ConQuery Catalog & Federated Search (CCFS)

ConQuery, created by Vasa Maximov, allows Mozilla Firefox users to highlight/select any text they see on a web page, right-click, and then automatically query that text in any one of a number of search engines.

Why should I care?  You're reading a case, or an article on a web site, and you come across a reference to a book, a person, or a journal article. Is this book at Ford Library? Is the article available online? With CCFS installed, just select the relevant text, right-click and choose 'Query to...' from the pop-up menu. Your search results appear without extra typing or opening a new browser window.  

The basic installation of ConQuery comes with several default search engine plugins (Amazon, Google, Creative Commons, etc.)  Your Ford Library Systems Librarian has created 4 additional search plugins for ConQuery that will allow you to:

• search the Duke University (and Fuqua) Library Catalog by title keywords
• search the Duke University (and Fuqua) Library Catalog by words at the start of a title
• search a word or phrase in Duke's MetaLib Federated Search tool
• search the UNC-Chapel Hill Library Catalog by words at the start of a title

Installing ConQuery Catalog and Federated Search (Windows Users)

1. Install ConQuery from the Mozilla Update Site. Choose the "Install Now" option.
2. Close Firefox.
3. Choose a filename below to install the ConQuery Catalog and Federated Search plugins:
   
   libplugins.exe (self-extracting WinZip executable, WinZip not required)
   -- accept the default unZip directory, C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\searchplugins\
   
   libplugins.zip (WinZip archive, requires WinZip)
   -- extract the files to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\searchplugins\
   
   
4. Re-open Firefox to activate the ConQuery extension and the installed search plugins.
5. From the Firefox program menu, choose Tools...Configure ConQuery, and confirm that the 3 plugins below appear and are checked in the "ConQueries" tab of detected plugins:
   
   Duke Catalog Search: Title Keyword
   Duke Catalog Search: Title Starts With...
   MetaLib QuickSearch: Business Databases
   
   
6. Optional: You can also choose the 'Preferences' tab in the ConQuery configuration dialog and choose where your search results will appear (e.g. in the same window, in a new tab, etc.). When you're done, close the configuration dialog, and start searching!

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Google Scholar + Get It @ Duke OpenURL Referrer

Google Scholar is an excellent tool for searching out books and articles but there are so many retrieval options for articles there's often no way to know whether or not Duke/Fuqua actually subscribes to the site or service with the full text.

The Get It @ Duke OpenURL Referrer extension for Firefox 1.0+ dynamically links Google Scholar results with Duke Library's Get It @ Duke server. When an article or search result is available in a Duke/Fuqua subscribed database, the icon will appear. Just click the icon to see a list of the databases with access to the full text!

Installing the OpenURL Referrer

1. Download the extension from the Openly Informatics site.
2. When Firefox brings up an installation prompt, click "Install Now".
3. Close, and then re-open Firefox to complete the installation. 

Configure the OpenURL Referrer

1. Choose 'Tools...Extensions' from the Firefox program menu.
2. Highlight 'OpenURL Referrer' in the list of extensions and click the "Options" button.
3. In the OpenURL preferences dialog, click the 'New Profile' button and name your profile Duke SFX.
4. Complete the Profile dialog exactly as shown below:



5. Click OK to close the dialog, and then close and re-open Firefox once more.

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Updated on: 10/12/07