HBCU Gateway Searches
Last updated: 12/29/2007 07:58:26 PM
Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I will move the earth" Archimedes, 287 - 212 BC


1. Search the Websites of all HBCUs simultaneously ... or
2. Search the Websites of all HBCU Libraries simultaneously ... or
3. Search all Core Sites in the HBCU network simultaneously


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1. How is the Gateway's search of the Websites of all HBCUs customized?

This form enables its users to search the Websites of all of the 104 officially designated HBCUs simultaneously. Searches also include the Websites of a few organizations that provide services to the HBCU community. Each of these organizations is briefly described on the Gateway's Associations page.


In other words, this customized search only returns links to pages that are on the Websites of the 104 HBCU and on the Websites of the listed HBCU service organizations. It does not return links to any other Websites.

For example, if an HBCU administrator was concerned about "student retention", the Gateway search would only return links to items about student retention that were found on other HBCU Websites. If a student was interested in organizing a Homecoming celebration, the Gateway search would only return items about Homecomings found on other HBCU Websites. Faculty members developing grant proposals could quickly identify potential collaborators at other HBCUs because the Gateway search would only return references found on other HBCU Websites.

For an explanation of the "Core Sites" search, please consult to the DLL's Digital Divide Note #4 -- "A ReferenceRank View of HBCUs" (November 2006)

2. How is the Gateway's search of the Websites of all HBCU libraries customized?

This form enables its users to focus on the Websites of the libraries of all of the 104 officially designated HBCUs simultaneously. Searches also include the Websites of an organization that is dedicated to providing services to the HBCU libraries:

In other words, this customized search only returns links to pages that are on the Websites of the libraries of the 104 HBCUs and on the Website of the listed service organization. It does not return links to any other Websites.

3. Search tips:

a. Users who want to limit their search to a subset of a group can do so by adding Google's "inurl" command to the search box.

  • To limit the search for "distance learning" to Web pages at North Carolina A&T (ncat.edu), the user would input the following terms in the search box:

        distance learning inurl:ncat.edu

  • To search more than one site, add the boolean "OR" to the list of "inurl" specifications, e.g.:

        distance learning (inurl:ncat.edu OR inurl:famu.edu OR inurl:howard.edu
        OR inurl:hamptonu.edu)
b. Users who want to exclude some Website's pages can do so by using Google's negative "minus sign" boolean operator, e.g.:

  • To exclude the Web pages of the libraries of Howard University (howard.edu/library) and of Hampton University (hamptonu.edu/universityservices/library) from a search for "distance learning", a user would input:

    distance learning -inurl:howard.edu/library -inurl:hamptonu.edu/universityservices/library