Well, I'm pretty sure we haven't settled at all on the terminology, but
here's how I use the terms:

Federated Search - I use this to mean a search where the query is sent
against a number of disparate resources; it doesn't matter if they are
local or not.

I don't use broadcast or distributed search as terms at all.

With LibraryFind, we generally describe it as a cross-collection
discovery tool; I like this description because it differentiates
between a broad discovery (i.e. across collections) approach and a
focused discovery (i.e. deeply within a collection) approach, which is a
useful distinction both from a systems side and from a user side.

Ok, I'm sure that now just added more complexity to things. 

-- jaf

==================================
Jeremy Frumkin
Assistant Dean / Chief Technology Strategist
University of Arizona Libraries

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-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Mike Taylor
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 7:41 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Serials Solutions Summon

I, and most of the people I've worked with, have been using the terms
"metasearch", "federated search", "broadcast search" and "distributed
search" synonymously for years.  Have they now settled down into
having distinct meanings?  If anyone could summarise, I'd be grateful.

 _/|_
___________________________________________________________________
/o ) \/  Mike Taylor    <[log in to unmask]>
http://www.miketaylor.org.uk
)_v__/\  "Sorry if my English didn't good enough to well explain my
idea"
	 -- Ronachai Pratanaphon.



Yitzchak Schaffer writes:
 > Andrew Nagy wrote:
 > > Summon is really more than an NGC as we are selling it as a service
- a
 > > unified discovery service.  This means that it is a single
repository of the
 > > library's content ( subscription content, catalog records, IR data,
etc.).
 > > Federated search is not apart of Summon
 > 
 > Well, if we understand "federated" to mean "bringing stuff together
by 
 > searching all of it at once," then it is, as opposed to "broadcast 
 > searching," a term you used later in this sentence.  As in, "Origin:
 > 1665?75; < L foeder?tus leagued together, allied, equiv. to foeder- 
 > (nom. s. foedus) league" from
 > http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=federated
 > 
 > It is, though, a great *breakthrough* in the area of federated
search, 
 > which is why we ordered an onsite demo immediately on hearing about
this 
 > product.
 > 
 > But I don't think I was clear with my question in any case; it occurs
to 
 > me now that my true question wasn't code-related, but seeing Summon
on 
 > the conf agenda prompted me to bring it up here.  Namely: has anyone 
 > investigated whether the arrangements SerSol has with content vendors

 > are easily duplicable by institutions for home-baked/potential OSS
products
 > 
 > -- 
 > Yitzchak Schaffer
 > Systems Manager
 > Touro College Libraries
 > 33 West 23rd Street
 > New York, NY 10010
 > Tel (212) 463-0400 x5230
 > Fax (212) 627-3197
 > Email [log in to unmask]
 > Twitter /torahsyslib