[Baynet] Infopeople's "Getting the Most from the Post-Google Web" workshop

[Linda Rodenspiel]

We have scheduled four more sessions of this very popular workshop. Since 
this announcement might not reach everyone who might be interested in this 
workshop, we would appreciate it if you would please print and post or 
route the announcement to your colleagues.

Title:  Getting the Most from the Post-Google Web

Dates and locations:

Friday, February 17, Ventura County Library - E.P. Foster
Friday, March 3, Fresno County Public Library
Thursday, March 23, San Bernardino Public Library
Wednesday, April 5, California State Library

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at
http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop/Workshop/240

Fee:  There is a $75.00 fee for this workshop.

Google has transformed web searching in many ways. It has become the first 
sometimes the only search engine many people use. It has also elevated web 
service standards with tools like Google Print, Scholar, Local, Froogle, 
Maps, and Earth. But Google's successes have unleashed a torrent of 
competition and counter-innovation. As searchers, we can expect to spend 
more time using an array of web resources and less time Googling.

In this course we will explore:

Which search features are unique to Google and which work in other search 
engines;

What the features and databases developed by Yahoo!, MSN Search, and Ask 
Jeeves can do that Google can't;

How new search engines like Exalead and Gigablast are unveiling more 
flexible approaches to searching, results displays, and multi-media; and

How and when to use RSS feeds, tags, online news, blog searches, and other 
new technologies to find current information and multi-media.

In this course you will learn what's most important and useful about new 
web search technologies, as well as practical techniques for searching the 
web more efficiently.


Workshop Description: This is an all-day hands-on workshop. Through 
individual and group exercises, cheat sheets, a timeline, discussion, and 
experimentation, you will compare the effectiveness of current and emerging 
search engines. You will explore their unique and powerful search engine 
features, services, and special databases. You will be introduced to 
finding and using quality blogs, RSS feeds, tag sites, other web media. We 
will also discuss ways to deal with the web's increasing, low-quality 
"noise." You will develop a sense of how web search technology got where it 
is, where it is headed, and its value to libraries and to our users. The 
instructor will also provide a list of resources for keeping up to date.

Preliminary Course Outline:

Web Search Engines
--Before Google, Google, and post-Google
--Major search engines today
--New search engines and directions to watch

Comparing and Choosing Web Search Engines
--Similarities, differences
--What matters for our purposes

Post-Google Expanded Web Spaces
--Why use blogs, RSS feeds, wikis, tag sites and other folksonomies
--Tools for finding, tips for using and evaluating

The Best Non-Web Databases and Services from the Search Engine Giants
--Google's best in the eyes of libraries and our users
--What others offer that Google does not

Workshop Instructor: Joe Barker.  Joe works full-time, year-round job in 
the Teaching Library at the University of California, Berkeley, where he 
does instruction librarian and reference desks in the Moffitt and Doe 
libraries. Since 1995, he has been coordinating the Berkeley libraries' web 
searching classes, and has maintained an online web-searching tutorial that 
is still one of the most linked-to web searching tutorials in the world. 
Through all of the web searching classes Joe has done for Infopeople, he 
has become uniquely aware of what library staff and librarians know and 
need to know to step into the post-Google future of web space.

Who Should Attend: Anyone from the California library community with an 
interest in using the web to find information, answer questions, or conduct 
research. Anyone familiar with Google or other search engines who wishes to 
keep up with this rapidly evolving set of technologies and skills.

Prerequisites: This course requires that students be comfortable with basic 
computer skills, and basic web searching.

Other Logistics:

*On-site check-in is from 8:30-9:00 AM;  instruction is from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM.

*Maps, directions, and parking information are available on the Infopeople 
Web site at http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop/Directions.  Infopeople does 
not validate or pay for parking.

*Infopeople does not provide refreshments or lunch.  Since some training 
locations do not have in-house or convenient food service, Infopeople 
recommends that participants bring a sack lunch.

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information 
about Infopeople training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople 
Workshops page at http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please 
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at 
assist at infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685.