The time machine: federated searching today and tomorrow Available to Purchase

Purpose –  – To explore the searchability and search results obtained from the Central Search federated search engine product.Design/methodology/approach – Common keywords are used to test how Central Search processes the search query and how it categorizes search results by subject.Findings – Central Search offers a wide number of results but is not as effective in sorting results by subject.Research limitations/implications – The literature on federated searching is limited because of the products have only recently been released. More study is necessary to determine how effective Central Search and related federated search engines will be for more refined, subject‐specific searches.Practical implications – This assessment emphasizes some of the problematical aspects of federated searching in an academic library environment.Originality/value – Responds to the need for a practical demonstration of how federated search products such as Central Search actually perform searches and how they processes the myriad results they retrieve.