The days since the ALA Conference have been busy and there is a lot more to say about why, but not yet.  Meanwhile,  I’ve participated in another Talis Podcast, the main subject being the ALA conference and a bit about patron privacy.   I think it’s safe to say that my frustrations with ALA, with the the ALA conference and the lack of understanding about the cost vendors bear in helping to support these conferences is showing through in this podcast.   More on that subject later…

Meanwhile, I’ve written another chapter review for the Christopher Cox book on federated searching.  It’s posted on the FederatedSearchBlog, so head on over and check it out if you’ve got a moment.  It’s on a the standard called SRU/SRW…

Once again, we at CARE Affiliates are joining with Index Data to offer a series of educational sessions in our booth at ALA. The Index Data/CARE booth will be #466 in the Anaheim Convention Center.

It is important to understand that these seminars are truly intended to be educational in nature, not product sales sessions.  They’re short, about 30-40 minutes and cover a variety of topics at various times.  They will include:

Sharing Stuff — How can we make a living if we give it all away? Mike Taylor, Software Guy, Index Data.   Saturday, June 28th at 11:30am and Sunday, June 29th at 10:30am

Building Solutions the Index Data way. Sebastian Hammer, President, Index Data.  Saturday, June 28th at 2:00pm and Monday, June 30th at 11:30am

“Blowing the doors off metasearch”; Opening up a world of resources to your users. This session will cover OpenTranslators, MasterKey and other technologies you can use.  Carl Grant, President, CARE Affiliates.  Saturday, June 28th at 4:00pm and Monday, June 30th at 9:30am.

Planning for a Repository. This session is designed to introduce concepts to be considered in planning for the implementation of a repository.   Carl Grant, President, CARE Affiliates.  Sunday, June 29th at 12:30pm and Monday, June 30th at 1:30pm

The Universal Search Solution: A Case Study in the Index Data Approach. Come learn how the next generation of metasearch is being built.  Sebastian Hammer, President, Index Data.  Sunday, June 29th at 2:30pm.

If you want to attend a session, please note that seating is limited (8-10 seats). Sending an RSVP to “info (at) care-affiliates.com” will help them ensure adequate seating is provided. We also advise you to stop by our I booth (#466) when you first get to the exhibit floor to see if any last minute changes have occurred in the schedule due to unforeseen circumstances.

We look forward to seeing you there.

“Show me someone who doesn’t dream about the future and I’ll show you someone who doesn’t know where they are going.”

That’s a pretty well known saying about the future and one that is appropriate to a recently announced contest on predicting the future of metasearch, sponsored by the Federated Search Blog.

While most people live in the “today” and think of small enhancements that would make their life and their user’s, use and work-flows easier with today’s products, there are those who dream of the future and what might be possible. This contest is for them (and there’s even some money to be won). It’s a chance to write up their dreams and share them with a much larger audience. The entries will also be judged by a panel of people working in the metasearch /federated search field, including yours truly.

The possibilities are wide open, the vision limited only by imagination. Clearly the writers will need to think about things like:

… Social networks and how to harness that resource

… Cloud and grid computing

… Visualization and vocalization

… Content granularity and recomposition in new forms

… Roles of librarians in federated/metasearching?

… Who will be providing the products/services?

… Where will the metasearch software live?

… Who will the providers be?

The list goes on. But at the end, hopefully we’ll begin to have a better defined view of the future.

As my son grew, up we lived in the middle of the country, and he developed a fondness for the west coast and a desire to live there. I frequently said to him, “you can head out the door and head west and you’ll likely eventually get there. However, if you first get a map and plot your course, you’ll get there sooner and with a lot more accuracy.” This is a chance to help put together that map and plot that course. Let us hear from you. Details are here.