A search engine is an old internet term that’s still used to refer to a search website, such as Bing or Google. The basic concept is that you enter a few words and get a list of hyperlink results. Unfortunately, it’s often a process of wading through numerous links that don’t seem relevant to your search. However, with the right tools or keywords, you can become a master of the internet search.

When I was a high school teacher-librarian, I taught students how to use Boolean operators to narrow or broaden a search of the library database for books and newspaper or magazine articles. Boolean operators were created as part of Boolean algebra in 1850, but modern search engines still recognize Boolean operators.

One operator is to type AND, in capitals, between search terms to instruct the search engine to include all of the terms, and modern search engines use this operator by default. However, two other operators are particularly useful. Type OR in capitals between terms, such as “carrots OR beets,” to find websites that........

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