MetaSearching and Beyond: Implementation Experiences and Advice from an Academic Library

摘要

In March 2003 the University of Mississippi Libraries made our MetaSearch tool publicly available. After a year of working with this product and integrating it into the library Web site, a wide variety of libraries interested in our implementation process and experiences began to call. Libraries interested in this product have included consor-tia, public, and academic libraries in the United States, Mexico, and Europe. This article was written in an effort to share the recommendations and concerns given. Much of the advice is general and could be applied to many of the MetaSearch tools available. Google Scholar and other open Web initiatives that could impact the future of MetaSearching are also discussed. Many libraries are looking for ways to facilitate the discovery process for users. Implementing a one-stop search product that does not require database-specific knowledge is one of the paths libraries are choosing.1 As these search engines are made available to patrons, the burden of design falls to the library as well as to the product developers. Most library users may be familiar with a few databases, but the vast majority of electronic resources remain unrevealed. Using a MetaSearch product, a single search is broadcast out to similar and divergent electronic resources, and search results are returned and typically mixed together. MetaSearch results are returned in real-time and link the user to the native interface. Although there are many products that support one-stop searching, the University of Mississippi Libraries chose to purchase Innovative Interfaces' MetaFind product because it tied into a digital initiative partnership with Innovative.