INFORMATION UPDATE "Offering Information Solutions" August, 2002 Number 35 A Monthly Publication of Shamel Information Services mailto:InfoUpdate@shamelinfo.com ============================================================ Welcome to INFORMATION UPDATE, the free monthly newsletter for people who need to know. ------------------------------------------------------------ IN THIS ISSUE ------------------------------------------------------------ => Do It Yourself - AND, OR, NOT => Did You Know - Peter Drucker Speaks => Notes, News and Announcements - Searcher article, Famous Trials, Internet Librarian conference => Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information ------------------------------------------------------------ DO IT YOURSELF - AND, OR, NOT ------------------------------------------------------------ I learn something new every day. Really. Today I learned something from an article in Online: The Leading Magazine for Information Professionals, July/August 2002, and I couldn't resist sharing. In Information Update we have talked about Boolean search- ing. That is, the technique of combining terms using the AND, OR, and NOT connectors. Search engine software is written to manage your search using these Boolean connectors whether you type them in or not. Now, here's what I learned: Since AltaVista http://www.altavista.com/ recently switched its default from OR to AND, all major Web search engines now default to AND. That means that if you type the search string "braves padres phillies" into a search box on one of the major Web search engines, you will receive a list of websites which contain ALL THREE of those terms. In other words, the site must reference "braves" AND "padres" AND "phillies." An OR search would return any site that mentions either "braves" OR "padres" OR "phillies" regardless of whether either of the other terms shows up. An OR search is much broader than an AND search and will generally return substantially more results. You have probably noticed that many web sites are large enough to require their own site-specific search engine. These search engines often use the default OR, so that site searches can return a substantial number of irrelevant hits. If you would like information on how to work around this problem, mailto:infoupdate@shamelinfo.com for a tip, or look for Edward Proctor's article in the July/August issue of Online, "Boolean Operators and the Naive End-User." ------------------------------------------------------------ Did You Know? - Peter Drucker Speaks ------------------------------------------------------------ Peter Drucker may well be a legend in his own time. Often referred to as Management Guru Peter Drucker, this author and professor of politics, philosophy, and management spoke recently at the annual meeting of the Special Libraries Association. He shared the wisdom of his 93 years and noted that "information is becoming the main competitive tool." Drucker asserts that the information that businesses need to succeed will come from external sources. He said that you can't depend on your own internal data system for know- ledge and answers. "Equipment can only answer questions you've already asked." It is important to remember that communication is now global and instantaneous. This infor- mation revolution means "the experts in finding it and making it meaningful-interpreting it-are suppliers of key competencies of tomorrow's organization." Peter Drucker also said "If you asked me what is the fastest growing industry in America - it's outsourcing." Gathering and interpreting information is paramount, and outsourcing is a cost effective option. Shamel Information Services can help meet your information needs. Call 800-330-9939. For more information from Peter Drucker, consider reading some of his many publications, including: Management Challenges for the 21st Century, HarperBusiness, 1999 The Essential Drucker: selections from the management works of Peter F. Drucker, HarperBusiness, 2001 Adventures of a Bystander, Wiley, 1998. (autobiography) ------------------------------------------------------------ Notes, News, and Announcements ------------------------------------------------------------ Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals recently published an article by Information Update Editor Cynthia Shamel. The article is titled "Building a Brand: Got Librarian?" and appears in the July/August 2002. "Building a Brand" discusses the image of information professionals, why the valuable service they provide is sometimes overlooked, and what needs to be done to better market information services. You can read it on the Information Today website at http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/default.htm or you can link to the article from the Shamel Information Services home page, http://shamelinfo.com The CyberSkeptic's Guide to Internet Research July/August 2002 issue included reference to a cool legal site called Famous Trials http://www.umkc.edu/famoustrials. The site is sponsored by the University of Missouri, Kansas City and covers famous and controversial trials in American history. According to CyberSkeptic, the trials mentioned include the Scopes "Monkey" Trial (1925); Salem Witchcraft trials (1692); and the Burr Conspiracy trial (1807). The Internet Librarian conference will be held November 4-6 in Palm Springs, CA. http://www.infotoday.com/il2002 ============================================================= The Shamel Information Services web site at http://shamelinfo.com contains Information Update archives. Just click on "Newsletters" and check for any issues you might have missed. -------------------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE -------------------------------------------------------------- Subscriptions to INFORMATION UPDATE are free. You may subscribe or unsubscribe by sending a message to: mailto:InfoUpdate@shamelinfo.com with SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Copyright 2002 Shamel Information Services Please feel free to forward this issue to colleagues, in its entirety. Other uses without permission may violate copyright. Online archives at http://shamelinfo.com/newsletter.htm =============================================================== Cynthia L. Shamel, editor Shamel Information Services Poway, California mailto:cshamel@shamelinfo.com Ms. Shamel is currently President-Elect of the Association of Independent Information Professionals http://www.aiip.org and a member of the Special Libraries Association. Telephone: 858-673-4673 Toll Free: 800-330-9939