WebFeat Presents 3rd Annual President's Awards for Innovation

Boston Public Library, Denver Public Library, Princeton University, University of Pittsburgh, GALILEO and OPLIN win top honors

On January 21, 2006, WebFeat President Todd Miller presented the 2006 WebFeat President’s Awards for Innovation. Boston Public Library (BPL) and Denver Public Library received top honors in the public library category; Princeton University and the University of Pittsburgh Libraries won the awards in the academic library category; while GALILEO ( Georgia’s Virtual Library) and OPLIN (Ohio Public Library Information Network) won the awards for top multi-library networks. The WebFeat President’s Awards for Innovation recognize innovation in design and function in WebFeat clients’ state-of-the-art information systems.

The awards were presented at a special dinner ceremony held during the 2006 ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. 3rd annual awards festivities took place in the private San Jose dining room of Biga on the Banks — one of the most acclaimed restaurants in Texas. Accepting the WebFeat President’s Awards on behalf of their respective libraries were: Bernard Margolis, President, Boston Public Library; Rick Ashton, City Librarian, Denver Public Library; Merryll Penson, Executive Director, GALILEO; Nancy Pressman Levy, Interim Head – Donald E. Stokes Library with Antonio Barrera, Manager Web Development, Princeton University; and Amy Knapp, Assistant University Librarian with Jeff Wisniewski, Web Services Librarian, the University of Pittsburgh. Holly Carroll, Deputy Director, Cleveland Public Library, accepted the award on behalf of OPLIN.

The winning libraries were chosen from among 20 nominees for bold innovation in the design of their federated search interface and functionality. Miller noted in his presentation remarks, “WebFeat systems are custom configured in partnership with client libraries, and each system offers an array of features and user ergonomics that meet the specific needs of each community. This year, Princeton University Library pushed the federated search envelope with the launch of its PUL QuickSearch system, while the 384-library GALILEO system has raised the bar for what a multi-library network federated search implementation can be."

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ARL Institutions Showcase their Custom WebFeat Federated Search Systems

Academic Library Panel draws crowd at ALA

On Saturday, January 21, 2006, librarians from Princeton University, Brigham Young University, the University of Pittsburgh, GALILEO (the University System of Georgia), the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Westminster College showcased their custom WebFeat federated search systems. Nancy Pressman-Levy, Interim Head of the Donald E. Stokes Library, Princeton University and Antonio Barrera, Manager Web Development, began the event by demonstrating Princeton's PUL QuickSearch system. The fully customized PUL QuickSearch, which contains many feature innovations, recently replaced Princeton's previous federated search system provided by Ex Libris.

Jeffrey Belliston, Chair of General Information Services for BYU, demonstrated how 5 completely different, customized WebFeat interfaces meet the needs of BYU's different campuses (Provo, Idaho, Hawaii) and different professional schools. Meanwhile, Amy Knapp, University Librarian, University of Pittsburgh and Jeff Wisnieski, Web Services Librarian, discussed the custom branding and marketing of Pittburgh's Zoom! system.

Merryll Penson, Executive Director of GALILEO, discussed the scope of GALILEO's WebFeat implementation. WebFeat's pilot, currently providing federated searching for 384 Georgia libraries, will go live in the next few weeks. Ellen Starkman, Acting Manager Library Systems, University of Illinois at Chicago, represented WebFeat's longest standing academic library client. Starkman discussed how the University Libraries of the University of Illinois, Chicago, have worked in partnership with WebFeat for 6 years to improve federated searching for academic libraries.

Jennifer Foy, Systems Librarian, Westminster College provided a unique perspective on small college federated search implementations. Westminster College's custom Griffin Search replaced the library's previous federated search product from Muse. Foy pointed out that WebFeat's no-hassle factor, interface customization and integrated usage tracking, have made WebFeat the perfect choice for a library of their size and budget.

Read Case Studies about the University of Pittsburgh Zoom! system and Westminster College's Griffin Search.

WebFeat Partners with EBSCO

Partnership to integrate WebFeat federated searching with EBSCO's A-Z family of products

At ALA Midwinter Meeting, EBSCO and WebFeat announced a partnership that pairs WebFeat's newest federated search engine, WebFeat Express, with EBSCO’s online title listing service EBSCO A-to-Z ®.

WebFeat Express, to be introduced in March, is a streamlined version of the original WebFeat federated search engine. Designed to appeal to the budgets and administrative demands of small to medium-size libraries, WebFeat Express allows clients to handle federated search configuration with minimal effort using WebFeat’s intuitive admin module .

"The addition of WebFeat Express into EBSCO’s A-to-Z family of products enables us to offer customers a federated search alternative that is both economical and built on the best technology available," said Oliver Pesch, EBSCO’s Chief Strategist of E-Resources.

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Technology Showcase Features WebFeat's SMART™ COUNTER-compliant usage tracker

On January 23rd WebFeat presented a technology showcase demonstrating how SMART™, WebFeat's COUNTER-compliant federated search usage tracker can help libraries maximize electronic resources. The recently upgraded SMART is the most sophisticated database usage tracking and reporting system ever developed. SMART enables libraries to generate a wealth of usage statistics and reports with a few mouse clicks. Libraries can quickly gain a detailed understanding of usage patterns at their library.

SMART logs and reports key metrics for any database integrated in a library's WebFeat system, including number of search requests, number of full record/next set requests, search terms/arguments, location, and date/time information. SMART can provide granular information on usage by individual library, branch, or department.

Using SMART, library administrators can access sophisticated usage reports and trend analysis within seconds. Administrators can determine which databases require more concurrent user licenses and which need to be weeded.

Learn More about SMART.

WebFeat Booth Traffic Heavy Throughout Midwinter Meeting

The WebFeat booth at ALA MidWinter meeting drew an unprecedented level of booth traffic for the company. Despite a reduced attendance level for the meeting overall, WebFeat experienced its busiest conference ever. Attendees scooped up hundreds of newly designed WebFeat tote bags and several thousand guesses were entered in our SMART jelly bean contest - promoting our SMART technology showcase. 2 winners of the jelly bean contest received 4GB Apple iPod nano MP3 players.

WebFeat had its largest staff yet in attendance at an ALA convention. Staff members held working meetings with clients at the WebFeat booth, while nearly a thousand librarians stopped by to learn more about WebFeat products and services.