MetaLib, WebFeat, and Google : The strengths and weaknesses of federated search engines compared with Google

Purpose – Seeks to describe library federated search engines MetaLib and WebFeat as research tools by comparing MetaLib with WebFeat and by highlighting their strengths and weaknesses against Google and Google Scholar. Design/methodology/approach – This study tested MetaLib and WebFeat from various libraries; attended vendor demos and asked vendors questions; reviewed literature; and interviewed system administrators of MetaLib and WebFeat. Findings – MetaLib and WebFeat have fundamental differences between them. They cannot compete with Google in speed, simplicity, ease of use, and convenience, nor can they be truly one‐stop shopping. Their strengths lie in the contents they search as well as in the objective way they retrieve and display results. With the federated search engines, information literacy education is still relevant. Originality/value – The comprehensive comparisons of MetaLib and WebFeat from the perspectives of both users and system administrators are original. It helps libraries make decisions when they select federated search engines, and it gives libraries realistic expectations of federated search engines compared with Google.