Power Searching the Internet: The Librarian’s Quick Guide

Power Searching the Internet: The Librarian’s Quick Guide

by | Sep 21, 2019

Here’s what one reader said about my book, Power Searching the Internet.

This was a fast, practical read that packed a major punch.

It’s immediately useful for something I’ve always thought of as asymmetrical searching – not databases, but search engines and social media, managing Internet tools that react to you and your activity. Our patrons really need this info. Alas, it’s already going out of date – it gives some advice about Google+ (RIP) that is a shadow of things to come. Half of this stuff could be out in a year as Google and Facebook and the rest constantly morph into new, not necessarily better iterations. Meanwhile, though, tools like GScholar have stayed pretty stable.

This is also good foundational knowledge – if you know how it works now, a little change (or, in Twitter’s case, another goddamn overhaul) won’t completely throw you. Well worth $35!

Anna Gooding-Call

Freelance writer and public librarian

I always appreciate when people take the time to review a book of mine! Learn more about the book below.

Table of contents

1. Using Google Effectively

  • Special Features
  • Advanced Search Features
  • Personalization
  • Privacy of Your Google Data
  • Other Privacy Tools

2. Using Other Google Sites Effectively

  • Google News
  • Google Translate
  • Google Books
  • Google Scholar
  • Google Maps

3. Multimedia Searching

  • Google Image Search
  • Finding Images with Licenses That Allow Reuse
  • Reverse Image Search
  • Searching for Videos on Google
  • YouTube Filters
  • Vimeo Search

4. Social Media Searching

  • Twitter Search
  • Facebook as a Search Engine
  • Instagram Search
  • Pinterest Search

5. Finding Old Websites

  • Using the Wayback Machine from Internet Archive
  • Using Google’s Cache

6. Data, Statistics, Comparisons

  • Using Wolfram Alpha

7. Conclusion

  • Things to Remember
  • Resources—Learning More

Become a power searcher

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Online Privacy and Security – Self-Study Online Course

Online Privacy and Security – Self-Study Online Course

by | Jun 17, 2018

If you feel like it’s finally time to bring yourself up to date on security & privacy best practices, this course is for you!

 

There is no such thing as perfect security, but you can learn to greatly decrease your chances of something bad happening.

While there is no such thing as foolproof security and privacy, there is a middle ground that you can find by understanding and using particular techniques.

 

After you participate in this course, you will…

  • know how to use technologies that protect your privacy and security.
  • have a security action plan for your own data.
  • be inspired to share your knowledge with others.
  • easily continue your learning with the course resource guide.

This course is for …

  • Anyone who worries about online privacy and security and hasn’t had time to figure out what tools and apps to use.

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  • Intelligent people who don’t feel up-to-date on the best practices for their own security and privacy.

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  • This course was originally designed for librarians and teachers who want to offer workshops about privacy and security to others, but it’s appropriate for any computer-literate person.

Advantages of a self-study course like this one

You can go at your own pace, start and finish the course at any time (with no deadlines).

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You’ll have ongoing access to the materials in years to come — so you can review at any time. (I update all of my courses once a year).

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The prices are more affordable (usually less than half the price of taking them via professional groups like the American Library Association or Library Juice Academy).

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Previous students love my courses (see testimonials).

Learn more and sign up!

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Video preview

Watch a short video preview on Udemy.com.

Learn to protect your data

Create your security action plan.

Sign up now!
Librarians: Become an Expert in Mobile Apps for Education with These Courses

Librarians: Become an Expert in Mobile Apps for Education with These Courses

by | Jan 20, 2018

Are you the type of person who prefers to learn at your own pace? And do you want to improve your expertise in mobile technologies for education?

If so, then these self-study versions of my online courses are a good choice for you.

I teach other courses on specific dates (through the American Library Association and Library Juice Academy), but many librarians don’t realize that I also offer courses you can work on at any time.

There are several advantages to the self-study versions:

You can go at your own pace, start and finish the course at any time (with no deadlines).

calendar

You’ll have ongoing access to the materials in years to come — so you can review at any time. (I update these courses once a year).

dollar sign

The prices are more affordable (usually less than half the price of taking them via ALA).

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Previous students love these courses (see testimonials).

Learn more about what’s covered in each course:

Sign up below.

Organize Your Life with Mobile Apps

Learn to use 4 best types of apps for keeping track
of all your information.

Sign up now

Organize Your Life with Mobile Apps: I found this class to be extremely informative and helpful. I learned about applications that help me manage everyday activities while becoming acquainted with applications that assist with storage, organization and security measures evolved for safekeeping. This class also gave me knowledge that I can share with library customers and staff.

Jan Banks

Casey County Public Library

Apps for Librarians

Become an app expert for your community.

Sign up now

Apps for Librarians is a fantastic course! Take it if you want to become confident in acquiring and using apps. Learn how to effectively apply them in an educational setting. The course format and instructor were excellent and galvanized my understanding of these very useful tools.

Ann Kenney

Rice Memorial High School, Burlington, VT

The Book as iPad App

Learn about interactive, multimedia book apps.

Sign up now

This four-week course gets five stars not only for the information it contains but also for the level of empowerment it provides. I signed-up not knowing a thing about book apps, and in a month’s time I am using them at work and collaborating with a library colleague to create a book app of our own for use in story times. The topic is timely, relevant and fun! I couldn’t ask for more.

Susan Hansen

Head of Public Services, West Hartford Public Library, West Hartford, CT

50 best apps for those who use both Android and iOS

50 best apps for those who use both Android and iOS

by | Mar 28, 2016

Many people use multiple mobile platforms these days. A common situation is one where you have both an Android smartphone and an iPad.

it’s true that when you get used to certain tasks on one platform, they aren’t automatic on the other, but once you get past that, you can work seamlessly.

Why? It’s because of apps with multi-device ecosystems. (more…)

Getting over your resistance to using a password manager

by | Feb 12, 2015

Manage your passwords
Do you still use the same password on multiple sites? Or perhaps you keep a list of all your passwords on paper, or in a file on your computer?

If so, I’d like to suggest that it’s time to finally give a password manager a try. No system is completely foolproof, but using an app like 1Password is much more secure than re-using passwords you can remember. If a site gets hacked and you’ve used the same password that you use on other sites, it’s very likely that your password will be tried everywhere — on sites that you care about, such as bank accounts, shopping sites, and more.

Here are some reasons to use it: (more…)