OpenTranslators™

The Ability To Choose the Federated Search Interface And Content Of Your Choice Using Open Standards.

January 9, 2008 – Blacksburg, VA. – CARE Affiliates announced a new product today, in conjunction with their strategic partner, Index Data, called OpenTranslators. It’s a product that will reshape the way libraries select and use federated search and metasearch technology.

OpenTranslators will allow libraries to use the federated search interface of their choice to access over 10,000 databases using SRU/SRW/Z39.50. The databases consist of: licensed databases, free databases, catalogs, Z39.50, Telnet and proprietary databases. Through a partnership with WebFeat and Index Data, CARE is bringing choices to libraries.

Libraries that already have a Z39.50 client in their OPAC will be able to connect to, not only library catalogs, but also thousands of additional databases. Those libraries that are building or already using an open source federated search tool will now be able to expand the world of information that can be accessed. Finally, for those institutions/organizations building new mashup clients, this will allow them to access and use vast amounts of additional content.

Use of the WebFeat translators in this solution provide a unique capability in that they can structure and parse unstructured citations, even for databases that don’t natively support such functionality. This means it is possible to sort results by date, title and author and support citation exports into a variety of formats. In addition results usage can be tracked in compliance with the COUNTER standards.

In addition, the WebFeat Administrative Console, which is well known for its ease of use, flexibility and speed in managing translators, is included in the solution. It takes what could be a tedious and time-consuming task for library staff and virtually eliminates it.

CARE has combined these capabilities with Index Data’s expertise and resources to provide a SRU/SRW/Z39.50 gateway to the WebFeat translators. Index Data, long a pioneer in Information Retrieval technology, designed and built a sophisticated gateway that provides a seamless level of connectivity for end users.

OpenTranslators is a hosted service, so subscribing to the service is easy. New databases can be added on request and there are no servers or software to buy!

OpenTranslators is a trademark of CARE Affiliates, Inc.

About Index Data

Index Data is a consulting and software-development enterprise headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark with offices in the UK and United States. Index Data LLC, its United States subsidiary, is headquartered in West Hartford Connecticut with offices in Keene, New Hampshire and Winchester, Massachusetts. They are experts in information retrieval and management in a networked environment and have a thirteen-year history of releasing their software as open source.

About WebFeat

WebFeat (U.S. patent #6,807,539) is the developer of the WebFeat™ and WebFeat Express™ search solutions, used by over 8,000 leading public, academic, government and Global 1000 libraries and information centers—including 7 of the 10 largest U.S. public libraries, 17 statewide library systems, and 2 out of every 10 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions.

WebFeat offers next-generation federated search and e-resource management tools to meet the needs of any library. Products include: the WebFeat Express federated search solution, WebFeat Enterprise Edition for multi-library networks, WebFeat Custom API service and SMART™, WebFeat’s usage tracker. WebFeat Menu Manager™ and WebFeat Proxy™ provide tools for access and management of e-resource collections. WebFeat provides multi-language support. Originally founded in 1992 as an information technology consultancy, WebFeat has earned industry recognition from leading organizations such as Library Journal and the Gartner Group. Learn more about WebFeat at http://www.webfeat.org.

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