Do you have a group of websites that are your favorites? Or a set of online resources that are similar in scope, that you frequently use to answer questions? If you answered yes to either question, a custom search engine may be the tool for you. In this lesson we'll be looking at two services - Rollyo and Google Custom Search Engine.
Rollyo Rollyo is easy to use! You go to their website, you set up a profile, you add the websites you want to search, you get a permanent URL for your new search engine (these are called 'search rolls'). You can even invite friends or colleagues to add sites to the search engine. Or add a search box to your blog. The drawback? Rollyo is funded by sponsored search results - you'll see these in your results. There are hundreds of interesting Rollyo search rolls out there already. These range from the library-centric (Library Organizations, Public Domain eBooks), to the politically-charged (the left and the right), to the utterly obsessive (Everything Star Wars), to just about anything else. Google Custom Search Engine Then there Google. Google has a relatively new service they're calling the Google Custom Search Engine. The concept is the same - you set up an account, create a custom search, add sites to it, and receive a permanent URL for easy access. Their service carries a pleasant benefit for we Learning 2.0 participants - you can use the same Google ID you've already set up for blogging. Some existing search site examples include an Independent Film Search, a Wine Search Engine and quite a few others. Discovery Exercise Part 1: Compare the results We've created a 'KCLS & Neighbors' search in Rollyo and Google - both search the KCLS web site as well as those of neighboring library systems (SPL, Sno-Isle, and Tacoma Public).
Choose the custom search tool you like best and create your own. If you choose Rollyo:
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Search Engines |