INFORMATION UPDATE  
    June 2008                             Number 94

Welcome to INFORMATION UPDATE, the monthly resource for
information seekers and users.

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IN THIS ISSUE
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   => DO IT YOURSELF - Google Book Search
   => NEWS, NOTES, and ANNOUNCEMENTS - Local Gas Prices
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DO IT YOURSELF - Google Book Search
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Use Google Book Search http://books.google.com to search the
full text of books.

What books?  Good question.  Google has partnered with *some*
libraries and *some* publishers to make the full text of 
certain books searchable.  In general we're talking about
books that are out of copyright (in the public domain) or
the publisher has given permission.

What can you see inside the book?  That depends.  Sometimes
you can see the whole book.  If a book is in the public
domain or the author or publisher has given permission, the
book may be fully viewable.  In these cases you can even
download, save, and print a PDF.

Limited preview lets you look at selected pages, and snippet
view shows information about the book (like a library card
catalog) along with a few sentences showing your search word
in context.

Once you have your search results, Google points you toward
options for buying the book or for locating it in a nearby
library.  Since I've edited a book myself, I couldn't resist
searching on the title.  It was interesting to find that
according to Google Book Search, my book is held in 216
libraries.  The closest is my local university library and
the furthest away is in South Africa.

So, what kind of searches work well in Google Books?  
Academic researchers have found that searching inside the 
book can surface material in their own library containing
desired information.  (Libraries' online catalogs do not
usually contain full text.)  Because many of the books in
Google Book Search are old and out of print, genealogists,
crafters, and historians are gaining access to materials
and discovering references that would have otherwise not
been available.

Try searching on 'calvin and hobbes', 'heirloom seeds', or
'trout fishing' for some interesting references.  Remember
to look for the notation snippet view, limited preview, or
full view.  Have fun and let us know what you find!

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Notes, News, and Announcements
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Results may vary, but if you want to try out a few web sites
intended to inform you about gas prices in your area, try 
these:

GasBuddy.com http://www.gasbuddy.com - Where users post gas
prices.  According to GasBuddy the station where I normally
buy gas is selling regular at $4.21 a gallon.

Gas Price Data http://www.fueleconomy.gov - Sponsored by the
U.S. Department of Energy.  This site links you out to local
web sites.  SanDiegoGasPrices.com says my station is charging
$4.22 a gallon.

Mapquest Gas Prices http://gasprices.mapquest.com - They get
their data from Oil Price Information Service.  Hmmm, this 
site has my gas at $4.16, but the info is 3 days old.  

Gas Price Watch http://www.gaspricewatch.com - Data comes 
from registered "spotters" who enter it at the web site.
A spotter for this site posted a price of $3.69 and it says
the data is 3 days old.

A quick trip to my local station confirms an actual selling
price of $4.21 9/10 per gallon.

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Shamel Information Services Web Site 
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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.

Cynthia L. Shamel, editor

Shamel Information Services
  Decisions-Informed
Telephone: +1 858-673-4673

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