Federated Searching

ABSTRACT

With an increasing number of libraries implementing federated searching to help users negotiate the complex electronic database environment, it is important to note how users are being instructed to use these resources. This article presents the results of examinations of the Web sites of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions that currently use federated search products. It analyzes help guides and search tips related to federated searching to determine what concepts are being explained to users and how the information is being communicated. The result of the evaluation of these Web sites is a list of “best practice” guidelines that may be used by librarians creating their own federated searching guides. doi:10.1300/J136v12n03_03     

High Marks for SmartMarks (A New Bookmarks Organizer from Netscape)

Abstract

Smart Marks, a new software tool from Netscape, is marketed as “Web surfing for people with a life.” This reviewer agrees that it is very useful for those of us who have a hard time keeping track of our bookmarks in Netscape Navigator. SmartMarks allows you to organize your bookmarks into folders, allows you to label and assigri key words to both bookmarks and folders, and monitors your bookmarks for changes in content or location. This last feature makes it an especially useful tool for librarians who have taken on all or part of the responsibility for maintaining a library's home page.     

A Review of “Technology and Literacy: 21st Century Library Programming for Children and Teens”

ABSTRACT

Given the endless volume of information available today, searchers are forced to satisfice when searching. The first satisfactory alternative is chosen over the best. Digital library search services, however, do not support satisficing users. There is no single, simple, comprehensive search service available to end-users to meet their need to gather information on alternatives from all information repositories accessible through a digital library. Federated search services bridge the gap between satisficing searchers and today's digital libraries.     

The Accuracy and Thoroughness of a Federated Search Engine in the Health Sciences

SUMMARY

Research studies show that researchers need to access multiple resources to ensure a comprehensive search. In the health care field, health professionals' time is very limited, and they would benefit from being able to access multiple resources simultaneously. Health professionals must retrieve the most relevant and accurate information possible when applying clinical information to patient care. While a federated search engine may offer speedy search capabilities, do they offer the same accuracy and relevancy as directly searching the core health sciences databases? The purpose of this study is to describe, evaluate, and compare searching health sciences topics using a federated search engine versus searching five core health sciences databases directly. The following databases were selected for this study: WebFeat (federated search engine), MEDLINE, CINAHL, Science Citation Index, Biological Abstracts, and EMBASE. While WebFeat is convenient for searching multiple databases simultaneously, it does not offer the advanced search limits offered by directly searching some of the health sciences databases. The lack of limits available in the federated search engine means increased results that may not be relevant to the busy health care professional.     

Planning and Implementing a Federated Searching System: An Examination of the Crucial Roles of Technical,Functional, and Usability Testing

SUMMARY

Federated searching software offers much promise to users as a convenient way of accessing the wealth of electronic information resources libraries provide. But metasearching is not the same as Google searching; care must be taken in organizing and presenting search options and results so that they are comprehensible to users. From software installation to usability testing and creating documentation, most of the work of implementation is behind-the-scenes and hidden from most library staff and users; however, the decisions made during implementation greatly affect staff and user experiences with the product as well as its overall utility and usability. Systematic testing of the product is necessary to make informed and defensible decisions. This article details three layers of testing (technical, functional, and usability) recommended during implementation of a federated search product, based on best practices in the literature, metasearch standards, and the authors' own experiences with implementing a locally developed broadcast search system and the federated search system WebFeat.     

Researching Recent U.S. Legislation Using Free Sites on the Internet

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of gender, college status, and prior Internet experience on the use of Internet resources. The subjects were 96 patrons randomly selected from those using the Internet terminals at the University Library of the University at Albany, SUNY, during the first two months of 1995. We found that the majority of users shared the following characteristics: they are male undergraduates affiliated with the social sciences and are novice users who have less than six months experience. Respondents felt strongly that the Internet is useful, and has been an important resource for their research and assignments. Users have high expectations of searching capabilities, while they feel neutral or disappointed with browsing. Our findings indicate that libraries should provide access to the Internet. They also suggest that libraries should take the lead in developing searchable indexes and making info-bases better organized for the ease and effectiveness of browsing.     

应对突发性水源污染的城市应急供水的进展与展望

城市应急供水工作是近年来供水行业面临的新任务、新挑战。对近年来环境污染事故频发的情况和原因进行了梳理,简要介绍了国内在应急供水方面开展的主要研究课题,重点总结了国家水体污染控制与治理科技重大专项(以下简称水专项)自来水厂应急处理课题的研究进展和主要研究成果。最后,提出了加强应急供水的总体战略和下一步研究方向。     

《平面动画设计》课程教学中所用综合案例的设计与实践

《平面动画设计》是一门实践性较强的课程,因此适合选用综合案例教学法。在依据教学大纲,分析教学目标和教学内容的基础上,阐述如何设计该课程教学中所用综合案例并分析实践后的教学效果。     

高职学生程序设计能力培养的探讨

程序设计是计算机教学的基础与重点。应结合高职学生本身特点,针对高职教学的要求,把理论教学与实际项目有机结合,通过科学选题和合理设计实践,有效组织项目教学,以最大限度地激发学生的学习兴趣,鼓励学生积极参与到项目中,提高学生的理论能力和实践能力,切实培养学生的职业能力。     

《GIS软件工程》实验模式研究

GIS软件工程实验是《GIS软件工程》教学过程中的重要环节,分析《GIS软件工程》的特点,结合在教学实验过程中具体的问题,提出基于柔性案例的GIS软件工程实验模式,并从柔性案例的选择、柔点的选择设置方法、实验过程等方面,分别展开描述,对实验实施中的优缺点进行总结。