“COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SEARCH ENGINES USEFUL FOR LIBRARIANS” A Dissertation Submitted to the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune For Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) In LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE Submitted By Mr. SUSHANT KORE Under the Guidance of Dr. N. B. DAHIBHATE Principal Technical Officer Information Division (DIRC) National Chemical Laboratory, Pune TILAK MAHARASHTRA VIDYAPETH DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE PUNE - 411 037. December, 2014 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the dissertation entitled “Comparative study of search engines useful for librarians” completed by me for the degree of Master of Philosophy in library and Information Science. The entire work embodied in this thesis has been carried out by me under the guidance of Dr. N.B. Dahibhate, National Chemical Laboratory, and Digital Information Resource Center (DIRC), Pune. (Mr. Sushant Kore) Research Student (M.Phil.) Place: Pune Date: 26th December, 2014 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis entitled “Comparative study of search engines useful for librarians” which is being submitted herewith for the award of the Degree of Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Library and Information Science of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune is the result of original research work completed by Mr. Sushant Kore under my supervision and guidance. To the best of my knowledge and belief the work incorporated in this thesis has not formed the basis for award of any Degree or similar title of this or any other University or examining body. (Dr. N.B. Dahibhate) Principal Technical Officer Information Division (DIRC) NCL, Pune Place: Pune Date: 26th December , 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am very thankful to my respectable parents for their kind support in my life as well as completing my dissertation and bringing me to this stage in the educational field. I am very thankful to my guide to Dr. N.B. Dahibhate, Principal Technical Officer, National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune, without his guidance and support, this research would not have been possible. His concern and steadfast encouragement I will never forget. Dr. Dahibhate has not only been my guide but also an inspiration and torch bearer for me. I am thankful to Mrs. Dhanistha Khandare, Head of the Dept., Library and Information Science, Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune for her kind concern and consideration regarding my academic requirement. I also thanks to other library professionals for their support. Thanks are to Late. Dr. M.B. Konnur Sir for their continued support and encouragement and providing valuable inputs in this dissertation. Last but not the least, my all family members, friends and colleagues for their moral support, without which this dissertation would never have been completed. i ABSTRACT Libraries and information centers are changing their practices since past few years due to increased use of applications of information communication and technology. Massive use of technologies, internet and web 2.0 technology assisted library professionals to collect the required information and provide different library and information services effectively, efficiently and economically. Though different information resources are available on the net, however there is a need to find and assess the methods of searching information from resources available over the net. Many search engines are available which helps users in collecting the information available in various sectors. This information is very useful but every search engine has its own way of covering the information and concentration over a particular area. Librarian as a service provider could search these resources and find its utility in terms of providing better services to users with the help of internet and web resources using search engines. Use of web search engines is more prominent in collecting the information over the net. Google is the most popular search engine among all the search engines and used commonly by everyone. Searching information on the net is a skill and selection of proper search engine is also a necessary skill required for the searcher. Though search engines are used to gather information, but precision and recall of every search engine is an important factor while selecting search engines. Search engines, Meta search engines and subject portals play an important role, but its detailed analysis and evaluation is necessary to make better use in gathering information. Hence there is a need to evaluate the available search engines for the librarians and record those search engines useful for providing subject information and useful to librarians considering aspects like coverage, utility, currency, precision and recall etc. ii World Wide Web is one of the valuable information resources for getting full text of documents and can be searched using web search engines more effectively. Using search engines it is possible to make available and obtain information from the Internet. Search engines are the mechanisms that aid users to search the entire Internet for relevant information. Search Engines automatically process to update information, modify and maintain the resources available on web sites and web pages. They index all the information floating on the net; categorize information into various heads and then present for searching by the users based on search terms. They provide key word searching, based on the indexing of text contained within a document and deliver a list of WWW link (URL’s) that contain the key word entered in the search statement. Keeping in mind that in the changed environment and use of Internet which is a source of information to all, but internet searching require proper skills and evaluation of search engines based on different criteria, and isolate suitable search engines useful for librarians for assisting users in different subject areas. Hence this topic is selected, and a list of useful search engine for the LIS is prepared. Hence this topic is selected for the research study The overall aim of the study is to collect the information of different search engines and list them properly, analyze search engines for better use in library, nature of information covered and its utility for librarians. After thoroughly reviewing the literature, this study was conducted to highlight the importance of search engines and its usefulness to libraries. The objectives set for this study are: To study use of Internet, search engines and related technologies, To list and evaluate the search engines, To study search engines and assess most exhaustive and more relevant search results as compared to other search engines, To study search engine which are useful to use in LIS discipline, Suggest Best Practices in using search engines for LIS and present a design for developing subject portal to link useful library search engines. iii The researcher of this study is trying to evaluate the searching capabilities and performance of selected Web search engines and presenting in this work. For this research study multiple methods are used: The research method used is descriptive research in which literary/ secondary analysis technique is useful for gathering the data related to search engines. After compiling list of search engines, evaluation and analytical techniques are applied to find the usefulness of search engines for libraries. Finally based on the theoretical grounds a model is presented for practical utility of subject or library portal to link different search engines for achieving effective and comprehensive searching. The complete study is covered in seven chapters. Chapter - 1 : Introduction and in this chapter deals with general overview of the use of ICT in LIS and its benefits, and research design in details which contains reason to select the problem, statement of the problem, aim and objectives of the study, scope and limitations and research method selected for this study. Chapter - 2 : Literature Review and presents the analysis of literature collected form different information resources and used in the completion of the study. The literature search is divided in to facets and presented under each the analysis of literature searched. Chapter - 3 : Search Engines and other Resources deals with complete study of internet based information search using search engines, working of search engines, types, benefits and meta-search engines, web resources etc in brief. Chapter - 4 : Search Engines : Comparison covers the comparison of different search engines and an effective list of its use in Library is presented in brief. Different search engines based on functions, subjects, coverage, area etc are listed in different heads. Chapter - 5 : Search Engines: Used in Library and Information Centers detailed out the prominent web pages used in Libraries to provide different services to users and use of search engines which are is very effective. This chapter highlights the best use of search engines in providing library services and uses in different activities of LIC. A fair list of search engines useful for libraries and librarians is also presented suitably. Chapter - 6 : Access to Search Engines through Library Portal in which practical iv approach towards development of library portal and providing access to search engines through library portal is discussed in this chapter. Search engines useful for libraries are recorded in this chapter. Chapter -7 : Suggestions and Conclusion list out and highlights few suitable suggestions for information searching using information resources available