Google has a secret reference desk

Nice article. But the warning can be stronger imho: Instead of: "Don’t assume your results are the same as anyone else’s."

"The results search you get from G*gle results are unique."

G*gle does not use the easy to use Lucene search syntax but has many 'magic' things, like:

Searching for high-quality Open Access content or solid technical answers on software challenges requires a rigorous scientific methodology, combined with creativity and extensive experience. Despite being a crucial competency, it is rarely taught in depth.

Even with the rise of LLMs, effectively navigating search results remains an unsolved problem.

I don't get the difference between "verbatim" and quotation marks between words

All of that and only as an aside mentioning the best search engine for quality information: Google Scholar. Academics publish stuff about just about everything which is often open access and the search seems to include some blogs these days, not just formal journals.

And again Stuttgart City Library. It has almost become the default image of a library.

This reminds me of a problem we hit at work. Ended up going a different direction but same root issue.