Web Browsers
Opera 7.0 BETA 2 (For Windows) Now Available
New in Beta 2:
* Fast Forward button
* the Wand password manager
* links panel
* one-click skin install
* powerful panel management
* multiple user style sheets

Information Industry–ebrary
Blackwells Introduces Full-Text Book Previews with ebrary Software
A new way to preview materials…From the announcement, [Blackwells] Collection Manager purchasing system for libraries now includes a full-text preview feature powered by ebrary� (www.ebrary.com), a leading provider of information distribution and retrieval technology that serves publishers and libraries worldwide. Available today, the new technology helps publishers increase sales of print books to libraries by showcasing exact replicas of books, particularly pre-publication and frontlist titles. Additionally, it allows libraries to make more informed purchases by searching and browsing books in full-text before ordering, thus reducing the number of returns.”

Web Search–Google
Source: Wired
Google vs. Evil
We haven’t seen too much of this before. From the article, “Google has succeeded by adhering to one, pure principle: Do good by users. Now, for the first time in its history, Google is facing rifts between what’s good for users and what’s good for Google. And Sergey Brin is finding that purity just doesn’t scale.” More importantly this is the first major news article in quite some time that has very positive things to say about ANOTHER search engine, in this case, AllTheWeb. Reader’s of this site will know how impressed we’ve been with AtW for the past year or so. As regularly said in this space, it’s important for info pros and web researchers to be aware of a variety of resources, tools, and products. It’s seems to me that over the past one to two years many people have (particularly end users) have started to rely on a single resource for everything.
Re: Google. Google is a wonderful and important tool. It’s also home to many innovative examples of search technology (e.g. Google Catalogs, Froogle) and some very smart and helpful people. Only time will tell what will become of Google. Evil? I think not. Regardless, Google has done/is doing MASSIVE amounts to move all web search forward. It’s also a case study on how to succesfully market a new product and take it from a viral marketing phenom into a product and verb that has for many people become a synonym for web search. I also think Google has done much to illustrate to the info profession that how we market our products, services, and skills needs improvement. The question is, are we listening?

Info Industry–ProQuest
MIT Sloan Management Review Returning to ABI/Inform
From the annoucement, “Rod Gauvin, senior vice president of the ProQuest Division of ProQuest Information and Learning, added, “After a brief hiatus, the current full text of MIT Sloan Management Review (SMR) will again be available to ABI/INFORM users beginning November 1, 2004.”
In other ProQuest News…Proquest Acquires Microform Publisher
The company has acquired Norman Ross Publishing. “Founded in 1972, Norman Ross Publishing publishes microfilm collections, books, and CD-ROM information products and distributes them worldwide.”

Information Industry–Hoover’s
Information Industry–D&B
Source: Information Today
More on the D&B Purchase of Hoover’s
Paula Hane fills in many of the details about D&B’s acquisition.

Information Industry–Hoover’s
Information Industry–D&B
Source: Information Today
More on the D&B Purchase of Hoover’s
Paula Hane fills in many of the details about D&B’s acquisition.

Professional Reading Shelf
Public Libraries
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology
New, Full Text ERIC Digest: “Format Proliferation in Public Libraries”
From the site, “… examines some of the costs and challenges presented by the proliferation in formats that libraries have to chose from and identifies some strategies for addressing those challenges.” A pdf version is also available.

Resources, Tools and Full-Text Documents (2 Items)
Topics in the News–Iraq
Source: Department of the Parliamentary Library, Parliament of Australia
Full-Text, Issue Brief: ‘Disarming’ Iraq under International Law
A pdf version is also available.
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Capital Punishment–United Statistics
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics
New, Full-Text Report: Capital Punishment 2001

