Ellen Nelson

A quick new search tool has been launched on Hilton M. Briggs Library’s Web site to make researching more convenient to all.

The online link of the Metasearch tool searches the multiple databases SDSU has all at once, said Elizabeth Fox of digital information services in the library. The tool was placed on the site near the end of September, and there have not been technology issues so far, she said.

Keeley McConkey, a sophomore manufacturing and engineering technology major, said that the new link will be helpful. Though she does not have many research papers to write this semester, McConkey said that the Metasearch tool “seems helpful and a good tool to use to find different sources around the library.”

Although the widget is a new feature for the library, all the material searched through it remains the same. The Metasearch widget is a means of convenience for those who need to conduct research or to find sources.

In the form of a widget, Metasearch was written and launched by one of SDSU’s librarians, Fei Xu. Through a series of Java applets, which are several small computer applications put together, Xu made library resources more of a convenience with the launch of the Metasearch widget.