[WEB4LIB] Re: metasearch engines

[Matt]

Danny, All,

Since Northern Light Search (http://www.nlsearch.com) searches the web as well

as a private collection of documents, would it [not] qualify as a metasearch?

Some of you may also remember webtaxi's Java based Supersearch. It's been
around since '96 and the returned hit interface needs a great deal of work.
(unless you have a 19"-21" inch montor)  However,  the concepts are very
sound.  A meta search engine that searches multiple meta-search engines is
still a leading edge concept.

Though meta search engines are regarded in terms of the large "portal" sites,
would it  be of  value to see the trend emerge toward subject specific sites
accessable via intermediate meta query interfaces?

Webtaxi.com http://www.webtaxi.com 's  international (regional i.e. Caribbean)

breakdown of search engines is useful. It is also a quasi-meta search in that
the search query must still be manually entered. (i.e. an interface that
searches 5+ high quality content sites with local their search engines.)

I'd like to really enjoy seeing a trend emerge in the development of
subject/audience oriented meta-search environments.  Especially ones that can
metaquery the local searches of organization web-sites.  For example it would
be good for a medical library to build a meta search of the Am Medical Assoc,
Am Lung Assoc and all the other.  A fun database project no?

The big metaqueries are a much smaller universe in terms of resource
identification, but the intermediate or local organization search engines
should be cataloged.  How many search engines are out there compared with
actual "pages" of content?  The task is still immense, but more realistic in
terms of some sembalnce of comprehensive searching.

Sites that have search engines 1) have enough content to warrant one and 2)
are genrally maintained by someone with enough techincal experience to mount
it.  It  would leave out a lot of resources, but in most cases it would be for

the better.

Is this the ultimate task for the Dublin Core?

Thoughts?

-Matt
--
Matt Theobald
Information Specialist
Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System
See http://www.ihets.org
Ring 317.263.8919