January 2006 Newsletter
Google Librarian
http://www.googlelibrarian.com/newsletter2.html .
Google Librarian News & Notes
It's been exactly one month since our last newsletter, and the site
and its membership continues to grow. I'd like to thank you all for
your continued support in making the Google Librarian website a
success.
For the past several weeks we have been working on a new, easier to
read design for the Google Librarian website. The new design will be
unveiled in the next few weeks, so keep your eye out for it. The new
layout will make it easier for us to maintain, as well as for our
readers to navigate. If you have any suggestions you'd like us to
incorporate, or see something that should be changed once the new
layout is revealed, feel free to let us know.
As announced previously on the Google Librarian Blog
(http://googlibrarian.blogspot.com), Rong Wu of the University of
Toronto will be working with us to help develop a Chinese language
version of the site and newsletter. As it stands now, we do have links
to Google Translated versions of the website, but as our readers have
let us know, they are often very off in their translations. However,
those links will remain on the website until we are able to get fully
translated versions up and running. If you or someone you know would
be interested in working with Google Librarian to translate the site
into your language, send us an email at googli...@gmail.com.
We'd love to have you onboard!
I'd like to send out another special thanks to Rong Wu for
volunteering his efforts to help make Google Librarian available in
Chinese, and also an advance thanks to Jane Macoustra of Tai-Pan
Research and President of the SLA Asian Chapter for our upcoming
feature in her newsletters.
We still have lots of Gmail invites, and if anyone out there still
needs one just send an email.
Google Books of the Month
This month we're covering not one, but TWO helpful Google Books.
Visual Quick Start Guide: Google Gmail by Steve Schwartz (ISBN:
0321330161)
Gmail is a free web-based email system brought to you by Google. Yes,
I know what you're thinking: "Who needs another run-of-the-mill
e-mail account?" We already have Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, AIM Mail, and
so many more to choose from. What's Gmail got that these others
don't? To start, Gmail is invitation only. This means you have to
get invited to join, so you'll need to know someone with a Gmail
account already, or seek one out and beg for an invite. With Gmail you
get an unprecedented 2.6+ GB of storage (it is continually growing),
which means you'll never have to delete another email again. Unless
of course you want to.
Google Gmail by Steve Schwartz shows and explains everything that you
can do with the illustrious Gmail. From getting an invitation to
setting up labels and the unique conversation style structure, this
book explains everything you need to know about Gmail and more. He
provides easy to understand, step-by-step instructions and provides
screenshots so that you can also see what it is that you are supposed
to be doing.
This roughly 100 page book is a quick and easy read, and will get you
on your way to using Gmail and taking full advantage of all the
features it has to offer.
Building Research Tools with Google for Dummies by Harold Davis (ISBN:
076457809X)
Google is useful when you need to find websites quickly, or pull out
facts on the drop of a dime, but did you also know that it provides
excellent tools to conduct more in-depth scholarly research? Building
Research Tools with Google for Dummies guides you through the Google
tools and services that aid in advanced research, discusses methods of
obtaining valuable information and how to present it, and shows you how
to build your own research tools with Google APIs.
The book is divided up into 7 distinct sections: the Introduction,
(Part 1) Getting Started with Google Research, (Part 2) Crafting
Queries and Using the Google Research Tools, (Part 3) Building Valuable
Research Content, Building Research Tools Using the Google APIs, and
the Appendix.
In "Getting Started with Google Research", the author gives you an
overview of Google Services, search techniques, and an overall
introduction to researching with Google. The next part of the book -
Crafting Queries and Using the Google Research Tools - covers how to
craft your search query to get the results that you want, and talks
about using Google Answers, Google Directory, Google Images, and how to
research competitive industries.
The third part of the book, teaches you how to research like a pro. It
discusses the reference interview, tools, and ways to become a better
and more ethical researcher.
Part Four is where this book starts to get techy. If you are not
familiar with scripting or programming, it may be difficult to follow
and you may wish to skip to Part Five. If you are familiar with these
concepts or feel brave enough, keep reading. You will learn how to
building your own research tools using the Google APIs.
