Federated Search Report and Tool Kit

This is a follow-up to the October 22, 2008 Library Boy entitled Implementing a Federated Search Product.

The British site FUMSI features a new article by Jill Hurst-Wahl called Introduction to Federated Search:

"Federated search - also known as metasearch or a distributed information retrieval system - provides one portal for searching information from multiple sources. Federated search software has become necessary because the task of searching multiple databases one by one has become too onerous due to the exponential increase in the number of databases. Organisations often lease databases from several providers, each with its own database structure and search methodology. Federated search software allows users to issue a single search; the software then runs it against each of the specified target databases, returning one list of results. Hosted by the vendor or by the subscribing organisation, it provides a simplified search process for the user and enhances information discovery. "

The article is an excerpt from a larger Federated Search Report and Tool Kit available for purchase online.

Hurst-Wahl teaches digitization at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and is the author of the Digitization 101 blog.

Earlier Library Boy posts about federated searching include:

• Federated Search Symposium at the University of Calgary (February 6, 2006)
• Google Scholar Uptake in Research Libraries (June 22, 2008)