Google was launched in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin from Stanford University.

The corporate mission statement is to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful. (http://www.searchhistory.com) As of January 2, 2010, Google accounted for 72.25% of US searches in the preceding four weeks. (http://www.hitwise.com/us/press-center/press-releases/search-enginedec2009) Their popularity stems from ease of use and the claim that a query search lasts less that half a second, despite searching page content to find relevant matches; not just meta tags, which can be manipulated. (http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html) Google faces criticism for copyright infringement, privacy violations, and censorship. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Google The basic Google search engine is easy to use and comprehensible to the general user. When a word, words, or phrase is entered into the search box, web pages deemed relevant to the query are listed. The first line of the search result is the title of the webpage, followed by a summary or snippet from the page, the URL, and cached link. The cached link is helpful in combating the instability of web pages. Google searches for web pages that match all of the terms searched, both exactly and using similar words. Precedence is given to sites that have the search terms near each other and in order. (http://www.googleguide.com/interpreting_queries.html) The advanced search option sorts using word combinations, unwanted words, date, region, etc. Lisa West 1 LIS 703-05 Search Engine Assignment

Additionally, operators can filter a search. The operator allntitle: lists only sites that have the terms in the title. Filetype: or ext: can sort results by file extension such as .org or .pdf. (http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_reference.html) S.R. Ranganathan, Frederick Kilgour, Henriette Avram, and Minnie Sears were searched on Google. The search was conducted using their first and last names, last names first, full names, allintitle, latest results, and in combination with the words contribution organization knowledge. The search results ranged from 492 results to 5,040,000 and took a maximum of .3 seconds. Few sponsored results were shown. If present, they were by Intelius and alibris. The first few searches resulted in Wikipedia articles. The majority of Henriette Avrams search results were obituaries. Frederick Kilgours results included obituaries and the eponymous ALA scholarship. S.R. Ranganathans results were about him and his five laws of library science. Minnie Sears had the most search results. This is partially due to the store Sears, Minnie Mouse, and her familys involvement in genealogy. The best results for Ranganathan and Sears utilized their full names. The Wikipedia articles of the four people searched fall under the WikiProject Biography. This project strives to create well sourced, peer reviewed biographical articles about real people. These articles are rated under the discussion tab at the top of the page. None of the articles searched rated above start class, an article that is in development but lacks adequate reliable sources. The history tab shows when the article was edited and by whom. The Avram article was started by a Lisa West 2 LIS 703-05 Search Engine Assignment

librarian and the Ranganathan article was edited by an LIS professor; the others were unclear. The Wikipedia articles provide an adequate overview of the subject. The Further reading citations at the bottom of the article are a helpful start to serious research. However, the authority, currency, and susceptibility to alteration by unknown authors cause the articles to be suspect. The most succinct and credible article on Avram is her obituary in the New York Times. The information does not contradict other sources about Avrams life and work. The author, Maragalit Fox, is experienced and respected. http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=1485 The New York Times and its obituary department are known for their high quality, well-sourced material. The article was current to the date of Avrams death and appears objective. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/business/media/22askthetimes.html? pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=obituaries Henriette Avrams major contribution to the organization of knowledge was her creation of MARC. Avram headed the Library of Congress MARC pilot project in 1965. She took the millions of items cataloged on cards by hand and transformed them into data that could be deciphered electronically. The project took three years to complete and by 1973 it was the international standard for electronic cataloging. Avrams MARC system makes a library catalog accessible remotely by both patrons and other libraries. Libraries share catalog records and no longer have to do original cataloging of every item they acquire, freeing up time and resources. Lisa West 3 LIS 703-05 Search Engine Assignment

The development of the Internet is also credited to her work in the encoding and organization of data and its transmission. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/03/us/03avram.html?_r=1 Credible information about Frederick Kilgour is also available in an OCLC obituary. Kilgour was the founder, president, and a board member of OCLC. Due to the affiliation, there is some concern over a positive slant in the objectivity of the information. The biographical information is, however, found to be consistent with other sources. OCLC is considered credible and respected, though no author is cited. The article is current to Kilgours death and gives a detailed account of his life and work. Frederick Kilgour founded OCLC and thus a library network that links 55,000 institutions around the world. WorldCat, a database he developed, computerizes library catalogs, describes material holdings, library locations, and contains electronic text and recorded material. It is utilized by libraries around the world and houses more than 70 million material entries and the over one billion locations that house them. This information sharing allows libraries to share cataloging information online. This decreased the need for original cataloging of items and therefore costs. Patron access is increased by the availability of item through inter-library loans. None of this would be possible without Kilgours work in library automation and library networking. http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200631.htm The article used to summarize the contributions of Minnie Earl Sears was Lisa West 4 LIS 703-05 Search Engine Assignment

also published by her employer, H.W. Wilson. The information presented in this article is also consistent with other work about Sears, despite the positive bias. The publish date of the article is 2004 with a 2010 copyright. The author is not stated but the publisher is well known for high quality material, including publishing Sears most famous work. Sears is best known as the creator of the Sears List of Subject Headings. This system enables smaller libraries to catalog their collection in a standardized, simple, and easier manner. This publication and her Principles of the Sears List are used as tools for teaching cataloging in library schools Sears linked her cataloging standards to Library of Congress subject headings and the Dewey Decimal System. Her later works assist in cataloging public libraries, high school libraries, essays and general literature, songs, and childrens cataloging. Her seminal work is in its 18th edition and 87th year of assisting catalogers. http://www.hwwilson.com/news/news_2_6_04.htm The site used to research S.R. Ranganathan is a project from an LIS class studying document and subject analysis at the University of British Columbia. The information is detailed and does not contradict other information read. The authors objectivity leans positively towards the subject and the authors names are not readily apparent. The project is well sourced and the last modification is marked as 2004. Ranganathan held numerous positions, received many honors, and published over 20 books and 1500 articles. His most well known contribution to Lisa West 5 LIS 703-05 Search Engine Assignment

library science is his Five Laws of Library Science: books are for use, every reader his/her book, every book its reader, save the time of the reader, and a library is a growing organism. Ranganathan also designed the Classification Catalogue Code, Chain Procedure, theory of book selection, ready and reference service, theory of library management, and the organization of library and information systems. Ranganathans most famous contribution to the organization of knowledge is the Colon (:) Classification System. This is a faceted system that breaks the subject down into basic components and combines them to form a more useful and accurate classification system. This is achieved by studying the context, content, and users of the item. The facets are identified and filled by the who, what, how, where, and when of the item and they are then categorized. http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr517/03-04-wt2/projects/ranganathan/cat.htm I was able to find accurate and authoritative information on the subjects I searched on Google. I had to check search result sites for citations and often the first searches, e.g. Wikipedia, were not the best. There were infrequent sponsored sites. The few dead links were overcome by viewing the cached link. I found that the accuracy of searches matched the accuracy of my query; full names produced better results. It appears that GIGO, garbage in garbage out, still holds true. I like the Google search engine and would recommend it to others, especially for its speed and ease of use. I find that from the shear volume of searches provided, there are more suspect items. If treated with the same criteria for verifying print material, good resources can be obtained. Lisa West 6 LIS 703-05 Search Engine Assignment