December 2005 Newsletter
Google Librarian
We've been very busy at Google Librarian this month as well! We've been
working hard to bring you more and better content, and are continuously
striving to improve and make this a better experience for our users.
We've added a Google Librarian Blog, added RSS feeds, and more! We
appreciate and welcome all your comments and feedback. Let us know what
you want to see on Google Librarian. We are already beginning to
incorporate some of the suggestions we've received thus far. Just drop
us an email at googli...@gmail.com!
In the coming weeks we will be adding more tutorials to help librarians
and information professionals use Google. We will also be adding a
section that will include lesson plans for teaching Google to your
patrons.
If you didn't notice already, on the top of Google Librarian's home
page are little country flags. By clicking on one of these flags you
will be taken to a translated version of the website. This is a feature
we thought would be useful to our members for whom English isn't their
first language. The translations are provided by Google's translation
service, and are available in Spanish, German, Portuguese, French,
Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified).
Google Librarian was officially launched in late November, we are
already off to a great start in growing and expanding our user base. We
feature members representing 6 of the world's 7 continents (no one from
Antarctica yet), and dozens of different countries. You guys have done
a great job of spreading the word, and we hope that you will continue.
Thank you for all your help!
If anyone out there still needs a Gmail invite, let me know. The Gmail
team has kindly replenished our supply.
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Every month I will read and review a hot new Google related book.
December's Google Book of the Month is "The Google Story" by David A.
Vise & Mark Malseed (336 p. , Delacorte Press, November 15, 2005).
Google is an unconventional company, and they've been that way from the
start. Founded by Larry Page and Sergy Brin in the mid-1990's, Google
has gone from a Stanford research project to a multibillion dollar
company in under a decade. As you will find out in this book, part of
the driving force behind Google are its founders' unconventional
business practices, confidence, strong determination, innovation, and
their desire to make the world a better place. The Google Guys prove
that where there is a will, there is a way.
The book tells you where Google came from, where they are now, and
where they are heading. If you've ever wondered how Google makes its
money, and why they do some of the crazy things they do, read The
Google Story - these things and more are answered and explained. You'll
also learn some surprising information about the company. For instance,
did you know that Google is working with the biomedical community to
organize mass quantities of DNA data?
All in all, The Google Story is a fascinating look into the culture and
life of Google. I highly recommend it to anyone with even a slight
interest in Google. It's exciting and unlike any other company's
biography you've ever read. If you are interested in purchasing this
book, there is a link to it in the Google Books section on our website.
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New This Month at Google
The Googlers have certainly been busy this month! Here's a brief
overview of all the new services and tools that have been added this
month:
Google Music Search - This service works much like the Google Movie
Search. When you input a search query containing music-related terms,
Google will automatically provide you with information including
albums, songs, artists, and more. They even link to where you can buy
the music at. Curious? Do a test run by searching for "The Beatles".
Blogger Web Comments (Firefox extension) - Blogger Web Comments allows
you to read and post blog comments about a particular web page that you
are viewing.
Google Safe Browsing for Firefox (Firefox extension) - Safe Browsing
protects you from phishing and spoofing attacks by alerting you when
you've visited a web page that Google thinks is unsafe. Google issues
the alerts based on information derived from advanced algorithms and
reports about misleading pages from several sources.
Google Homepage API - Google has issued another new toy for developers
to play with. Google Homepage API allows you to customize the Google
Homepage by adding new modules.
Gmail Clips - You can now receive RSS feeds and other information in
your GMail account. Above your messages is a little box where Gmail
Clips are displayed. If you find yourself staring at an empty inbox,
now there's always something there to keep you busy with.
Gmail Mobile - You can now check your Gmail on your mobile phone. It
works exactly the same as regular Gmail. When you want to check your
Gmail on the go, just go to http://m.gmail.com.
Gmail Vacation Auto Responder - Set up an auto-response when you're
away so that your friends, family, and co-workers know that you won't
be checking your email.
Gmail Contact Groups - Now you can create groups and select the group
to email instead of having to type in each individual email address.
Gmail View as HTML - Now you can view attachments in Microsoft
Office, PDF, or Open Office as HTML so you don't need to download the
file.
Google Transit - Plan your trip using public transportation. View
schedules, maps, and more. It is currently only available for Portland,
Oregon, but the Googlers assure us that they are working to add more
cities soon.
Local Shopping (new Froogle Feature) - Don't want to brave the winter
weather and large crowds to end up finding that your store is sold out
of the item you're looking for? Plan ahead with Local Shopping at
Froogle and see what stores in your area have the items you're looking
for in stock.
Google News in Portuguese - Google News has been released in
Portuguese. There are two versions available - one for Portugal and
another for Brazil.
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Quick Tips & Tricks
1. Refine search results by putting quotation marks around your search
terms. This will ensure that Google returns results with ONLY all those
terms in it.
2. If you've gotten more results than you know what to do with, try
limiting your search by clicking on the "Advanced Search" link next to
the Google search box.
3. Want information from Google on the go? Send a text message to GOOGL
(46645) and within seconds you'll get a reply.
4. Sick and tired of those pop-ups on Internet Explorer? Get Mozilla
Firefox for better and faster browsing with a built-in pop-up blocker
and more! Download it right from googlelibrarian.com.
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.