Information comes from many data sources on many different servers.
Typically, each data store, be it metadata or content, is delivered with its own tightly bound, proprietary user interface. While these dis-parate sources and search interfaces have been growing, library patrons have increasingly expected to receive information through unified searching and retrieval mechanisms. Z'MBOL allows librarians to expose any type of meta-data or content for unified search and retrieval while leaving data in its native format. This is accomplished first through a powerful indexing tool with locally defined access points. Then, Z'MBOL provides an efficient and fast search engine server employing industry standard Z39.50.