Web Search–Hotbot
New and IMPROVED Hotbot Search Tool Debuts on the Web
After many of us had all but forgotten about Hotbot, the folks at Terra Lycos, Hotbot’s owner, are out with a useful search tool that could be of value to many information professionals and end users. The new Hotbot allows you to search FOUR major search engines (AlltheWeb, Google, Inktomi, and Teoma) each with a unique database, simultaneously. This can be a major timesaver for end users and a tool for them to easily compare result sets from the most useful engines. Unlike meta search engines, Hotbot DOES NOT synthesize results into a single results list but rather allows the searcher to QUICKLY and EASILY toggle and move between results pages offered by each individual engine. I’ve had a chance to use the new Hotbot over the weekend and have found it highly useful and interesting. Here’s a quick review of what I’ve noticed. Of course, be ready for changes. The web search world moves quickly.
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Hotbot: The Home Page
* Simple, Basic, and Quick Loading
According to this morning’s news release the home page will not contain advertisements.
*Customizable Skins
If you don’t like the look of the default page, several skins, which you can also modify, are also available.
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Hotbot: Filter/Limit Preferences
* On the Hotbot home page you’ll also notice a link labeled “filter preferences”. Clicking this link allows you to select limits (via boxes and pull-down menus) to add to the home page. For example, you can add language, word/phrase limits, domain/site, and more.
**What’s also useful and maybe even exciting about these filter/limits is they are smart and will alert you if they are NOT available. In other words, the boxes change depending on which engine your searching with. For example, Google doesn’t offer a a region filter, so, when you select Google, the region filter reads, “This filter is not yet supported. Try your search using FAST or Inktomi.” Very impressive.
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Caveats? Yes!
Web search and search engines always has caveats. However, in the web search world a caveat one from early in the week might be different a few days later. So, be ready for changes. Here are a few caveats to be aware of as of today.
*The filter/limit labeled “Page Content” only will tell you if those types of files are included somewhere on the page. It does not limit your search to only that/those formats.
**Remember, the button labeled FAST is utilizing the AlltheWeb search engine. AtW is part of FAST Search Transfer.
***As we’ve told you many times, be careful with limiting by date. Here’s a link to an article Genie Tyburski and I wrote for Search Day earlier in the year.
****Google via the Hotbot DOES NOT offer several features. These include the auto conversion from alternate formats (pdf, ppt, xls, etc) to HTML, the cache, dictionary definitions, address/telephone number, and maps.
*****Teoma via Hotbot does not offer the very useful Resources section and refine feature.
******It’s important to remind end users that most of these search tools offer several specialized “catalogs” of info in addition to the primary web database. If you ONLY rely on Hotbot you might be missing specialized tools (AlltheWeb News, Froogle, Google Groups, etc) that are not accessible from Hotbot. In fact, I wasn’t able to find any mention of them. Here’s an October, 2002 review of many of these resources from Searcher.
******See Also: Notess’s Search Engine Showdown Has Several Addition Points to Be Aware Of. Btw, MSN Search (using the Inktomi Database) Looks and Feels a Great Deal Like the Old Hotbot.
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Odds & Ends
*For the syntax gurus out there, if you apply the syntax directly in the search box and it’s available (be careful) seems to work correctly except with Teoma. For example, using filetype: with Google or site: with AlltheWeb produces the proper results. Teoma’s recently added site: syntax does not work.
**Many end users might not be aware of Inktomi. In fact, this is one (if not the first time) we’ve seen a search engine labeled Inktomi. Inktomi has been a search service purchased by various companies and labeled as their own. Until today, Inktomi was the underlying search engine and Hotbot and remains the database in use at MSN.
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Updated 12/17/02
I had a brief chat with a Inktomi spokesperson today and learned that Hotbot is utilizing several (but not all) of the features from Inktomi Web Search 9 which was released a few weeks ago. You should find .pdf content and the use of the new “smart summary” technology. What’s a smart summary? From the Inktomi site, “Document summaries returned in search results are culled from algorithmic and editorial sources and selected based on user context and intent. Users receive abstracts that are more useful in understanding search results than simple computer-generated page summaries.” The summary for www.stanford.edu was created using this technology. Also, expect a spell check tool from Inktomi in the month or so.
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***The “Advanced Search” link will offer you whatever advanced limits are available for a specific engine.
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Final Thoughts
I’m very impressed with the new Hotbot. I think it’s a great tool to show the end user (info pro as well) because it’s easy to use, a timesaver, and perhaps most importantly, provides an easy method to view search results from several sources with little extra effort. Hopefully, Hotbot/Terra Lycos will continue to develop the product. Stay tuned.

