The variety of information available on the internet is unimaginably huge and whether you need to find a review for a new product, cooking recipes, a good deal on a holiday, the latest news or even the background reading materials for your dissertation, the likelihood is that Google (or an equivalent internet search engine) will not be far from your first port of call. However, this book, first published in 2004 (RR 2005/334) shows us the wealth of other (often neglected) options out there beyond the Google‐dominated frontier. Randolf Hock has provided a superb reference book of use to a wide range of people with all sorts of online needs. The book includes tips and advice for finding the most sought after information, put together by an experienced trainer and information literacy professional, with an extensive breadth of knowledge of the types of internet tools available and how to get the most from them.
The chapter topics include: “Basics for the serious searcher”; “Directories and portals”; “Search engines”; “Discussion groups”, “Forums”, “Newsgroups, and their relatives”; “The internet reference shelf”; “Sight and sounds: finding images, audio, and video”; “News resources”; “Finding products online”; “Your own place on the web: participating and publishing”. Each chapter provides general background information, collections of links to suggested web sites carefully chosen because they are highly representative of sites in that field or due to their well‐regarded value to most readers, tips for finding and making the most use of these sites, a historical overview and where possible, some references to further information.
The web site recommendations, which include UK, US and other international pages, are a superb starting point for any online searches. What I liked best about the site listings' section was Hock's honest opinions on their usefulness and readability. He has thoroughly researched all of the recommended web pages so the information in the book is not only up to date but has also been tried and tested. The book is also supplemented by the author's supporting web site (www.extremesearcher.com) which lists and links to all of the web sites recommended in the book, thus providing the easy option of simply clicking on your desired site rather than spending time typing in URLs. In addition, the author's site allows us to access the links recommended in the previous edition of this book which is now out of print.
Although the book is more generic than academic (even covering aspects such as online shopping and travel for example), The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook is still a useful reference guide for information professionals or students. Personally, the book made me think about and appreciate the variety of search techniques available whereas before I took a very much trial and error approach which is often the case for many current university students. I would therefore hope that referral to this book would allow students to become more structured in their practices and a little quicker at finding what they are looking for even if their first reference point is still Google. To quote the author “even many very experienced searchers have not taken the time to fully explore everything Google offers” and the advice Hock provides regarding the use of prefixes and Boolean syntax for searching help not only to speed up the search process but also improve the search efficiency by adding limitations and restrictions to the potential results. The search methods outlined in the book give you more flexibility and choice whatever your objective while also highlighting some of the associated limitations. The comparisons of sites made in each chapter (for example, between the various search engine, directory or newsgroup features and limitations) allow informed decisions about which to use for a particular purpose rather than just using the more prominent sites. These also helped to promote many resources I had not previously been aware of, each with uniquely powerful features.
The history of the web sites, companies and online tools was surprisingly useful since it put into context how the sites or companies started, evolved and learned from each other, enabling me to better appreciate how the services worked, what they had in common and which services were owned by the same companies. In addition to the various search techniques covered, the author's final chapter takes a step beyond this by giving a brief glimpse into the world of online publishing – useful advice for any novice.
The book is clearly practical from a librarian's perspective as it addresses an extensive range of questions that one may commonly receive from students and the author's background has ensured a wide coverage of topics. It was particularly refreshing to see issues such as copyright being addressed as this is an area often overlooked by students (as well as some teaching staff!), but a section about citations would have perhaps been useful for people using the book for academic purposes, although references to useful sites in this area were provided. The book's use as a teaching aid is also valuable especially as the use of various internet tools and Web 2.0 technologies is becoming more commonplace in information skills sessions. Additionally, the subject specific advice contained within the internet reference shelf chapter provides a good starting point for new students or researchers, although it would not be sufficient for those interested in purely scholarly articles provided through academic journal subscriptions.
Although I felt like internet searching was not something I would need help or a reference book for, I enjoyed reading this book far more than I imagined and my feeling is that it should appeal to readers regardless of their experience. All chapters contain the basics for those who may be later adopters of the internet but for the more experienced searcher the book also offers many little gems that may not previously have been encountered, and it is worth the read just for these!
