[Web4lib] Does anyone need a federated OPAC search?

[Ross Singer]

On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 1:15 PM, Tim Spalding <tim at librarything.com> wrote:
> I'm getting a lot of replies, but they're from big institutions with
> big needs and, usually, existing systems. It's obvious where the
> "money" is at, but it's also a solved problem. There are commercial
> solutions and, as Jeremy Frumkin pointed out to me, there is a
> high-quality open source solution for institutions with Z39.50
> targets, LibraryFind from Oregon State (http://libraryfind.org).
>
There are scores of libraries (even large libraries -- Atlanta-Fulton
County Public Library, for example) that either don't have Z39.50
servers or don't expose them for whatever reason.

I think the need is there at all levels - even where the "solved
problem" is supposedly at, it's not.  They just target the "obvious",
"political" and "easy" targets.

I feel there's a huge failure of imagination in this space, and the
"big money" federated search systems (and their general awfulness)
only exacerbates this by supposedly packaging an answer.

-Ross.