A key advantage of this handbook is its arrangement. Students in an information discovery course can work through the book in a linear fashion from beginning to end. Others can dip into the text at any point that serves their needs. It someone is only interested in figuring out the best non-profit for their donations of money and time, they can use the chapter presenting exercises and explanations for exactly that kind of search. If they're intrigued by the exercises, they can use the chapters explaining the more technical side of information organization and access to learn more.
Find the Information You Need! is organized into two main sections. Section I, Make It Work, helps the become a better searcher right away by supplying practical exercises to try. The six chapters in Section I focus on concrete steps to take for results and gives only as much explanation as needed to prevent confusion. The six chapters in Section II, How and Why It Works, provide technical details and explanations of search systems and retrieval methods. Three appendices present carefully selected web-based resources where readers can find information for a broad swath of subjects. Appendix I focuses on commercial databases accessible from state library websites, at no charge to residents of the respective states. Appendix II lists freely available encyclopedias including not only Wikipedia but many others that are more focused and more authoritative. Appendix III provides links to a variety of information resources including health-related data and guidance from U.S. government agencies, huge digital libraries from major educational institutions, and other troves of knowledge treasures.
Find the Information You Need! can be used by high school and college students undertaking research assignments. But it treats such assignments as a quest for information that anyone in the real world of business, government, the sciences, journalism, and other fields might undertake. As a result, anyone wanting to go beyond the usual web search engine and the biases built into its algorithms can use the book to learn specific, sophisticated resources and techniques not only to search, but to also actually find useful, authoritative information.
