READIT - 2009 - Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

Proceedings of READIT-2009, Kalpakkam - 603 102, 29-30 Dec 2009
federated searching, its mechanism, features, advantages and disadvantages,
vendors/organization promoting the system.
BACKGROUND:
Belliston et al. in his study compared searching of articles through federated searching
and from databases. It’s found that 70% of students were preferred federated searching to the
alternative. The following factors are compared namely time, preference, results obtained, and
quality of results.
Tang et al, performed testing of ExLibrs’ MetaLib federated search tool involving both
students and librarian user groups. This study found that users viewed federated searching more
positively than librarians.
Christopher Cox, in his study pointed that federated search tools will impact library
instruction strategies and initiatives, purporting that federated searching will alter the structure of
the typical 50minute instruction session by changing how students discover appropriate
databases; a shift facilitating increased focus on effective search strategies and evaluation.
competition have been there to create to
Verne W Newton summarize that 89% of students were going to a search engine to
search for information and only 2% were starting that search with the Library’s web site. Ant it is
found from the research that students and faculties are using Google screens on the Library’s
public computers.
Ed Tallent sums the situation that students do not know what resources we have, have
little interest in learning about alternative titles, do not search resources effectively, feel
overwhelmed by the amount of information available, lack the time and inclination to learn
more, and assume we do not have titles and formats that we have collected for years.
DEFINITION:
Federated searching is a single interface that has the ability to simultaneously search
multiple data sources. The data sources may be subscribed e-resources, databases, library
catalogs, internet resources and user-specific digital storage. Using federated search software is
an attempt to improve the accuracy and relevance of individual searches while reducing the
amount of time required to search specific resources one by one. In addition, by being able to
search many sources simultaneously, more content will become visible to the user quickly.
Federated Search, also known as distributed information retrieval searches information
that cannot be accessed by conventional search engines such as Google or AltaVista by linking
search engines of resources that contain this type of information. Federated search software sits
between the user and information sources as a discovery tool that allows the user to find
122
2