Most everyone knows about Google and most recently, Bing. Many people however, may not know that there are specific search engines that can be used to perform certain types of searches.

For searches where you may need an expert on a certain topic there are ipl2, Virtual LRC and Google Scholar. There are also sites where one can get personal help from an expert and those are Sources and Experts, Ask a Librarian and AllExperts.

For area specific searches where there is a discipline that requires a more fine tuned search you can choose USA.gov, DirectGov, ForeignGov and Govt. Publications and Maps for government related searches and FindLaw, LOUiS and Intute for Law searches. To obtain information on Engineering, Science and Technology you can search using Scirus, Natl. Science Digital Lib. and Intute. Intute is also an excellent resource for searches related to health and life sciences. For arts and humanities try Intute or Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

There are also time line specific searches that include ancient history, recent, historical and today. These search engines include Google News, NewsNow, 10×10, Yahoo News, World News Network, American Memory, ipl2, Digital History, and Ancient History Sourcebook.

For facts on people, places or companies you can use Biography.com, Who2, CIA World Factbook, Country Studies, Stately Knowledge, ASK.com, NYPL: Searching for Company Information, Yahoo, or Columbia Encyclopedia.

You can even search sites that are specific to media, opinions, special results or if you are a child, you can look for sites on age appropriate search engines.

So the next time you plan to do a search, know that you have more options than a generic search engine and may be able to find out more information by using a search engine that caters to the specific type of search you need to perform. There are more options out there than you may know.