Professional Reading Shelf
Libraries
The December Issue of D-Lib Magazine is Now Online
Here are the titles of a few selected articles.
* “A Framework for Digital Library Research: Broadening the Vision” by Dagobert Soergel, University of Maryland
* “The Open Video Digital Library” by mGary Marchionini and Gary Geisler, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
* “After Migration to an Electronic Journal Collection: Impact on Faculty and Doctoral Students” by Donald W. King, University of Pittsburgh and Carol Hansen Montgomery, Ph.D., Drexel University
* “Who Is Reading On-line Education Journals? Why? And What Are They Reading” by Lawrence M. Rudner and Jennifer S. Gellmann, ERIC/University of Maryland, and Marie Miller-Whitehead, TVEE.ORG

National Libraries–United Kingdom
The British Library and The Library of the London School of Economics Announce Co-Operative Agreement
From the announcement, “Recognising the complementary nature of their collections, the Library at LSE and the BL will collaborate closely on collection development, preservation, and improving access for researchers. A pilot project has already audited the holdings of both libraries in the area of government publications from western European countries outside the UK.”

Libraries
Online Information
Source: San Jose Mercury News
“Radical Change in Libraries”
From the article, “The shift in how information is collected and used brings opportunities and challenges to researchers and librarians.” Also, “If people are helping themselves to this stuff online, I don’t know if they are getting what they really are after, or whether they are willing to just take what’s there,” said Santa Clara University’s [George] Carlson. He worries that online searchers aren’t seeing the explanations and disclaimers that go with the spreadsheets of statistics, the kind of thing librarians point out to in-person patrons. And although an online search makes it easier to pinpoint information, it arrives on the screen shorn of the context it would have in a larger report or book. The better-targeted a query is, the less likely the searcher is to have the serendipitous experience of finding more than he was seeking. That’s common with a book or paper document, where related information surrounds the data, said Lance Strate, an associate professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University and president of the Media Ecology Association.”

Digitization Projects
Patent Databases
Source: The New York Times
“Patent Your Heritage”
From the article, “lobalization has made it easier for companies in wealthy countries to take advantage of poor countries by filing patents for crops, medicines and chemicals that traditional cultures have been cultivating and using for centuries. This year, the poor countries have figured out a way to fight back: they are creating digital libraries for their ancient cultural knowledge. India, probably the largest victim, is cataloging its traditional knowledge on a protected Web site and on DVD’s it will send to patent examiners worldwide… In June, the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) unveiled a Web site with parts of the Indian digital library, as well as a database of patents based on traditional medicine granted in Beijing to Chinese inventors. WIPO is urging other countries to catalog their cultural and biological patrimony, and is asking patent examiners to search these databases when considering relevant applications.”
See Also: Direct to the WIPO Web Site

Resources, Tools and Full-Text Documents (2 Items)
Entrepreneurship
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Entrepreneurship Education
New, Full-Text ERIC Digests:
1) Don’t Quit Your Day Job:” Moonlighting Entrepreneurs
2) Starting Up After 50
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Nutrition–Webliography
Source: Library Journal
Full-Text, Web Watch: Nutrition
Compiled and written by Vivienne Sales. Ms. Sales is a Reference Librarian at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, AZ.

Online Information
Source: Library Journal
“Disappearing Databases”
Dr. Carol Tenopir writes, “Just before midnight, September 30, 2002, 19 databases disappeared without a trace from the Dialog online system. The reason? CSA (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts) and Dialog had failed to reach a renewal agreement. On October 1, Dialog searchers received a message “file does not exist” when they entered a CSA file number… This is just the latest case in a disturbing trend of disappearing databases.”

