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Updated 9 SEP 1998 Security and Privacy Notice | URL:/about/why_asf.html

Why an Advanced Search Facility?

The Advanced Search Facility provides tools for gathering and organizing information within and among information communities.

• What are "Information Communities"?
• What is "Information Organizing"?
• What is "Information Gathering"?

If you want to:

• Collect information and publish on the Internet
  -- ASF provides a search facility for the collection
• Point to information elsewhere on the Internet
  -- ASF provides a "gatherer" to index other Web information resources and files
• Point to information not on the Internet or more complex than text documents
  -- ASF provides for building locator records for all manner of information resources
• Bridge among multiple information communities
  -- ASF provides for referral of searches within and between information communities

While other tools do exist, there are particular advantages to the ASF tools.