Internet Search Environment Number System: Search infrastructure for a federated environment

The Internet Search Environment Number (ISEN) is a proposed new Internet standard analogous to the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and the International Standard Serial Number (ISBN) that would allow Internet searchers to locate more authoritative and reliable information sources than can be identified using conventional search engines. ISEN is also a metadata creation environment and a search engine. For end users, ISEN offers metadata-based basic and advanced search options, as well as features and functionalities that support database providers and ISEN editors and catalogers. In addition, ISEN is an environment in which external associations, businesses, and organizations can develop value-added services that build on the rich metadata provided by the ISEN service. In general, databases are dynamically driven and routinely updated, producing many versions of the initial database content on a regular basis. ISEN is intended to facilitate the identification of a variety of 'search environments'. A 'search environment' can be defined as a body of structured information with its own search algorithm. These search environments include not only databases, but digital libraries, institutional repositories, knowledge bases, online public-access catalogs (OPACs) and peer-to-peer (P2P) systems. At the core of the ISEN system is the Internet Search Environment Number (ISEN), which is a unique number based on the underlying technologies of Digital Object Identifiers (DOI), handles from the Handle System, and Universal Unique Identifiers (UUIDs). ISEN will be supported by metadata professionals who will provide the metadata for identified search environments. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of COINs 2010 Organizing Committee