| For most of our online activities, a general search | | | | information retrieval expert. |
| engine like Google does the trick. But when | | | | The Invisible Web Directory ( also from Gary |
| researching obscure or complicated topics, being | | | | Price and search expert Chris Sherman, is a |
| able to effectively penetrate the invisible web will | | | | directory of searchable databases, categorized by |
| take you places no automated web crawler ever | | | | topic. |
| could. | | | | InfoMine ( offers a mind-boggling number of links |
| What is the invisible web? | | | | and databases, and is maintained by the University |
| The invisible web (also known as the "deep" or | | | | of California, Riverside. |
| "hidden" web) is the term ascribed to the vast | | | | Another academic site is the SJSU Academic |
| amount of information stored online that is | | | | Gateway ( from San Jose State University; it'll |
| inaccessible to regular search engines. This is | | | | get you into the SJSU library and San Jose public |
| mostly stored in databases and alternative file | | | | libraries. |
| formats, as opposed to basic, public html | | | | The Virtual Library ( has annotated subject links, |
| websites. It is, by some estimates, 500 times | | | | which can help cut down superfluous searching. |
| bigger than the "visible" web. In other words, | | | | Complete Planet ( claims access to "over 70,000 |
| when you search using MSN or Yahoo, you're only | | | | searchable databases and specialty search |
| drawing from 1/500th of the content out there. | | | | engines." |
| This leaves a lot to explore! | | | | Another comprehensive guide is WebData ( which |
| Why is it invisible? | | | | offers browse and search options. |
| There are several reasons why certain content | | | | The Librarians' Internet Index ( has a collection of |
| stays hidden. Pages with no links to other pages | | | | over 20,000 quality sites and offers a weekly |
| (that is, no "backlinks" or "inlinks") may prevent | | | | newsletter with updates and relevant links. |
| web crawling programs from retrieving | | | | The Educator's Reference Desk ( presents access |
| information. Sites that involve registration or | | | | to 3,000-plus educational resources, which you can |
| typing in a query also bar surface searches from | | | | peruse by category. |
| entering (web "spiders" just aren't that smart). | | | | The Education Resources Information Center ( |
| Content that is scripted or non-text generally | | | | provides free access to more than 1.2 million |
| won't come up either-though Google does access | | | | bibliographic records of journal articles and other |
| PDF and DOC file formats and offers these as | | | | education-related materials and, if available, |
| HTML views. | | | | includes links to full text. |
| How do you access it? | | | | OAIster ( provides one-stop "shopping" for users |
| The easiest way to breach the invisible barrier is | | | | interested in useful, academically-oriented digital |
| by starting with search engines put together for | | | | resources. It gathers all potential digital resources |
| this purpose. Many of them provide links to | | | | available in an effort to build a comprehensive |
| databases that are likely to be useful for your | | | | digital union catalog. |
| topic; others are put together by academic | | | | FindArticles ( now searches over 10 million articles |
| institutions, which generally provide high-quality | | | | from academic, industry, and general interest |
| results. Below is a list of the tried-and-true that | | | | publications. |
| guarantee to help you get below the surface | | | | MagPortal ( is another great tool for searching |
| (some may require that you pay a fee to | | | | magazine articles online. |
| subscribe to services). | | | | Remember that these are just a few of the |
| Turbo10 ( connects you to niche-specific search | | | | many, many search engines that specialize in |
| engines, and enables you to access databases | | | | "hidden web" searches-not to mention the |
| from various levels of government, businesses, | | | | hundreds of thousands of databases you can |
| and universities. | | | | search directly once you know where to find |
| Direct Search ( is an excellent compilation of | | | | them. You may find that once you go "deep," |
| specialized search tools by Gary Price, an | | | | there's no going back! |