Pierce Law teams with Google in search pilot

The law library at Franklin Pierce Law Center is currently the beta test site — and the world’s only law library — to test Google’s search appliance and how it interacts with third-party content providers.

The test, which began in January, is intended to demonstrate the appliance’s viability for libraries in bringing together third-party content licensed from information vendors as well as information freely available on the web.

“Currently, the Pierce Law library is the only institution in the world involved in this beta trial that we believe will forever change the way library patrons interact with libraries and search for information,” said Roberta Woods, access services supervisor of the library and leader of the Pierce Law library beta test.

Woods, who was seeking a “one box” search solution, said she recognized the value of new enhancements added to the Google Search Appliance and contacted them directly. Woods said she and her library team met with Google and the New England Law Library Consortium to discuss exploration of bringing Google’s “one box searching” application, formerly considered an enterprise-only or business application, to library patrons.

“What Google offers, that other ‘federated search’ or ‘one box’ solutions don’t offer, is a fast way of searching this content that produces relevant results,” said Woods. “People are already familiar with Google search results They understand them. That’s what drew us to Google in the first place. It could bring ‘one box searching’ of licensed content, free websites, and the library catalog at one time to library patrons,” explains Woods

The law library consortium has partnered with the Pierce Law library for the beta test. – NHBR STAFF