The Internet’s Hidden Treasures
Do you know about the Invisible Web?  The Invisible Web refers to a vast repository of information that search engines like Google and directories like Yahoo don’t have direct access to, like databases.
In fact, the Invisible Web contains 99% of the information content of the Web; however, most of this information is contained in databases and is not indexed by search engines.1
The “invisible” or “deep web” is said to be over 500 times larger than the “surface web” or the part of the web to which the search engines already provide access such as Google or Yahoo.
It is a problem that many people are not aware of; and even if they have heard of the invisible web, they most likely will not possess the digital literacy skill level required to search it more effectively.
Interestingly enough, those who do possess the skill set required to explore the Invisible Web is your local public librarian, school library media specialist, and/or academic librarian.
Don’t you think you should know how to explore the Invisible Web too?!
To learn more about the Invisible Web, check out Jane Devine and Francine Egger-Seder’s book, Going Beyond Google: The Invisible Web in Teaching and learning. London: Facet Publishing, 2009.