite view of
your neighborhood, and quick directions and
mapping to other places. Detailed information on
all your options can be found from
earth.google.com, including popularly viewed
locations in 360 cities around the world and
even “out of this world” wonders such as the
Crab Nebula.
You can set up a free email account on gmail,
waste countless hours watching Google videos,
set up discussion/support groups on any number
of topics, utilize a web page builder, start a
web log or diary (aka “blog”), set up photo
albums on Picasa, track the stock market in real
time (even your own portfolio if you are brave)
and shop for bargains on the aptly named Froogle.
Google Calendar is invaluable for keeping up
with the activities of the Felsted household.
These treasures may all be found by going to
www.google.com. Look for menu options other than
simply typing in a search in the box; some are
listed under “Other.” Google is the search
engine of choice, or default, on many computer
browsers now and is included on the SPL web
site, www.sedonalibrary.org.
Somewhat lesser known but highly useful features
for the researcher are Google Reader, for
monitoring one’s favorite news sites and blogs;
Google Scholar for articles in medical,
scientific and other journals; and Google Book
for viewing “snippets” of published works of
fiction and nonfiction and, in some cases, front
to back content.
In addition to the “900 pound gorilla “ known as
Google, other search engines have survived major
shakeouts and acquisitions and remain useful.
Yahoo comes closest to it in popularity, and is
followed by Ask.com (formerly known as Ask
Jeeves) and Windows Live. All want to be your
portal, or gateway to Internet resources. Each
has its strengths and unique offerings, such as
Yahoo’s Kelley Blue Book for assessing
automobile prices. I found so many new features
in Google while researching this article that I
will have to deal with the other 3 search
engines in a future one. And, in yet a separate
piece, you will learn about the “new, improved”
package of databases of articles, encyclopedias,
images and other gems offered by the Arizona
State Library offered via our Library web site.
Speaking of images, don’t miss the annual
exhibit of splendid photographs by the Sedona
Camera Club in the Library’s center stacks on
display through the end of the month.
Past Library News issues:
Sedona Library Archive