Day 1 — Wednesday, 1 June 2005

Registration & Coffee
9:30 – 10:00

Recent Developments in WebSearch
10:00 – 11:00
Greg Notess, Montana State University (USA)

Start off WebSearch Academy with a look at trends in the industry—what features search engines are introducing, what new search engines are appearing, and how this affects serious researchers.

Advanced Search Techniques
11:00 – 12:00
Ran Hock, Online Strategies (USA)

Learn about the latest advanced search techniques, including fielded search and new invisible Web content, from a variety of search engines.

Break for Lunch — Visit the i-expo Exhibition
12:00 – 13:30

RSS, Blogs, Current Affairs, and News Research (Panel)
13:30 – 15:00
Karen Blakeman, RBA Information Services (UK)
Phil Bradley, Independent Consultant (UK)
Marydee Ojala, ONLINE Magazine (USA)

Learn about the widely touted RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and blogging—how they relate to information professionals' keeping up, commenting, researching, and communicating.

Coffee Break — Visit the i-expo Exhibition
15:00 – 15:30

Quality Versus Quantity: Weeding out the Bad Stuff
15:30 – 16:15
Phil Bradley, Independent Consultant (UK)

Web search results can be misleading, biased, suspect, inappropriate, and even dangerous. This session spells out the warning signs that researchers should look out for.

Specialty Search Engines
16:15 – 17:00
Karen Blakeman, RBA Information Services (UK)

General Web search engines can appear to perform miracles in retrieving relevant information, but specialized engines designed for a specific discipline or format type have their own "miraculous" qualities.

Query the Searchers
17:00 – 17:30
Karen Blakeman, Phil Bradley, Ran Hock,
Greg Notess, Marydee Ojala

End a day of intensive learning with the opportunity to ask the questions that have arisen in your minds during the presentations.

Drinks & Networking Reception
17:30 – 18:30

Get acquainted with colleagues and the conference speakers during this informal reception.

Day 2 — Thursday, 2 June 2005

Desktop Search: The New Frontier
9:00 – 10:00
Karen Blakeman, RBA Information Services (UK)

Look at what's happening on the desktop when it comes to search.

Après Search
10:00 – 10:45
Marydee Ojala, ONLINE Magazine (USA)

Once you've done your search, you need tools to help create your finished product.

Coffee Break — Visit the i-expo Exhibition
10:45 – 11:15

Global, Local & Multilingual Search Techniques
11:15-12:00
Greg Notess, Montana State University (USA)

The Internet provides worldwide reach, but with that comes the need to use different character sets, understand localization in global context, and recognize how search engines tailor their products geographically.

Multimedia Search
12:00 – 13:00
Phil Bradley, Independent Consultant (UK)

It's not just text; Web searching now includes audio, video, and moving images.

Break for Lunch — Visit the i-expo Exhibition
13:00 – 14:00

Shortcuts & Personalization
14:00 – 14:45
Ran Hock, Online Strategies (USA)

Learn how using search engine shortcuts and personalization features can speed up your research process.

Phil's Picks
14:45 – 15:30
Phil Bradley, Independent Consultant (UK)

Round out your WebSearch Academy experience with Phil's Picks, and learn about the really valuable things that can make an information professional's life easier—and help you search better and faster.