Learn about Federated Searching

This information is excerpted from HLSC Newsletter:

What is a Federated Search Engine and How Does it Work?For the past several months, Access PA and POWER Library have alerted you to the statewide WebFeat Enterprise federated search system currently being implemented by HSLC/Access PA and the POWER Library, with the guidance and support of Commonwealth Libraries. What is a federated search engine and how can it work best for you? To help answer these questions, you might want to take a few minutes to perform a literature search for federated search engine using the POWER Library resources available to you. Under General Reference in the POWER Library interface, we selected EBSCOhost. In the EBSCOhost interface, we searched for federated search engine in the following databases: Professional Development Collection, ERIC, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, and the Teacher Reference Center, which resulted in 16 articles, some of which are available in full-text. NOTE: Academic and Special Collection Libraries may access these resources under the Search Other Resources link on the Access PA website.

You might find the following full-text articles of particular interest in helping to understand federated search engines:

F*****ED Searchers? The Debate about Federated Search Engines. By: Fahey, Sue. Feliciter, 2007, Vol. 53 Issue 2, p62-63.

What We’ve Learned FROM DOING Usability Testing ON OPENURL RESOLVERS AND FEDERATED SEARCH ENGINES. By: Cervone, Frank. Computers in Libraries, Oct2005, Vol. 25 Issue 9, p10-14.

Libraries Online: Competing with Search Engines. By: Yahe, Paula. Media &Methods, Jan/Feb2005, Vol. 41 Issue 4, p4-5.

Thoughts About Federated Searching. By: Jacss, Piter. Information Today, Oct2004, Vol. 21 Issue 9, p17-20.