WebFeat Presents 2005 President's Awards for Innovation

Chicago Public Library, University of Illinois at Chicago and SEFLIN receive top honors for innovation in federated search systems

The awards were presented by WebFeat President Todd Miller at a dinner ceremony held during the 2005 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. Festivities took place in the exclusive Salon du Mistral of the acclaimed Mistral Bistro. Accepting the WebFeat President’s Awards on behalf of their respective libraries were Mary Dempsey, Commissioner for Chicago Public Library, Nancy John, Assistant University Librarian/Associate Professor University of Illinois at Chicago, and Tom Sloan, Executive Director, SEFLIN.

The WebFeat President’s Awards for Innovation recognize innovation in design and function in WebFeat clients’ state-of-the-art information systems. Chicago Public Library received top honors in the public library category, recognizing its leading edge work in the development and placement of hundreds of dedicated “Find It!” information workstations throughout the city. As the first US academic library to launch a WebFeat system, The University of Illinois at Chicago won the academic library category for its pioneer role in federated searching. SEFLIN won the award for top multi-library network, recognizing its many innovations, including first multi-library WebFeat system, first Spanish language system, and first 508-compliant system.

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Joe Fisher, BPL

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BPL Big Dig

Boston Public Librarian demonstrates BPL
Big Dig powered by WebFeat

Event for NELINET members held during the ALA Midwinter Meeting showcases WebFeat's latest features

At a special breakfast held January, 15, 2005, Joe Fisher, Electronic Resources Librarian for the Boston Public Library, demonstrated the BPL's federated search solution: BPL Big Dig powered by WebFeat. The breakfast was held in the tea room at Novel Restaurant in the historic McKim building of Boston Public Library. Big Dig, originally launched in December of 2003, can simultaneously search over 100 information databases including the online catalog. The easy-to-use interface is seamlessly incorporated in the Electronic Resources page of the library's web site, www.bpl.org.

Big Dig was recently upgraded with the latest WebFeat 3 features. With WebFeat's dynamic results options, Big Dig users can change results on-the-fly, from merge-sort-de-dupe to grouped by resource. Users can sort results by a variety of options, including relevancy, date, title, author, and publisher. With built in thesaurus Big Dig now transparently searches pre-selected thesauri, suggesting alternate search terms, which can be executed with a mouse-click. Big Dig now also offers ProCite® and EndNote® compatibility allowing users to save search results in a variety of formats and even export them to bibliographic management packages like ProCite and EndNote.

Read more about WebFeat 3 features.

Major academic and public libraries launch WebFeat systems

The University of Oklahoma Libraries - launched its WebFeat system on January 13, 2005. University researchers can now simultaneously search over 130 databases through the LORA (Library Online Resource Access) page of the Libraries' website http://libraries.ou.edu. The University of Oklahoma Libraries is an ARL institution and the largest research library in the State of Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma Libraries is also the first academic library to make extensive use of the WebFeat API to customize their system.

The San Diego Public Library - will launch its One-Search federated search solution powered by WebFeat in the first week of February, 2005. One-Search enables patrons to search the Library’s vast catalog resources and 73 online databases simultaneously with a single intuitive interface. One-Search will be available at the Central Library and all 34 branch libraries located throughout San Diego, and it can be accessed remotely through the Library’s website http://sandiego.gov/public-library

WebFeat enters distribution agreement with Australian library services provider

WebFeat has teamed up with DA Library Technologies of Australia to distribute WebFeat throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. DA Direct will market, distribute and support WebFeat products in the Australian markets where libraries often lead the world in their use of technology. Products to be offered include: WebFeat PRISM™, the original federated search engine; SMART™, the COUNTER-compliant usage tracker; and MyWebFeat™.  DA Library Technologies was formed in 2003 by the owners of DA Information Systems which has provided services to libraries for the past 50 years.

Save the Date for VWUG!

Virtual WebFeat User Group (VWUG) meeting to provide WebFeat clients opportunity to give feedback

On March 16, 2005, WebFeat will host one of its semiannual WebFeat user group meetings--virtual style. The VWUG is the time for WebFeat clients to give feedback on current products and make suggestions for improvements. Our current product offerings are direct responses to our clients' feedback, so don't miss it! Also, we'll bring you up to speed on what is happening at WebFeat and answer any questions you might have. All attendees will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate.