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The first web search at UTK was an adaption of SWISH (Simple Web Indexing System for Humans), implemented by Dr. Bill Rosener who was Webmaster at UTK in 1996. This was a nice resource at the time. It indexed the first three levels of the UTK site.
As the University web system grew it became apparent the three level search engine and navigation system of the web site were not adequate to provide users efficient access to the breadth and depth of information available. We looked at several search options and decided to try htDIG, an open-source search engine. Its spider did not deal very smoothly with the over 700 different domains. So we implemented it as a temporary solution for three levels from the UTK homepage while looking at alternatives. In summer of 1998 we evaluated approx 10 different search engine solutions. Our final choice was Ultraseek. While it was agreed search was an important tool, the funding source took awhile to determine. In spring of 2000 funding was made available, and we implemented the Ultraseek search tool. It was configured to index the entire UT Web System. It allows individual web developers to set up site specific search. |