If you’re like me, you like the beaten path. Routine is a great way to stay organized and save time and energy. And of course it’s comfortable.

That said - and you all know where I’m going with this rhetorical strategy - we need to get off our self-worn paths on occasion and synchronize our selves with what’s out there.

There’s no single web site I visit more often (except www.lili.org, where I practically live) than Google. I’ve worn a deep, rutted path from my browser’s Google favorite button to the search box and then to the “Google Search” button. But just off to the side, there’s a “more >>” link. Beneath this oft-overlooked link is an array of web services highly under-recommended by such a simple label.

In keeping with my theme here, I’d like to point out Google’s map-based services which reside under the “more >>” link.

Google Maps
This maps-and-directions search engine 1-ups services such as Yahoo Maps and MapQuest by dint of its intuitive and interactive interface. Not only can you get a city map or driving directions using a natural language search, you can also locate your closest pizza, for instance. You couldn’t do this on the web 6 months ago.

Google Local
This is similar to Google Maps for the most part, offering a different interface and empahsizing the business finding functionality. Both, however, provide the option to switch between graphical and satellite maps. You can grab the map and move it with a mouse click. Double-click on a spot to recenter the map. Use the slider to zoom. (It’s fun to find your home or library and zoom all the way in, and then zoom out, step by step, until you have a global view of the world. Puts things into perspective, that does.)

Google Earth
And now, there’s Google Earth. I haven’t had a chance to play with this one yet, but it requires a software download (soon to be available), and appears to take the above services to the next level … er, dimension. That is, 3D.

I never would have expected to find these tools under the simple word “more.” But that’s exactly what they provide to the advanced web user. It’s one more trick to add to a librarian’s repertoire . And a worthy step off the beaten path. You’ll be viewing your hometown from 5,000 feet in no time.