1. Overview of Federated Searching Presented by: Peter Kanehiro LIS 672: Technology for Libraries & Information Centers (Fall 2009) Dr. Luz M. Quiroga University of Hawai‘i at M ā noa November 25, 2009 1

2. Outline What’s Federated Searching? Selection: What to Look for UH Libraries, HSPLS Representative Products Demo: OSU LibraryFind Conclusion References 2

3. What’s Federated Searching? (1) Federated Search: “A search for information using software designed to query multiple networked information resources via single interface.” - Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_f.cfm http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_f.cfm 3

4. What’s Federated Searching? (2) Search scope: expanded – OPACs (local, remote), databases (abstracting, full text), digital repositories, WWW (including “deep Web”) Software: federated search engine – Standardized protocol (Z39.50, SRW/SRU, MXG) Results presentation: uniform interface – Ranking: software feature that weights records by the degree to which they meet the query’s requirements – Deduping: removal of all but 1 occurrence of a record 4

5. What’s Federated Searching? (3) “[Database searchers] don’t go to see if another database might have more and/or better results…. Most give up and angrily leave…. They’ll go to Google….” – Dr. P é ter J á cso 5 http://www2.hawaii.edu/~jacso/

6. What’s Federated Searching? (4) How can the search burden be eased? 6

7. Selection: What to Look for Library administrator’s perspective – Administration module’s capabilities – Hosting – Pricing User’s perspective – Interface – Search progress indicator – Results display 7

8. 8 UH Libraries, HSPLS (1) 2 local library systems in Hawaii – Relevant to UHM students – Easily accessible 8

9. UH Libraries, HSPLS (2) UH: LibraryFind (planned) HSPLS: Web Feat 9

10. Representative Products (1) WebFeat Express – Vendor: WebFeat (http://www.webfeat.org/index.htm)http://www.webfeat.org/index.htm – Key characteristics: compatible with 9K dBs, native results, customizable, sort options, exportability WebFeat Enterprise (multi-library version): – Key characteristic: multiple access profiles, multiple library use tracking, multi-library authentication 10

11. Demo: OSU LibraryFind (1) Type: “an open source metasearch application developed by librarians for libraries, built with Ruby on Rails.” Developer: Oregon State University libraries Features: – Open URL resolver – Ability to locally index collections – Web-based administration – 3-tiered caching system (improves search speed) – Customizable user interface http://libraryfind.org/ 11

12. Demo: OSU LibraryFind (2) Support resources (libraryfind.org) – Blog-like online discussion – Documentation – Downloads Community ThreadSubjectAuthorDate 12

13. Demo: OSU LibraryFind (3) 13 Search box http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/ 13

14. Demo: OSU LibraryFind (4) Sort by: Relevance Author (A-Z) Date (newest 1 st ) Author (Z-A) Date (oldest 1 st ) Refine results: Material types Subjects Authors Databases Search results 14

15. Demo: OSU LibraryFind (5) (format)Title Author Content description YearPublisher, other facts of publication CitationSave This ItemMore from ‘OCLC WorldCat’ Book record 15

16. Demo: OSU LibraryFind (6) [Article]Title CitationSave This ItemFull Abstract Short abstract or other information (e.g., availability). Article record 16

17. Conclusion Convenient – Easy to use: single interface – Saves time: searches multiple sources simultaneously Products – Fit institution’s capabilities/budget Commercial Open source 17

18. References “Federated Search.” Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_search#cite_note-0 (accessed November 19, 2009).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_search#cite_note-0 Hawaii State Public Library System http://wfxsearch.webfeat.org/wfsearch/menu?cid=10134 (accessed November 22, 2009).http://wfxsearch.webfeat.org/wfsearch/menu?cid=10134 Jacso, Peter. “Thoughts about Federated Searching.” Information Today 21, issue 9: 17-20 http://eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=l xh&AN=14656508&site=ehost-live (accessed November 19, 2009). http://eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=l xh&AN=14656508&site=ehost-live Kochtanek, Thomas R. and Joseph R. Matthews. Library Information Systems: From Library Automation to Distributed Information Access Solutions. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2002. Lederman, Sol. “Federated Search Finds Content that Google Can’t Reach Part I of III.” Alt Search Engines http://www.altsearchengines.com/2009/01/11/federated-search-finds-content-that-google-cant-reach- part-i-of-iii/ (accessed November 19, 2009). LibraryFind http://libraryfind.org/home (accessed November 21, 2009).http://libraryfind.org/home Linoski, Alexis and Tine Walczyk. “Federated Search 101.” Library Journal Volume 133 (Summer 2008) http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6571320.html (accessed November 19, 2009). http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6571320.html Oregon State University. http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/ (accessed November 21, 2009).http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/ Reitz, J. M. ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_f.cfm (accessed November 20, 2009).http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_f.cfm WebFeat http://www.webfeat.org/index.htm (accessed November 22, 2009).http://www.webfeat.org/index.htm Webster, Peter M. “Challenges for Federated Searching.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 12, issue 3 / 4 (2007): 357-68 http://eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=l xh&AN=27265315&site=ehost-live (accessed November 21, 2009). http://eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=l xh&AN=27265315&site=ehost-live 18

19. 19 Thank You for Your Attention! 19