One way to organize several of your online research tools (and other web favorites) is on a customizable, portable iGoogle page. Unlike the home pages that preceded it (e.g. Yahoo, the old Google home page, etc.), iGoogle allows you to organize more content by providing both a main home page and the option to add topic-based tabs. You can even create your own personalized gadgets to add to your page and/or share with others. Like other Google tools, iGoogle is free, but requires that you have a Google account.

For example, the sample below has a home page and topic-focused tabs about books, poetry, technology, education, and science. There's also a customized gadget for MLWGS library that links to the library's blog.




Getting Started
Go to the iGoogle page and click Get started in the (Don't have an iGoogle page? Get started.) message under the search box.



This will bring up a pop-up screen on which you choose a theme (you can change this later) and some topics of interest to you (e.g. news, art, technology, politics).


Based on these choices, Google creates a starter page for you that you can then customize to your needs. At this point, your iGoogle page only exists in your browser's cookies, so before you spend time customizing, make sure you sign in to your Google account by clicking Sign In at the upper right (beside Classic Home).


Customizing your iGoogle page
Once you're signed in to your Google account, start customizing your page. You can customize the weather gadget with your zip code, rearrange gadgets by dragging and dropping them, delete gadgets, or add new ones. To add new ones, click on Add Stuff (link near the bottom left of the page's header image). This will take you to the page pictured below where you can find new gadgets like ones for Google Book and WorldCat.




Notice that you can browse for gadgets by topic using the menu on the left or search for gadgets using the box in the upper right. Don't see your favorite blog, news, or other RSS feed listed? Click the Add feed or gadget link near the lower left, then copy and paste the URL of the desired feed into the box that appears. You can even create your own gadget by following the link on the lower right and completing a few simple steps.

You can add the gadget for MLWGS Library shown below to your iGoogle page by clicking the image.


Have fun!