Jane Devine and Francine Egger-Sider have produced a practical, readable overview of the invisible web and information seeking behaviour, focusing on searching by both students, and in everyday life. Traditionally, the invisible web has been defined as material that is not indexed by search engines (such as article databases), but they expand this usefully to include the “cognitive invisible web” which includes the material not found because of poor search skills.
Although a new edition, it updates and builds upon their 2009 book Going beyond Google: The invisible web in learning and teaching. It includes a useful review of literature published from 2008 onwards, bringing the literature review in their earlier book up to date. Supplementing this, each chapter has a reference list of relevant readings.
Both authors work at LaGuardia Community College, part of City University of New York, but there is no geographical bias in the work. It has been published simultaneously by Facet and the American Library Association, and discusses literature and invisible web tools from around the world. At the book’s heart is a discussion of an extensive survey the authors conducted in 2011, which explored the experiences and opinions of teaching librarians and experts across the English-speaking world. The rest of the book draws on this research core. Readers learn what is currently being done, barriers and constraints to teaching the invisible web are discussed, and strategies and resources are shared.
A range of practical tools is provided for teachers and searchers to use. One chapter shares diagrams and videos that explain the invisible web; there is an annotated list of useful search tools, and examples are given of how to teach certain aspects of the search process, such as a comparative evaluation of the search results of a Google search alongside those of a database search. This is not rocket science – Devine and Egger-Sider guide the practitioner to an understanding of what can be achieved, within the context of communicating why teaching the invisible web is important.
The future of this topic is briefly explored. A strong warning note is sounded about how increased personalization of search results leads to individualized invisible webs, which most searchers are unaware of.
This book deserves a wide audience, which goes well beyond the primary focus of teaching librarians, although for them it gives a theoretical basis for their work and a raft of practical strategies. It is relevant to any information searcher, and could be used as a library school textbook to introduce students to the topics of the invisible web and information seeking behavior for the first time. For the reader who is already familiar with this topic, it is an enjoyable refresher. The text is interesting and engaging, with practical examples and a clear research base.
This book tells us how to understand and exploit the invisible web, and how to support others to access its resources. This is clearly written, with wide appeal.
