Searchers employ a range of techniques to find many kinds of information.
In the ASF, search is directly supported through Internet access to search services at ASF Information Community nodes operated by ASF participants. It is also understood that participants and other intermediaries may exploit the ASF to support voice telephone information services, kiosks, printed catalogs, etc. Information providers may support search access to primary information content and also provide referral to sets of information elsewhere. In the ASF, primary information content is called a document set. Information that characterizes document sets is represented in ASF Summary Locator Records.