Search Engines Search engines are useful when you are looking for something very specific. Search engines use computers to scan web pages for the frequency of key words in order to create a database. When you type words into the search box, the search engine scans its database and returns a list of links to web pages that have the words that you entered.

TOP CHOICES
Google – highly recommended for comprehensive coverage and relevancy.
Yahoo! Search – In 2004, Yahoo! bought the Inktomi, AltaVista and AlltheWeb databases to create their own new database.
Teoma - smaller database but known for its relevancy.

OTHERS TO TRY
MSN Search – uses Inktomi for its search engine database and LookSmart for its subject directory with good advanced searching capabilities.
HotBot – easy access to three major databases: Yahoo, Google, Teoma/Ask Jeeves. Good for quickly comparing results.
Ask Jeeves – you can ask questions using normal language.

Subject Directories Subject directories are useful when you want an overview of a subject or when you don’t know exactly what you need yet. These sites operate much like a library's subject catalog -- using broad subjects which are then broken down into more detailed categories. Directories only cover a small amount of the web pages available on the Internet and use people to select the web sites.

TOP CHOICES
Open Directory – Largest directory on the web
Yahoo! – large, popular directory but not all sites are evaluated
Google Directory – Uses Open Directory with Google system of ranking
Librarian’s Index to the Internet – annotated list selected by librarians
LookSmart – Large directory with ranking features and article database

OTHERS TO TRY
Washington Librarian’s Index to the Internet – Washington state emphasis
WWW Virtual Library – the oldest catalog on the web, by subject experts
INFOMINE: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections – university level list
RDN: Resource Discovery Network – another academic list from Britain
Digital Librarian: A Librarian’s Choice of the Best of the Web – valuable for the “see” and “see also” links that will broaden a search.
Internet Public Library – excellent reference section and pathfinders.
WebRing – a list of “collections” of web sites on a particular subject that are linked together in a “ring”
About.com – commercial site with annotated subject pages, maintained by a “guide” with subject expertise.

Multiple Search Engines These sites perform searches on several search engines simultaneously, and then compile the results in lists according to the respective engines, some type of ranking, or another order.

Dogpile, the Friendly Multi-Engine Search Tool - Covers all major search engines and offers the best implementation of Boolean operators and phrase searching. Results are sorted by search engine. A recent study suggests there is little overlap between search engines, so Dogpile is an excellent starting point for obscure topics.
Vivisimo – Award-winning, organizes results into categories of subtopics
Mamma - Accesses a variety of search engines, directories, and specialized search sites.
Metacrawler - Metacrawler will search each of the major search engines individually and collate the results. In minutes you have a full search report.
WebCrawler - One of the first multiple resource search facilities.

Filtered The following Web sites have specialized directories and search engines that "filter" access to the Internet to selected sites. The Library does not guarantee the effectiveness of any of these search engines or directories.

AskJeeves for Kids
Yahooligans for Kids
Kids Click!
OneKey
ChristianWebSite.com

Specialized Specialized search engines search sites from a particular subject area.

FindArticles – online newspaper, magazine and journals
FirstGov – official web site for searching U.S. government information
Google Groups – access to Usenet newsgroups
Education World – a search engine of education web sites
Google Image World – one of the largest image databases available
Business.com – searches an expansive directory of business related web sites

Not sure where to start? Check out these web sites for more help and explanations.

Noodle Tools Choose the Best Search Engine for Your Information Needs. This site has an easy-to-use chart which will help you determine the best search engine for your question.
Search Strategies - From the University of California at Berkeley, this site helps you analyze your topic, develop search terms, and select searching techniques.
Search Engine Features Chart - Describes the features of each search engine as well as links to reviews.
Subject Directory Features Chart - Describes features and size of directories with links to reviews.
Major Search Engines and Directories - An article from Search Engine Watch which describes the features and histories of the major searching tools.