Google Scholar and More: New Google Applications and Tools for Libraries and Library Users

In only a few years, Google has become an authoritative provider of multiple products which have changed the digital information landscape. This book discusses how libraries can go beyond Google’s basic search and Scholar functions to expand services for their patrons. Respected authorities reveal the expanding variety of new Google applications developed in the past few years, many of which have not received wide attention and are as yet not often used in libraries. Applications explored include Google Co-op, Google News, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, and Google Talk.

This book also discusses different important aspects of the company’s expansion of functions, such as the failure of the Google Answers experiment, the broad variety of free Google applications that librarians can use to collaborate, and the success of Google’s Blogger, among others. A helpful chronology of Google’s growth is provided, as well as comparative analyses between various Google functions and other functions that are currently available. The book is extensively referenced.

This book is an invaluable resource for academic librarians, public librarians, school librarians, library science faculty, and special librarians.

This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Library Administration.

William Miller is Dean of Libraries at Florida Atlantic University. He is Past-President of the Association of College and Research Libraries, has served as Chair of the Choice Editorial Board, and is a frequent contributor to professional journals, as well as being a contributing editor of Library Issues. He was named Instruction Librarian of the Year in 2004 by the ACRL Instruction Section.

Rita M. Pellen is the Associate Director of Libraries at Florida Atlantic University. She has served on committees in LAMA, ACRL, and ALCTS, as well as the Southeast Florida Library Information Network, SEFLIN, a multi-type library cooperative in South Florida. Honor society memberships include Beta Phi Mu and Phi Kappa Phi.