Despite this edition being the fourth iteration of Phil Bradley's Expert Internet Searching, so much has changed in the internet search world since the third edition that Bradley has essentially started from scratch here.
The book is structured by focusing on different types of search engines; free text; index- or directory-based; multi- or meta-search; visual; hidden, invisible or deep web; multimedia and social media. He also discusses news-based; multimedia; academic and specialised search engines; resources created by people, like Wikipedia and the creepy corner of the internet: finding people.
A lot of text is given to the Google experience, understandably since it is such a large part of our personal and professional searching lives. This section is especially good for people who think they know Google (but actually do not) and those wanting a refresher in “what's new with Google”. I thought I had the measure of Google; like a lot of other people, I use it daily, and yet I still learned a lot. I am tempted to say that this book should be compulsory reading for anyone working in reference and information services as it opened my eyes to the serious limitations of Google and how scary it is that so many of us rely on it as the “go-to” free text search tool.
I think this book would be an invaluable read for anyone who is new to searching and providing internet-based information services; as well as those among us who have not properly explored the tools that are either new or have vastly improved in recent years. Particular mention goes to the social media and “finding people” search tools. In can be an interesting exercise to practice using these tools by stalking your own Internet presence. If you do this, prepare to be infuriated at the mentions of your name that you cannot do anything about!
I was heartened by Bradley's adamant claim that information professionals who choose to ignore a tool like Facebook are essentially keeping their heads in twentieth century sand. He makes a strong argument for the vital importance of information professionals harnessing the social value of Facebook for their organization, as he says, “your library needs to be found” (p. 125).
My criticism is the sometimes unnecessary and banal detail about the search tool in question. I say unnecessary because those details seem to be written for someone who has never looked at the tool, which I got annoyed with because even when I had not heard of a tool I just wanted to know about its functionality and personality. Most of the time while reading this book I had my laptop open next to me to use and assess the tool as Bradley was. It made sense to me to absorb the details about each tool on a practical level in this way and I would imagine other information professionals would do likewise, so I found it somewhat redundant to have Bradley describe aesthetic features I was looking at anyway.
I also could have done without a whole chapter on an “Introduction to Search Engines” and would have preferred it if he had leapt right into the guts of using each tool, because most of the book works well as a reference text. It can be dipped in and out of and consulted when one is confronted with a curly search that requires more than the standard effort. I intend to keep my copy at my work desk, because even though it ultimately showed me that I am not the expert searcher I thought I was, with this book within arm's reach I could be.