Part Five introduces us to websites that help you become a more
effective researcher, and websites that help you navigate Google's
resources. It also points out research tools by others that have been
created using Google APIs, many of which you can try out yourself.
Part Six contains the Appendixes. They explain what is in the Google
API software development kit, how to use Google APIs with Visual Basic
.Net and Visual Studio, and what you need to know to use the Google
APIs with the Java class library included in the software development
kit.
This book is good for those who would like to learn more about doing
advanced research with Google, and for those tech librarians amongst us
who are interested in creating their own customized Google research
tools. Even those who are not a technological gurus will be able to
get a lot out of this book.
New this Month at Google:
The Googlers have had yet again another busy month.
Google Video Store:
Earlier in January, Google announced the opening of the Google Video
Store. The Google Video store allows companies and individuals to
upload their videos to Google and make them available for the public to
download and view. Video uploaders are given the option of providing
their content for free, or charging per download. Uploaders get to
choose the price that they wish to charge downloaders, and Google takes
a 30% cut of the profits. Already Google has forged partnerships with
major media partners such as the NBA, CBS, The Charlie Rose Show, and
SONY BMG. They're working to get more major providers, as well as
independent film-makers.
Google Earth for Mac:
Mac users, up until now, have been unable to use Google Earth. But,
when Google Earth finally graduated from BETA status on January 10,
2006, a Mac version of the software was released. Mac users had long
been asking for such support. Google Earth for Mac works on OS X 10.4
and up.
Google Pack:
At the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Google made their
first keynote speech. Much of the tech world was a buzz, speculating
wildly at just what the Googlers were up to this time. Were they going
to announce a new Google Computer? Perhaps a new Google Operating
System to compete with Microsoft? Nope, what they announced was Google
Pack, a set of software that Google has said will make your computer
"just work". Google Pack is a one-stop software package which
includes: Google Earth, Google Desktop, Google Toolbar (for IE and
Firefox), Picasa, Google Pack Screensaver, Mozilla Firefox, Ad-Aware SE
Personal, Adobe Reader 7, and a 6 month trial subscription to Norton
AntiVirus. It has been speculated that future releases of Google Pack
may include OpenOffice, Sun Microsystems open-source office software
suite. However, at this time it is only speculation and has not been
confirmed by either Google or Sun Microsystems. One installation and
set-up installs all of the Google Pack programs, unless of course you
already have one of them installed on your computer, in which case
Google Pack will recognize this and skip on down to the next one.
Install Google Updater and your software will automatically be updated
as new versions are released.
Google-Motorola Agreement:
In early January, Google and Motorola announced a partnership that will
make searching Google from your Motorola phone a whole lot easier.
Users will now have one-click access to Google. The goal is to make
internet search on mobile phones less cumbersome.
Did you know you could...
... use Google as a calculator? Just type your equation in the search
box and hit "Enter". Google will calculate the answer for you.
... track packages with Google? Just type in your tracking number for
any carrier (eg - USPS, UPS, FedEx) and Google will give you a link
to track the package. It is usually easier and quicker than going to
the carrier's website.
... use Google as a measurement converter? Convert nearly any time of
measurement to another simply by typing in the search box something
similar to this: 2 cups in ounces (do not use quotes around your query
or it won't work).
... find movie show times with Google? Type "movie" and your zip
code and you'll be shown a list of local movie theaters, movies, and
show times.
... define a word with Google? In the Google search box type
define:word to get a word's definition. It's much faster than
looking it up in an actual or online dictionary!
... use Google to convert to and from Roman Numerals? Enter a search
like 35 in roman numerals or MCMLXVI in decimal and get a quick
conversion.
... use Google as a currency converter? Enter a search in the search
box such as 35 USD in British Pounds.
Feedback & Suggestions:
We want your feedback and suggestions in regards to this newsletter! If
you have any comments, please email us at googli...@gmail.com.
Additionally, we'd like to include a member input and comments in
future editions of this newsletter. If you have something you'd like to
submit, please email us.