In a sense, there's almost no need to review this book -- if ever
there was a book that sold itself on the basis of the authors'
reputation, this is it..But I'm here to tell you that this book surpasses these elevated
expectations, mainly because it does what books do best: it provides
history, context, and lengthy explanations of the whys and wherefores.
It provides annotated descriptions of invisible web sites and
databases as well, but most importantly it takes the bits and pieces
of advice both men have offered in many columns, articles, and
speeches and integrates them into one seamless package.
The authors explain how search engines work and why they fail to find
answers available on the Invisible Web. They point out what we know
and our students do not: some answers are not on the web at all, or
likely ever to be; bless their hearts, they even tell readers that
sometimes the only way to get their answers is in a good library,
aided by a good librarian.
They teach readers the advantages and drawbacks of general and focused
search engines, directories, and other search tools. They explain how
to recognize when you might need an invisible web site, and ways of
finding an appropriate one.
The authors are gifted explainers who never lapse into unintelligible
jargon even when explaining the technical underpinnings of search
systems, which means that their book is just as accessible to casual
users as to information professionals; anyone teaching courses in
Internet searching or information literacy should consider using it as
a text.
Throughout the book, the authors make all their points concrete,
illustrating them with real life search problems. After they've
outlined all the basic concepts, they also offer seven case studies of
research problems, seven of them answered on the invisible web.
Significantly, the eighth is not, because the authors want us to
understand that some kinds of information simply do not exist on the
web.
After a discussion of what they think the future of search engine
technology might hold, they proceed to chapters on invisible web
resources in specific subject areas. This is where the book's web site
will come in handy, because as we all know, the web is a fickle place
and web addresses often change. For each web site they've chosen, they
explain what kinds of content can be found on it and what related web
resources are available.
In case you didn't guess, I'm suggesting you buy the book and read it.
Even if you're already a proficient searcher, I guarantee you'll be
more so by the time you finish.
