Federated Search is an emerging feature of automated, web based library and information retrieval systems. It is also often referred to as a portal, as opposed to simply a web-based search engine. A modern-style library in Chambéry A library is a collection of information resources and services, organized for use, and maintained by a political body, institution, or private individual. ... See also portals on Wikipedia. ... Google search is the worlds most popular search engine. ...

Purpose

As described by Peter Jacso, (2004), Federated searching consists of transforming a query and broadcasting it to a group of disparate databases with the appropriate syntax, merging the results collected from the databases, presenting them in a succinct and unified format with minimal duplication, and allowing the library patron to sort the merged result set by various criteria. In general, a query is a form of questioning, in a line of inquiry. ... The term database originated within the computer industry. ...

When this is done in traditional search engines, such as Google, only sources available on the Internet can be searched, retrieved and accessed. The large volume of documents housed in proprietary databases is not open to traditional Internet search engines, unless the documents are mounted on a website. Federated searching then requires a library, university or private firm to first purchase access with individual data source vendors and/or providers, which will license access to the information in the databases. When a cluster of databases is purchased in this manner, it is impossible for a user to search a multiple selection of databases with the same one-time single query string. Typically a user must select a specific database then search the database, collect and evaluate results, then repeat the procedure with another database. This process can be time consuming and inefficient since many duplicate entries may be found. Moreover, each database may have different search features and options, which affect the results a user retrieves. Often the user must spend time learning the unique features of each data source before being able to accurately and reliably search the database. Google, Inc. ... A modern-style library in Chambéry A library is a collection of information resources and services, organized for use, and maintained by a political body, institution, or private individual. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ...

The process

Federated search implements a computer program that allows users to access multiple data sources with a single query string located within a single interface. The user enters a search query in the portal interface’s search box and the search string is sent to every individual database that is incorporated into the portal or federated search list. This must be programmed by the portal vendor and is often called the 'search module'. Each individual database must be linked to each portal user's web IP address. Often there will be options available in sophisticated portals to select and/or deselect which data sources a user queries. A computer program is a collection of instructions that describe a task, or set of tasks, to be carried out by a computer. ... The term database originated within the computer industry. ... An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique address that devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard (IP)—in simpler terms, a computer address. ...

Generally speaking vendor portals will include Bibliographic databases, public access web-based library catalogues, known as OPACs, web based search engines like Google and in-house, or corporate data sources. Then the individual data sources send back to the portal's interface a list of results from the search query. The user can review this hit list, which is usually just the number of articles retrieved in each source. The user then typically hyperlinks to a complete list of each source; if only one record is returned, they will enter directly into the record. Some portals will merely screen scrape the actual database results and not directly allow a user to enter the data source's application. More sophisticated ones will de-dup the results list by merging and removing duplicates. There are additional features available in many portals, but the basic idea is the same: to improve the accuracy and relevance of individual searches as well as reduce the amount of time required to search for resources, albeit at the risk of yielding more irrelevant results. A bibliographic or library database is a database of bibliographic information. ... The OPAC System used at the Vyners School LRC An online public access catalog or OPAC is a computerized online catalog of the materials held in a library, or library system. ... Google, Inc. ... Screen scraping is a technique in which a computer program extracts data from the display output of another program. ... See also portals on Wikipedia. ...

Implementation

One application of federated searching is the meta-search engine; however, this is not a complete solution as many documents are not currently indexed. This is known as the the invisible web. Many more information sources are not yet stored in electronic form. Google Scholar is an example of a project trying to address this. A meta-search engine is a search engine that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and returns the results from each one. ... The deep web (or invisible web or hidden web) is the name given to the publicly accessible pages on the World Wide Web that are not indexed by search engines. ... Google Scholar is a search engine that indexes the full text of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and scholarly fields. ...

When the search vocabulary or data model of the search system is different from the data model of one or more of the foreign target systems the query must be translated into the each of the foreign target systems. This can be done using simple data-element translation or may require semantic translation. A data model is a model that describes how data are represented and used in an abstract way. ... Semantic translation is the process of using semantic information to aid in the translation of data in one representation or data model to another representation or data model. ...

Some currently popular software for the use in a library context, are WebFeat and the similarly named Web Feet, both used for searching bibliographic databases by the Z39.50 protocol. A bibliographic or library database is a database of bibliographic information. ... Z39. ...

Another popular provider is MetaLib - see http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/metalib.htm

See also

• Metasearch engine
• Funnelback
• Aggregator

A meta-search engine is a search engine that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and returns the results from each one. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... An aggregator or news aggregator or feed reader is client software that uses a web feed to retrieve syndicated web content such as weblogs, podcasts, vlogs, and mainstream mass media websites, or in the case of a search aggregator, a customized set of search results. ...

External links