Congressional Research Service
New/Updated Reports from the Congressional Research Service
It’s time for our look at a small selection of new and/or updated fll-text reports from the CRS. To access these full-text reports (.pdf) head to this page from Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) or this page from Rep. Mark Green (R-WI). Once you’re on either of these web pages, select the type of reports (Issue Briefs, Short Reports, Long Reports) you want to view, click, and scroll to the report. I’ve also included the date that reports were last updated. The compilation pages and the reports linked from them cannot be directly linked to and cannot be found in general web search engines.
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Issue Briefs
IB98018 China-U.S. Relations (Updated 11/21/02)
IB96038 U.S. International Trade: Data and Forecasts (11/27/02)
IB10106 Insurance Regulation and Competition: Background and Issues (10/21/02)
IB93033 Iran: Current Developments and U.S. Policy (11/26/02)
IB93113 Saudi Arabia: Current Issues and U.S. Relations (11/21/02)
IB91141 North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program (11/27/02)
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Short Reports
97-508 Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods (10/11/02)
RS20936 Immigration: A Guide to Internet Sources (11/18/02)
RS21325 Iraq: Divergent Views on Military Action (10/16/02)
RS21336 Iraq: The Turkish Factor (10/31/02)
RS20037 “Junk E-mail”: An Overview of Issues and Legislation Concerning Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail (”Spam”) (10/23/02)
RS21270 Counterterrorism Research and Development: Funding, Priority-setting, and Coordination (12/9/02)
RS21311 U.S. Use of Preemptive Military Force (9/18/02)
98-53 Salaries of Federal Officials: A Fact Sheet (11/1/02)
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Long Reports
RL31512 Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation (11/14/02)
RL31555 China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues (12/4/02)
RL31547 Critical Infrastructure Information Disclosure and Homeland Security (8/31/02)
RL31151 Aviation Security Technologies and Procedures: Screening Passengers and Baggage (10/26/02)

Web Search
Another New Beta From Google: Product Information from Froogle
Could a December pass without something new coming from Google? Not this year. It’s nearing mid-month and we now know about another new beta.
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Quick Review
About a year ago Google launched Google Catalogs. It’s still online and (in beta) utilizes ocr (optical character recognition) to keyword search the full-images of over 5000 retail catalogs (U.S. only). This is one of the first uses of ocr technology by a web search company in a public product.
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New For 2002
This year Google is launching Froogle. It debuted yesterday.
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What’s a Froogle?
From the news release, “Froogle was developed in response to feedback from Google users requesting an easier way to find product information.” From the site, “As Google’s spidering software crawls the Internet, it automatically identifies webpages that offer products for sale. These are the pages Froogle searches when you enter the name of an item you want to find. Froogle also includes product information submitted electronically by merchants. Froogle’s search results are automatically generated by our ranking software. Google does not accept payment for inclusion of products in our search results. Nor do we offer to place a merchant site higher in the results if they are an advertiser or offer to pay for that placement.”
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Froogle Fast Facts
1) An Advanced Search Interface is Available. Here you can limit by price range, product category, and where your keywords appear (product desciption, and/or product name).
2) Each Search Results Page Also Contains Limiting Options
3) Froogle Can Be Browsed by Category
4) Only Supporting U.S. Merchants and English Language at This Time
5) Merchants Can Choose to Supply a “Data Feed” of Current Product Info for Inclusion into Froogle. No charge to do this (at this time).
6) A Image of the Product Appears Next To Each Entry
7) Material in the Froogle Database is Built Using Data Identified in Google’s Web Crawl. In essence, they’ve created a crawler/spider able to recognize product and price information.
7) Froogle Gives the Company Another Location to Place Advertising (Sponsored Links). For example, a search for socks not only shows material from the Froogle database But Also Shows Sponsored Links from Companies who “Purchase” the Term(s).
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Finally
Search geeks out there will no doubt realize that Froogle is also the debut of what appears to be some rather sophisticated and “smart” web crawling technology. Business, marketing, and CI types will find immediate value with the wide scope of material covered in the database. You can imagine the many places (personalization, alerts, display, etc.) Google can go with this product. It also once again illustrates the usefulness of “specialty search tools” whether or not they’re from Google or any other web search provider. Instead of search through “everything” a narrower, focused universe of materials can often greatly improve precision and you time. The challege is knowing where to start and which tool to choose. More later after we have some time use and compare with similar online search tools like PriceGrabber.Com.
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See Also: More from Search Day
See Also: Even More via the Froogle FAQ
See Also: The ResourceShelf Post About the Debut of Google Catalogs from 12/15/01

