Google custom search

In a post dated yesterday, Eureka! Your own search engine has landed!, Google blog announced their new customized search engine for web pages and blogs by asking; "Wouldn't it be cool if you could easily build a search engine on your blog or website tailored to the topics and areas you know and love the most?" The post goes on to explain:

"Today we are launching the Google Custom Search Engine. As you might imagine, it's a simple and straightforward product to use and understand. In a matter of minutes you can create a search engine that reflects your knowledge and interests; looks and feels like your own; and, if you choose, you can make money from the traffic you receive through Google's AdSense program. You can even invite your friends and trusted community members to add to and help build your search engine. " (Shashi Seth and R.V. Guha, Google Co-op team, 10/23/06)

I have not yet had a chance to create my own search engine, but the concept is intriguing as it appears you are able to choose the sites you want the engine to search. If that's the case, it would be a very cool tool to have as a teacher. Choosing the web sites for a class to utilize on specific assignments, like WebQuests, would enable younger students to search within a more structured, and safe, environment. Is it taking things a step too far to consider the use of a customized search engine on library web pages that specifies database searching? Would it even work?

Tags: Google, Google+blog, Google custom search, Customized search engines, Academic Libraries