Online Searching prepares students in library and information science programs to assist information seekers at all levels, from university faculty to elementary school students. Included in the third edition are interviews with librarians and other information professionals whose words of wisdom broaden graduate students' perspectives regarding online searching in a variety of work settings serving different kinds of information seekers. The book's chapters are organized according to the steps in the search process: 1. Conducting a reference interview to determine what the seeker wants 2. Identifying sources that are likely to produce relevant information for the seeker's query 3. Determining whether the user seeks a known item or information about a subject 4. Dividing the query into main ideas and combining them logically 5. Representing the query as input to the search system 6. Conducting the search and responding strategically 7. Displaying retrievals, assessing them, and responding tactically A new chapter on web search engines builds on students' existing experience with keyword searching and relevance ranking by introducing them to more sophisticated techniques to use in the search box and on the results page. A completely revised chapter on assessing research impact discusses the widespread use of author and article iMetrics, a trend that has developed rapidly since the publication of the second edition. More than 100 figures and tables provide readers with visualizations of concepts and examples of real searches and actual results. Textboxes offer additional topical details and professional insights. New videos supplement the text by delving more deeply into topics such as database types, information organization, specialized search techniques, results filtering, and the role of browsing in the information seeking process. An updated glossary makes it easy to find definitions of terms used throughout the book. With new and updated material, this edition of Online Searching gives students knowledge and skills for success when intermediating between information seekers and the sources they need.

Online Searching prepares students in library and information science programs to assist information seekers at all levels, from university faculty to elementary school students. Included in the third edition are interviews with librarians and other information professionals whose words of wisdom broaden graduate students' perspectives regarding online searching in a variety of work settings serving different kinds of information seekers. The book's chapters are organized according to the steps in the search process: 1. Conducting a reference interview to determine what the seeker wants 2. Identifying sources that are likely to produce relevant information for the seeker's query 3. Determining whether the user seeks a known item or information about a subject 4. Dividing the query into main ideas and combining them logically 5. Representing the query as input to the search system 6. Conducting the search and responding strategically 7. Displaying retrievals, assessing them, and responding tactically A new chapter on web search engines builds on students' existing experience with keyword searching and relevance ranking by introducing them to more sophisticated techniques to use in the search box and on the results page. A completely revised chapter on assessing research impact discusses the widespread use of author and article iMetrics, a trend that has developed rapidly since the publication of the second edition. More than 100 figures and tables provide readers with visualizations of concepts and examples of real searches and actual results. Textboxes offer additional topical details and professional insights. New videos supplement the text by delving more deeply into topics such as database types, information organization, specialized search techniques, results filtering, and the role of browsing in the information seeking process. An updated glossary makes it easy to find definitions of terms used throughout the book. With new and updated material, this edition of Online Searching gives students knowledge and skills for success when intermediating between information seekers and the sources they need.

Designing Online Information Literacy Games Students Want to Play sets the record straight with regard to the promise of games for motivating and teaching students in educational environments. The authors draw on their experience designing the BiblioBouts information literacy game, deploying it in dozens of college classrooms across the country, and evaluating its effectiveness for teaching students how to conduct library research. The multi-modal evaluation of BiblioBouts involved qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and analyses. Drawing on the evaluation, the authors describe how students played this particular information literacy game and make recommendations for the design of future information literacy games. You ll learn how the game s design evolved in response to student input and how students played the game including their attitudes about playing games to develop information literacy skills and concepts specifically and playing educational games generally. The authors describe how students benefited as a result of playing the game. Drawing from their own first-hand experience, research, and networking, the authors feature best practices that educators and game designers in LIS specifically and other educational fields generally need to know so that they build classroom games that students want to play. Best practices topics covered include pre-game instruction, rewards, feedback, the ability to review/change actions, ideal timing, and more. The final section of the book covers important concepts for future information literacy game design."

Using Subject Headings for Online Retrieval is an indispensable tool for online system designers who are developing new systems or refining existing ones. The book describes subject analysis and subject searching in online catalogs, including the limitations of retrieval, and demonstrates how such limitations can be overcome through system design and programming. The book describes the Library of Congress Subject Headings system and system characteristics, shows how information is stored in machine-readable files, and offers examples of and recommendations for successful retrieval methods. Tables are included to support these recommendations, and diagrams, graphs, and bar charts are used to provide results of data analysis. Practitioners in institutions using or considering the installation of an online catalog will refer to this book often to generate specifications. Researchers in library systems, information retrieval, and user behavior will appreciate the book's detailing of the results of an extensive, empirical study of the subject terms entered into online systems by end users. Using Subject Headings for Online Retrieval also addresses the needs of advanced students in library schools and instructors in library automation, information retrieval, cataloging, indexing, and user behavior.

Searching through a resource collection for a particular type of visual image yields little more than frustration if the user lacks the knowledge of the specialized concepts that are the key to the collection's system of classification. With Karen Markey's innovative approach to subject searching, however, users will be able to translate an inquiry for a particular type of visual image into the appropriate symbolic theme or concept and will easily access any type of visual resource collection. Based on Erwin Panofsky's work on meaning in the visual arts and the author's study of users of iconographical research collections, this volume offers a step-by-step method of describing subject content in visual images. Markey's model will enable museums, libraries, and art galleries to upgrade their services significantly.