In 2005, the IAHR Newsletter No. 3 presented an article by two young hydraulic researchers who did well to introduce a new Internet resource called Google Scholar (COZZOLINO and DI PACE 2005). This new Internet search engine aims to "search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research" (Google Scholar Beta). It is a powerful tool for the common public, including school and university students. But what is "scholarly literature" as defined by Google Scholar? The search engine documentation is very quiet. Could such a tool replace scientific libraries and databases? In summary, I believe that Google Scholar fills a gap between traditional search engines and scientific databases. But it should be not be confused with traditional international scientific databases that encompass key peer-reviewed scholarly works. Researchers, engineers and academics should remember these key differences in assessing the quality of bibliographic "research" that would derive solely from Google Scholar searches. In addition, Internet "surfing" and digital material cannot replace traditional library resources nor personal experience. This is particularly true in hydraulic engineering and the future lies probably in a complementary use of all tools by expert, knowledgable researchers, academics and engineers