Web Resources of the Week
Library Automation
A Treasure Chest of Useful Resources from Library Technology Guides
Library Technology Guide is home to several “must have” tools will be of value to many information professionals. It’s also one of the most impressive resources I’ve seen in the past year aimed at the info pro audience. The site and its many tools were created and are maintained consultant, librarian, writer and frequent conference speaker, Marshall Breeding. Marshall is also the Library Technology Officer for the Jean and Alexander Heard Library at Vanderbilt University.
Here’s a brief (very brief) overview of what you’ll find on the LTG home page.
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1) A Daily “Feed” of Library Automation News
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2) The LTG Bibliography (Searchable)
“The LTG bibliographic database offers citations to articles, books, book chapters, websites, and other resources in the literature of library automation. Many full-text articles are included when copyright restrictions allow.” You can search the bibliography from the main page or via or via a more robust interface.
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3) lib-web-cats
“A directory of thousands of libraries worldwide, featuring links to Web pages and online catalogs. Profiles for each library include library type, current and previous library automation systems, address, collection size, and other details.” A full search interface is also available. You can limit by library type, city, state, and country.
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4) Library Automation Companies
Another searchable database. “This database of library companies provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive listing of companies that develop and market library automation systems. To be included in this resource, the company must offer a fully integrated library system, not just a single module other library-related services.” The full search interface allows you to search active or defunct companies and by product name. You can also limit by country. Each entry contains directory information including address, telephone, and key executives.
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5) News Release Archive
Search news releases from, “all the major companies involved in library automation. This resource includes the full text of over 1,500 press announcements from 1991 to present.”
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Finally, LTG is looking for volunteers. A note on the site reads, “Keeping Library Technology Guides updated regularly is a large task. Volunteers are needed to keep our resources current. Your help is greatly appreciated.” Kudos to Marshall for creating and maintaining such a useful and informative set of resources. Oh yes, all of these databases are available at no charge.

Resources, Tools and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
Gasoline Prices–United States
Source: American Automobile Association
Daily Fuel Gauge Report
Updated daily with average gasoline prices for hundreds of metropolitan areas in the U.S. Statewide averages are also provided.
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Health Information–United States–Calendars
Source: Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion /U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
National Health Observances, 2003
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Holiday Season–United States–Fast Facts
Source: U.S. Census
New, Fact Sheet, The Holiday Season
Here’s a small sample of what the you’ll find:
* The number of shopping centers and shopping malls in America.
* The number of Americans who reported that they alpine-ski more than once a year.
* One place in U.S. is named Christmas.

Librarians
Privacy Issues
Source: The New York Times
“Librarians Receive Advice on Law and Reader Privacy”
From the article, ” Concerned about how federal access to their records would undermine readers’ privacy, thousands of librarians gathered today around the country to hear televised advice about how to respond to government requests under last year’s antiterrorism law. Although some of the librarians calling in from among the 250 sites in a national teleconference suggested defiance of the 2001 USA Patriot Act, all the speakers said proper federal requests for data should be dutifully complied with, but only when a proper court order was served and not just because an F.B.I. agent asked for information.”
See Also: You Can Read the Agenda for the Teleconference via this ARL Web Page