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• Feb. 4, 2009|
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The many faces of Google: Specialized search tools

By Bonnie Shucha, Head Reference Librarian, U.W. Law School

Feb. 4, 2009 – With its simple interface and massive size, Google has come to dominate the search engine market. Despite its popularity, however, many users are unaware of some of its more specialized search tools. The following is a selection of tools that are especially useful to legal professionals.

• Google Alerts

This is a tool which every lawyer should know. Google Alerts allow you to enter search terms and receive notification of new content matching those terms. Specify news, blog, web, video, or group content or all of the above, then select frequency and delivery method (email or RSS). Alerts are excellent for monitoring what people are writing about you, your firm, your clients and their products, as well as keeping an eye on the competition.

• Google News

Search thousands of news stories, both current and historical. Available titles include The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, and many more.

• Google Blog Search

Learn how bloggers, including many legal experts, are weighing in on various issues.

• Google Scholar

Search scholarly papers to identify relevant research articles. View the article citation, number of times cited, and a link to the full text if available.

• Google Books

Search the full text of millions of books, including many legal texts. View a preview of the book and in some cases the full text.

• Google U.S. Government Search

Search U.S. government information from federal, state, and local government sources.

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