The "Google Phenomenon" has fostered a generation of users who are accustomed to searching for information across a variety of sources all at once. Some professional librarians believe that the federated search system interface enables users to search library catalogs, subscription databases, e-journals, and other digital repositories in a way that is similar to Google and other search engines (Miller, 2004;Fryer, 2004;Cervone, 2005). While the cross-database searching capability presents a powerful "one-stop shopping" solution, it may also promote a simplistic search mentality that values quick retrieval of full-text documents and lowers users" interest in conducting more sophisticated searches or understanding what sources their searches are running against (Frost, 2004;Curtis & Dorner, 2005). It is critical for librarians to keep in mind that the operational model of federated searching is different from that of Google in multiple aspects. At the minimum, library users of federated searching need to select a set of databases under a "subject area" to start the search (Cervone, 2005). Unfortunately, as Cervone (2005) has indicated, currently users are not equipped with a "built-in mental model of federated searching." As a result, librarians face great challenges in incorporating federated searching into reference services and teaching patrons to make use of federated search systems effectively.
The purpose of this panel is to explore various aspects of federated searching systems, including user perceptions of how federated search systems work, how libraries use such systems to support user research, how libraries prepare users to take advantage of such systems, and how to design user-centered federated search systems. Tang is an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College, and Hsieh-Yee is a professor at the School of Library and Information Science, Catholic University of America. Both of them have substantial experience in studying users' mental models and search behaviors. They will present findings on user perceptions of MetaLib Combined Search. As the Director of Digital Library Initiatives at University of Rochester Libraries, Lindahl has managed the development of four generations of user interfaces for metasearch products. He has extensive experience with and has presented multiple projects on User-Centered Design. He will describe the development of a metasearch program to facilitate "two clicks to full-text." Groves is the Product Manager of MetaLib, a metasearch system developed by Ex Libris. As an integral part of Ex Libris' user-oriented development process, she works closely with customer user groups, focus groups, and advisory panels. She will present a vendor's perspective on the design of user-oriented search systems. Lampert is the Chair of Reference and Instructional Services and the Coordinator of Information Literacy at California State University at Northridge. She has both led national workshops and published multiple articles on information literacy. She will discuss her views on the relevance of federated search skills to information literacy standards and library instructions.
User Perception of MetaLib Combined Search
Rong Tang & Ingrid Hsieh-Yee
We will report on an investigation of users' perceptions of MetaLib "Combined Search", a federated search system implemented in the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC). Two groups of users participated in the study: Professional reference librarians from selected WRLC universities and MLS students from the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) of the Catholic University of America (CUA). We collected data through a survey that contained questions about user background, experience with MetaLib, and opinions about federated searches, and a series of screen shots that