Tampa Bay Library Consortium enables user-friendly, one-stop federated search with WebFeat Prism

Patrons access multiple databases simultaneously through single intuitive interface

Old Brookville, N.Y., December 8, 2003 - Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC), serving 93 member libraries and over 3.8 million residents in West-Central Florida, has implemented WebFeat Prism to provide federated searching of authoritative information databases. With WebFeat federated search, users at member libraries can now search multiple databases in one easy step through a single intuitive interface.

WebFeat Prism is a critical part of TBLC's Anywhere-Anytime Library initiative. The goal of the Anywhere-Anytime Library -which also includes online catalogue and circulation, e-book resources, and live chat with librarians- is to make the user's library experience easier, more convenient, and more fruitful. The WebFeat system, dubbed SmartSearch in the Anywhere-Anytime Library, gives patrons Internet access to information resources that have traditionally been under-utilized.

"Before WebFeat, our users would have to search databases individually," explains Beth Watson, TBLC Assistant Director. "Comprehensive searches took an inordinate length of time and frustrated many users. Today, with WebFeat federated search, our users can pull results from multiple databases with a single mouse click. Searches are much faster, andbecause SmartSearch links to databases validated by TBLC librariansmuch more authoritative."

TBLC's WebFeat implementation currently offers access to databases focused in four subject areas: Quick Facts or News, Business or Law, Health or Science, and Digital Images. Through the SmartSearch interface, users can search and retrieve results from 17 information resources, including Gale InfoTrac OneFile, Gale Health & Wellness Resource Center, Gale General Business File, Gale What Do I Read Next?, CNN, MEDLINE, HealthFinder, THOMAS, Hoover's Online, and numerous Florida-centric resources.

"Our mission as a consortium is to make more resources available to member libraries than they could afford individually," Watson adds. "Technology plays a leading role in achieving this mission, and WebFeat Prism is a key part of our technology mix."

The WebFeat system also includes WebFeat Usage Tracker, for tracking resource usage and measuring return on resource investments; WebFeat Authentication Manager, for managing user, group, and organization-level authentication; and WebFeat Interface Toolkit, with easy tools for designing the WebFeat interface to match the librarys web look and feel.

Says Todd Miller, Founder and CEO of WebFeat, "TBLC's Anywhere-Anytime Library and WebFeat Prism are based on the same core principle. Information has real value only when people can effectively access and use it. Were happy to help bring that value to the many public, academic, and specialized libraries that make up TBLC."

TBLC and Beth Watson are pleased as well with their WebFeat choice. "We really never considered any solution other than WebFeat, and our confidence was well-founded. SmartSearch has been up and running for a little over a month, and feedback has been very positive. We're eager to introduce the benefits of WebFeat federated search to more of our user community."

About Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC)

The Tampa Bay Library Consortium is a non-profit multi-type library cooperative comprising 93 member libraries serving 12 west central Florida counties. The counties served are Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Okeechobee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota. TBLC is supported by funding from local member dues and fees, state Library Cooperative Aid Grants and federal Library Services and Technology Act Grants.

About WebFeat
WebFeat is the developer of the remarkable, patent-pending WebFeat Prism, used by over 1,000 leading public, academic, and corporate libraries, including more than half of the top 20 U.S. public libraries. Other products include the WebFeat Usage Tracker (WUT) and the WebFeat Authentication Manager (WAM). Originally founded in 1992 as an information technology consultancy, WebFeat has earned industry recognition from leading organizations such as Gartner and Library Journal. Learn more about WebFeat at www.webfeat.org.