Stanford University Launches xSearch

Multidisciplinary Search Tool Based on Deep Web Technologies' Software

SANTA FE, N.M., March 18 -- Developed in collaboration between the Stanford University Libraries and Deep Web Technologies, xSearch provides Stanford students and researchers with a single search option for multiple online resources.

Searches may be limited to specific databases, or all available resources may be searched simultaneously. Search results are merged into one relevance-ranked list, and are clustered by topic, author, publication, publisher, and date.

While Deep Web Technologies offers ready-to-deploy solutions to universities and other organizations, the company worked closely with Stanford to provide functionality that Stanford would not have found in any "out-of-the-box" solution, such as integration with their authentication and LDAP services. In addition to the custom integration work, Deep Web Technologies' Explorit provides advanced features such as email alerts in order to be notified of new items that match search criteria, incremental results for quick results and custom search pages which allow students and professors to quickly and easily build their own federated search applications that search just the sources they need.

The initial xSearch launch includes 28 sources that contain links to journal articles, patent citations, conference proceedings, ebooks, and even a directory of grant funds. More online resources may be added in the future.

Grace Baysinger, Head Librarian and Bibliographer of Stanford's Swain Library of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, worked closely with Deep Web Technologies and is pleased with the result. "Working with Deep Web Technologies has provided us with a technical solution that greatly advances our ability to support multi-disciplinary research by the Stanford community. That solution is fast, easy to use, and lets us simultaneously search a number of important resources."

Abe Lederman, President and CTO of Deep Web Technologies, commented on his involvement in the partnership. "We're delighted to have worked so closely with Stanford to bring federated search to their students and staff. Stanford had a number of unique requirements that couldn't have been met with other search systems. The combination of our flexible and powerful technology and great attention to detail on both sides has led to a very successful deployment. And, of course, we are grateful to be partnering with a school as prestigious as Stanford University."

Deep Web Technologies and Stanford library staff developed xSearch user aids as part of this launch, including a PDF Quick Guide and Power Point tutorial available at https://lib.stanford.edu/xsearch/help. xSearch is available to the Stanford University community at https://deepweb.stanford.edu/search/.

Source: Deep Web Technologies