ANN ARBOR—Searching for a killer whale but just
can’t seem to find one? Try looking behind your mouse.
The Internet Public Library (IPL) at the University of
Michigan School of Information has released Orca Search
children that’s just a mouse click or two away through the
IPL Youth division.

“Orca Search offers a fun-to-use resource for middle
school students who are interested in developing research
skills while learning about killer whales,” says David
Carter, director of the IPL. “If you want to know what
research scientists do, if you’re interested in how long a
killer whale can get or if you’re wondering how much a
whale weighs, you’ll find the answers with Orca Search.”
Kids follow five steps to become “Orca Searchers” and learn
how to create their own research log to collect and
document online information about killer whales using Web
links.

“Using their critical thinking skills, students can
explore issues about whales in captivity and come to their
own conclusions about the issues,” says Carter. Teachers
can also use Orca Search as a classroom teaching unit.
Lucy M. Schiller, a graduate student at the School of
Information, created Orca Search.

The Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/) is
an educational initiative of the School of Information and
is sponsored by Bell & Howell Information and Learning.
Staffed by professional librarians with assistance from
students and volunteer librarians from around the world, it
has been visited by more than 7 million people from more
than 100 countries. The library maintains a collection of
online ready reference works; responds to reference
questions; creates Web resources; evaluates and categorizes
resources on the Internet; and provides a space for
exhibits.

The School of Information (http://www.si.umich.edu) is
a graduate-level program offering the master of science in
information and the Ph.D. in information.