The Invisible Web: Uncovering Information Sources Search Engines Can't See

Chris Sherman, Gary Price - "The Invisible Web: Uncovering Information Sources Search Engines Can't See"
Publisher: Information Today, Inc. | ISBN: 091096551X | 1 edition 2001 | PDF | 402 pages | 4,85 MB

Enormous expanses of the Internet are unreachable with standard Web search engines. This book provides the key to finding these hidden resources by identifying how to uncover and use invisible Web resources. Mapping the invisible Web, when and how to use it, assessing the validity of the information, and the future of Web searching are topics covered in detail. Only 16 percent of Net-based information can be located using a general search engine. The other 84 percent is what is referred to as the invisible Web-made up of information stored in databases. Unlike pages on the visible Web, information in databases is generally inaccessible to the software spiders and crawlers that compile search engine indexes. As Web technology improves, more and more information is being stored in databases that feed into dynamically generated Web pages. The tips provided in this resource will ensure that those databases are exposed and Net-based research will be conducted in the most thorough and effective manner.

About the Author
Gary Price is a reference librarian at George Washington University. He lives in Vienna, Virginia. Chris Sherman is the director of the guide to Web searching on About.com and president of Searchwise, a consulting firm. He is the author of the CD-ROM Handbook and a frequent contributor to Online magazine. He lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Invisible Web in a Nutshell
What to Expect from This Book
Boldly Go Where No Search Engine Has Gone Before
About www.invisible-web.net

Chapter 1 - The Internet and the Visible Web
How the Internet Came to Be
Early Net Search Tools
Enquire Within Upon Everything
Weaving the Web
Early Web Navigation
The First Search Engines

Chapter 2 - Information Seeking on the Visible Web
Browsing vs. Searching
Web Directories
How Web Directories Work
Issues with Web Directories
Search Engines
How Search Engines Work
Issues with Search Engines
Search Engines vs. Directories

Chapter 3 - Specialized and Hybrid Search Tools
Targeted Directories and Focused Crawlers
Targeted Directories
Focused Crawlers
Vertical Portals (Vortals)
How to Find Vortals
Metasearch Engines
Issues with Metasearch Engines
Value-Added Search Services
Alternative Search Tools
Browser Agents
Client-Based Search Tools
Web Rings
Fee-Based Web-Accessible Services
Next Stop: The Invisible Web

Chapter 4 - The Invisible Web
Invisible Web Defined
Why Search Engines Can’t See the Invisible Web
Four Types of Invisibility
The Opaque Web
The Private Web
The Proprietary Web
The Truly Invisible Web

Chapter 5 - Visible or Invisible?
Navigation vs. Content Sites
Direct vs. Indirect URLs
The URL Test
Specialized vs. Invisible
Visible vs. Invisible
The Library of Congress Web Site:
Both Visible and Invisible
The Robots Exclusion Protocol

Chapter 6 - Using the Invisible Web
Why Use the Invisible Web?
When to Use the Invisible Web
Top 25 Invisible Web Categories
What’s NOT on the Web—Visible or Invisible
Spider Traps, Damned Lies, and Other Chicanery
Keeping Current with the Invisible Web
Build Your Own Toolkit

Chapter 7 - Case Studies
Case 1 - Historical Stock Quotes
Case 2 - Patent Information
Case 3 - Real-Time Tracking
Case 4 - Locating an Out of Print Book
Case 5 - Telephone Numbers and Zip Codes
Case 6 - Finding Online Images
Case 7 - Investment Research
Case 8 - The Invisible Web Fails to Deliver!

Chapter 8 - The Future: Revealing the Invisible Web
Smarter Crawlers
The Promise and Pitfalls of Metadata
Beyond Text
Delving into Databases
Hypertext Query Languages
Real-Time Crawling
Long Live the Invisible Web

Chapter 9 - The Best of the Invisible Web
Invisible Web Pathfinders
An Invisible Web Directory
Frequently Asked Questions about the Directory
In Summary: The Top 10 Concepts to Understand
about the Invisible Web

Chapter 10 - Art and Architecture
Architecture
Artists
Galleries on the Web
Gateways to Art and Architecture Resources
Reference

Chapter 11 - Bibliographies and Library Catalogs
Bibliographies
Library Catalogs

Chapter 12 - Business and Investing
Company Information and Research
Consumer Resources
Economics—United States
Economics—World
Financial Institutions
General Business Resources
Government Contracts
Industry-Specific Resources
Investment Resources
Jobs and Career Information
Lookup Services
Marketing Resources
Pension Resources
Personal Finances
Philanthropy and Non-Profit Resources
Research and Development
Real Estate
Tariffs and Trade
Trade Shows and Conventions

Chapter 13 - Computers and Internet
Computers and Computing
Internet Resources

Chapter 14 - Education
Classroom and Teacher Support
Directories and Locators
Financial Information and Scholarships
General Education Resources
Statistics

Chapter 15 - Entertainment
Amusements
General Entertainment Resources
Movies and Cinema
Music
Performances and Events

Chapter 16 - Government Information and Data
Directories and Locators
General Government Resources
Government Documents
Government Officials
Government Programs
Politics, Policy, and International Relations
Statistics

Chapter 17 - Health and Medical Information
Diseases and Conditions
Images
Healthcare and Medical Information
Healthcare Professional Resources
Locators
Nutrition
Patient Information and Consumer Resources
Pharmaceutical Drugs
Research
Workplace Health and Safety

Chapter 18 - U.S. and World History
United States History
World History

Chapter 19 - Legal and Criminal Resources
Attorney and Law Firm Locators
Crime and Criminals
Decisions
Documents and Records
General Legal Resources
Intellectual Property
Laws, Codes, and Treaties

Chapter 20 - News and Current Events
Audio
Directories
News Search Resources
Video

Chapter 21 - Searching for People
Famous and Historical People
Genealogy Resources
Group and Affiliation Directories
Online White Pages and Lookup Tools
Veterans and Currently Serving Military

Chapter 22 - Public Records
General Public Records Resources
Location-Specific Public Records

Chapter 23 - Real-Time Information
Environment
Government
Miscellaneous Tracking
Space and Satellite
Stock Quotes
Transportation
Weather

Chapter 24 - Reference
Associations
Awards
Books
Calculators
Consumer Resources
Dictionaries, Glossaries, and Translation Resources
Food and Beverages
General Reference Resources
Journals and Periodicals
Library/Online Searching
Locators
Maps and Geography
Sports
Travel
Weather

Chapter 25 - Science
Agriculture
Biology
Botany
Chemistry
Earth Sciences
Energy
Engineering
Environment
General Science Resources
Mathematics and Physics
Oceanography
Research and Development
Space and Astronomy
Weather and Meteorology

Chapter 26 - Social Sciences
Anthropology
Archaeology
Demographics
Development Resources
General Resources
Gender Studies and Data
Latin America
Military Resources
Psychology
Research and Development
Religion

Chapter 27 - Transportation
Air
Automobile
General Transportation Resources
Maritime
Railroad

Glossary
References
About the Authors
Index

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