Enhanced Metadata to Improve Search and Discovery in the Federal Register Library on HeinOnline

This article is republished with permission by W.S. Hein. View the original article here.

We have been continuing to enhance searching in HeinOnline by adding natural language processing and machine learning tools to different databases. We’ve already updated the tool several times, and we blogged about these updates in September and November of last year. Entities are available within document metadata fields and search facets. They include location, person, and organization, which can assist with search and discovery. We are happy to announce that entities are now available in the Federal Register Library!

Entities and Searching

Open the Federal Register Library, and let’s take a look at how this new feature works. Using the Full Text tab, enter “No Child Left Behind Act” and click the search button.

Notice the entities available in the facets on the left side of the page. These facets are expandable and collapsible and allow users to further refine their search results.

Narrow down the results by choosing 2010 to date from the Date facet, Washington, D.C. from the Location facet, and Department of Education from the Organization facet. This will drastically reduce the number of results.

Let’s look at one more example. Construct a proximity search using the Full Text tab in the Federal Register Library. Enter “health care plan coverage”~10 and click the search button.

Refine the results by choosing Medicare from the Organization facet and Volume Date (Newest First) from the Sort by option.

Entities are currently in beta format. This gives users the opportunity to utilize the new features and provide feedback on their usability and on areas of potential improvement.