The Advanced Internet Searcher's Handbook 3rd ed.

Citation

Meaden, K. (2005), "The Advanced Internet Searcher's Handbook 3rd ed.", New Library World, Vol. 106 No. 1/2, pp. 94-94. https://doi.org/10.1108/03074800510575384

Nobody is as good at searching the web as they think they are. There are always new tips and tricks you can learn to improve your technique and make you more efficient and effective. The Advanced Internet Searcher's Handbook was built on this premise, and the fact that it is now in its third edition demonstrates just how useful it is to the people who are reading it.

Such is the dynamic nature of the web that with each edition Phil Bradley is able to update the existing content significantly, as well as providing new material. For example, new chapters have been included on weblogs, resource‐ and site‐specific search engines, searching the “hidden web” and utilities to help the advanced searcher such as anti‐virus protection, spyware, toolbars and deskbars. So even if you have a copy of a previous edition on your shelf, it is well worth the investment to buy this one.

If you haven't already come across this book, it is very comprehensive, and is written in an unthreatening, easy‐to‐read way that will appeal to both novice and experienced searchers. There is extensive coverage of the different types of search engines, databases, virtual libraries and gateways that are available, as well as the best ways of searching each of them, in addition to chapters on newsgroups and mailing lists, and techniques for finding people, images and multimedia files.

The text is suitable for anyone who uses the Web, regardless of age or experience. It is also one of those bibles that you can either read from cover to cover or dip into when the mood (or need!) takes you. It has very little technical content, purely focusing on searching tips and tools, and there is also a helpful chapter at the end of the book citing further sources of information should you require them.