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May 08, 2004
Federated Searching and the OPAC
Information about our library collections is becoming increasingly fragmented. Most libraries have hard copy books and journals that are indexed in an online library catalog or OPAC. Web sources may be included in the OPAC, or in a separate database of web links. Other parts of the collection, such as MCLE video and audio tapes are often inventoried in another database or file. Then there are electronic subscriptions.
Even if electronic resources are included in the library catalog, this non-book information may not fit well into a MARC record. Trying to do so can be labor intensive, and not terribly satisfying.
As our collections grow in non-traditional ways, we have to ask ourselves if our resources are becoming increasingly hidden from the average user. We know about the invisible web and we certainly want to avoid the invisible library! That's why I get excited about the idea of cross-database searching ala Google and federated search engines. Because if people can't find the information we have, what's the point in having it?
If you're interested in these kinds of issues, you may want to read a recent Library Journal article, "Federated Search Engines Put it in it's Place" and the subsequent Web4Lib discussion on the relationship between the OPAC and other resources, and how to blend them all together into a real, virtual collection.
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