Old Brookville, NY, January 18, 2007— WebFeat has released version 2.0 of its enormously popular WebFeat Express federated search prism, and will demonstrate its features and functionality at a special breakfast and technology showcase to be held at ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle. The next generation WebFeat Express 2.0 system includes results clustering, expanded customization options, support for 7 languages, thesaurus and WebFeat API integration. New enhancements to the WebFeat Administrative Console (WAC) enable WebFeat Express systems to be configured in a fraction of the time of traditional federated search engines—in as little as one hour.
WebFeat users can now select a variety of on-the-fly merge & sort options for results—including clustered, grouped by resource and sorted by date, author, title, and relevancy. WebFeat's innovative results clustering capabilities deliver both conceptual and contextual analysis and clustering of retrieved content, offering a deeper level of linguistic sophistication than is typically found in other clustering engines. The result is a WebFeat search experience that guides users to more precise and relevant information. When combined with WebFeat's other merge and sort options, as well as WebFeat's compatibility with unlimited resources, WebFeat provides an unparalleled search and results retrieval experience.
The expanded WebFeat Express 2.0 branding and customization options enable WebFeat systems to be seamlessly integrated with existing library web pages. Administrators can choose from a variety of user interfaces then customize to match the library website by adding header, footer, and sidebar art and HTML, custom descriptions and help text; create subject categories and sub-categories; and even select languages! Database titles may be customized and linked to native search interfaces. WebFeat Express 2.0 "Quicksearch" search boxes may be generated using the WebFeat Administrative Console (WAC) and pasted into any library webpage, including Blackboard and WebCT pages. Additionally, custom library applications may be developed using WebFeat's Applications Programming Interface (API).
The heart of WebFeat Express is its remarkable next-generation WebFeat Administrative Console (WAC). With WAC, administrators can quickly and easily add and delete databases and subject categories, configure authentication, and customize user interfaces. WAC can even seamlessly import configuration from EBSCO's A-to-Z® service. WebFeat is compatible with virtually all databases, catalogs, and authentication protocols.
"With the release of WebFeat Express 2.0, WebFeat has once again raised the bar for federated search," commented Todd Miller, President of WebFeat. "WebFeat's hassle-free implementation, resource compatibility, customizable search interfaces, and results sorting capabilities provide the very best federated search offering available, both for the user as well as the library administrator."
About WebFeat
WebFeat (U.S. patent #6,807,539) is the developer of the WEBFEAT and WebFeat Express Search Prisms, used by over 5,000 leading public, academic, government and Global 1000 libraries and information centers—including over half of the 20 largest U.S. public libraries, 16 statewide library systems, and 2 out of every 10 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions.
WebFeat offers next-generation federated search tools to meet the needs of any library. Products include: The WebFeat Custom and WebFeat Express search prisms, WebFeat Enterprise Edition for multi-library networks and SMART, WebFeat's usage tracker. The WebFeat Express International Edition supports 7 languages, enabling users to dynamically change language displays. 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.