Google Scholar -- One More Book-Related Tool from the Internet Giant
- by Michael Stillman
Google Scholar homepage is quintessential Google.
For those who collect or sell books this may not appear to be of significant value. Not necessarily. Along with the valuable information that may be contained in these scholarly articles, many include bibliographies, while Google Scholar reports when these works have been cited elsewhere. It may lead you to material appropriate to a collection of which you were unaware. If you collect or sell within a particular field, as opposed to being a generalist, scholarly information can only be helpful.
Here is one warning, though, about Google Scholar. Many of the articles offered come with a price – literally. Some require a payment to read. Others are available free, but only through subscription services offered by your local library. This should be a benefit for libraries. While Google has certainly moved into the library's territory, offering its book search along with tons of other data via the internet, here is a case where Google is sending people to the library. When it comes to material that is not offered free, Google generally only shows a few lines, and often, just a synopsis, not the part mentioning the searched terms. For that, you will need to visit your library.
To access Google Scholar, go to the Google home page, click "more" above the search box, and then "Scholar" (the final choice).
