Using the Web: Search Engines

Search Engines

A search engine allows you to enter a key word(s) and it will search through its extensive database of web sites and find matches. Unlike a card catalog, in a library search engines do not have a listing of all existing web sites. Different search engines will provide you with different results. Try your search on several engines and compare results.

Finding pertinent web sites is both an art and a science. The more you use search engines the better you'll understand how they work and what gives you the best results. Most search engines have a link with helpful hints/searching tips. It is worth your time to read this information.

Some searching tips:

Use uncommon words

Use proper capitalization

Try variations of your keywords

Use "Boolean Expressions" - including the words: AND, NOT, or OR. For example: Cardinals AND baseball
Additionally the symbols: + and - can also be used to indicate required (+) words in the results or website that should be screened out (-). For example: +Cardinals +baseball -football

Some Popular Search Engines

The City of St. Louis uses the Google engine. The searches can be customized to only return web pages found on the City of St. Louis web servers or to search the entire World Wide Web.

Official Web Site of the City of St. Louis
This Page Last Modified: Monday, 19-Nov-2007 16:42:39 CST