The answer depends on your objective. The quick answer to your question is
that union catalogs are easier to maintain and generally work better than
federated searches.

Can you say a bit more about what catalogs need to be searched and what
needs to happen? For example, do the catalogs in question belong to a
consortium and is the mechanism used to get patrons books from libraries
other than their home libraries more circ or ILL based? What kinds of
systems are involved and how have you been dealing with the need you're
hoping to meet so far? Thanks,

kyle


On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 11:02 AM, Darylyne Provost <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> I'm new to Code4Lib, so just want to say "hi" first of all :)
>
> I've searched the archives but didn't find an answer. I am wondering if
> anyone has experience with Easy Borrow
> <http://library.brown.edu/its/software/easyborrow/>, or can anyone suggest
> other potential solutions to automate searching and requesting across
> multiple catalogs?
>
> I'm sure many other libraries have similar issues: our patrons have so many
> disparate catalogs to search/request it is confusing and cumbersome. I'm
> not a programmer, and we don't have one on staff at this time. So, I am
> trying to find an existing solution for which we might be able to outsource
> customization and then turn to internal (campus) support for help with
> maintenance.
>
> Many thanks in advance for any suggestions!
>
> Darylyne
>
> **************************************
> Darylyne Provost
> Assistant Director for Systems, Web, & Emerging Technologies
> Colby College
> 207.859.5117
> [log in to unmask]
>