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Search Engines

NAME/URL	SPECIAL FEATURES	Boolean AND,OR, NOT	DEFAULT LOGIC	OTHER SEARCH OPTIONS
Alta Vista	Searches full text of 140 million web pages	Available only in advanced search	OR	+ to require - to exclude Quotes for phrase searching * to truncate word Field searching
The Big Eye Portal	Searches the web or select a database from their home page	No	AND	+to require -to exclude * to truncate word Quotes for phrase searching Field searching
Excite	Powersearch by geographic place. Returns hits containing terms related to your search terms Can consolidate hits by web site.	Yes	AND	+to require -to exclude Quotes for phrase searching No truncation Field searching
Find Spot	Site is a gateway to Internet search tools that researchers can use to find information.	NA	NA	NA
Galaxy	One of the first search engines on the Internet. It searches the web or certain targeted directories.	Yes	AND	+to require -to exclude Quotes for phrase searching Field searching for title/URL No truncation
Google	"I'm feeling lucky" - automatically takes user to first web page Google chooses as an answer to the query.	Yes, in Advanced Search	AND	+ to require (with a space before the +) - to exclude (with a space before the -) Quotes for phrase searching No truncation
Infoseek	Advanced search features available to limit relevant hits. Category search on first screen.	No	OR	+ to require - ranks term lower Quotes for phrase searching No truncation Field searching
Lycos	Provides searching of top 5% of reviewed sites.	LycosPro has similar options	OR	+ to require - to remove Quotes for phrase searching No truncation
MetaCrawler	Searches the web or select a database from their home page	Yes	AND	+to require -to exclude * to truncate word Quotes for phrase searching Field searching for title/URL
My Starting Point	Searches the web or select a particular resource or the database from their home page	No	AND	+to require -to exclude * to truncate word Quotes for phrase searching Field searching for title/URL
Northern Lights	Simple searches which create custom folders on the topic for additional places to search.	Yes	AND	+to require -to exclude * to truncate word Quotes for phrase searching Field searching for title/URL
Yahoo	Subject directory	Available under search options	AND	+ to require - to remove Quotes for phrase searching * to truncate word Field searching for title/URL Limit by time from search option

Student Friendly Search Engines:

NAME/URL	SPECIAL FEATURES	Boolean AND,OR, NOT	DEFAULT LOGIC	OTHER SEARCH OPTIONS
AOL at School	A cool search engine with high school tutorials in various subjects.	N/A	AND	Quotes for phrase searching * to truncate word
Ask Jeeves for Kids	Accepts natural language ("plain English") First searches a database of preselected sites; then searches other sites filtered through SurfWatch	N/A	N/A	Refine search by answering questions prompted by search engine.
KidsClick!	Database of over 4800 sites compiled by librarians. Can limit by reading levels. Provides subject categories.	OR	AND	Can limit results by reading levels, amount of graphics. Can limit search to subjects, titles, or descriptions. * to truncate word
Yahooligans!	Designed for children under 12. Sites selected by Yahoo staff. Categories provided or enter search term.	N/A	AND	Searches titles, URLs, and comments

Specialized Academic Search Engines:

NAME/URL	SPECIAL FEATURES	Boolean AND,OR, NOT	DEFAULT LOGIC	OTHER SEARCH OPTIONS
Academic Info
BUBL LINK/5:15
INFOMINE	Selected and annotated academic WWW sites.Categories on first screen; link to search query screen	Yes	N/A	After selecting subject category, submit search query using Boolean. # to truncate word.
Librarian's Index	Relatively small number of evaluated sites selected by public librarians. Academic categories as well as search query available. Can browse subject headings list.	Yes	AND	* to truncate word Field searching available Provides linked subject headings after search results.
Library Spot	This library resource was designed to "bring the best library and reference sites together with insightful editorial in one convenient, user-friendly spot."	N/A	N/A	Begin the search process here with over 100 referees from which to choose. Aula Virtual de Espanol Instituto Cervantes' Spanish virtual classroom.
The Michigan Electronic Library
SAILOR, Maryland's Public Information Network

Miscellaneous Search Engines:

NAME/URL	SPECIAL FEATURES	Boolean AND,OR, NOT	DEFAULT LOGIC	OTHER SEARCH OPTIONS
1st Headlines	Current Events coverage for the US and International media sites. This site includes links to individual stories in most major newspapers and network news websites.	N/A	N/A	Search by names, words, or phrases.
Fact Monster	At this site, kids can search for information about people, sports, the U.S., the world, fun facts, science, and more. Included are links to a Homework Center, Word of the Day, Today in History, and Today's Birthday	No	No	Keyword search on topics or phrases
BigChalk.com
Homework Spot
Information Please Almanac	Combining the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary, and several up-to-the minute almanacs loaded with statistics, facts, and historical records, Information Please places the resources of an entire reference information center at your fingertips.	No	No	Keyword search on topics or phrases
Reference-Best source for facts on the web	Ref desk is about indexing quality Internet sites and assisting visitors in navigating these sites.	No	AND	+to require -to exclude Quotes for phrase searching