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| 10-26-2004 | Previous edition: 10-25-2004 |
        
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Printer-friendly version Libraries make tool known to assist students' searchingBy JC RomeroStaff Writer If Google were your boyfriend or girlfriend, you might say that he or she is superficial and opinionated. Michael Fosmire, associate professor of library science, said that the lack of depth and reliability in Google’s search results should make students wary. To help give students access to information that has gone through some process of peer review, Fosmire assisted the library in creating a "megasearch" tool. The megasearch tool can be accessed at the Purdue libraries’ homepage www.lib.purdue.edu under the "Articles and Databases" menu. It allows students to search several research databases, such as Lexis-Nexis, simultaneously. Students have developed the expectation of finding the information they are looking for in a short amount of time, so the megasearch is an attempt to break down the barrier students sometimes face when looking for quality information. As Fosmire said, "Libraries aren't in the position of making it more difficult for students to fill their information needs." When the tool is used, it initially provides 100 results for each database that is queried to keep students from being overwhelmed. Students can fine-tune the results, however, if they find that a particular database is providing more of the information they are looking for. Although the megasearch tool has been available since last fall, it hasn't found a large number of users yet. The libraries have not embarked a wide publicity campaign for the megasearch tool. "We need to be better about being more proactive about what we're doing," Fosmire said. Many of the students contacted were unaware of the megasearch tool. Although Matt Klein, a freshman in the School of Technology, did hear about it in one of his classes, he said, "I haven't used it." At this time this is the main way that the tool is being publicized, by introducing it to students in their classrooms along with the other services that the libraries provide. While the megasearch tool represents an effort to improve on Google, it should not be taken as a slight on the service that Google provides. As Fosmire said, "Librarians use Google." But he also added, "We do need to compete with the Googles of the world." Printer-friendly version |
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