Discovery Tools

Dee Ann Allisondallison@unl.edu

January 2012

What are Discovery Tools?

A discovery tool provides a single point of access to a range of library resources that enables users to search multiple resources with a single search.

Some Examples:

EBSCO Discovery Service

Summon service (Serial Solutions)

AquaBrowser Library (Serial Solutions)

Encore Discovery (Innovative Interfaces)

Primo Central (Ex Libris Group )

Blacklight – open source University of Virginia

Reasons why you might want a discovery tool

1. Simplify the research process with a single search.

2. Market locally created databases to your community to increase visibility and use.

3. Provide a more intuitive search interface that encourages discovery. No more complex searching that confuses users.

4. Improve the “depth” of the metadata to index content not included in your catalog.

5. Integrate Web 2.0 options with your search engine, e.g. tagging, reviews. Give your searchers a reason to return to your site.

6. Enhance remote access to your library.

7. Make searches successful

8. Promote the library as a quality research source that meets the changing expectations of our users.

OpenURL Results against Coverage File

Sorry, based on the information provided there were no matches0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

OCLC

CSA-Sociological Abstracts

Elsevier

emerald

Compendex

Google

MathSciNet

ResearchPro

scifinder

SilverPlatter

Ulrich

WilsonWeb:OmnifileSelect

CSA- Water Resources

CSA:DAAI

OpenURL Results that Don't Match Li-brary Holdings

GOOGLE SCHOLAR

What to expect from discovery tools

Search Catalog

Search Article Databases

Search Locally CreatedDatabases

Real Time Information

Support for SearchStrategies

Minimize Key Strokes

Support Bookmarking, Tagging,Community Reviews and Other Web

2.0 Features

Goal: one place to search

Do your homework• Who do you expect to use this tool?

• How are you going to build on your catalog?

• What resources to do want to bring together?

• How do you want to integrate with other services and products?

• What are your preferences for integrating the results? For authentication?

for example, with articles – they can be integrated, separated, or faceted.

• Talk to librarians using the system – try to get a login to demo

The Discovery Frontier (the race is on)

AquaBrowser Serials Solutions Queens Library http://aqua.queenslibrary.org/

Summon Serials Solutions Dartmouth College Library http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/home/find/summon/

EBSCO Discovery Service Discovery (EDS)

James Madison University http://www.lib.jmu.edu/

Encore Discovery Innovative Interfaces

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries

http://encore.unl.edu

Primo Ex Libris Vanderbilt University Library http://discoverlibrary.vanderbilt.edu/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=VANDERBILT&reset_config=true

Worldcat Local - OCLC Univ. of Washington Libraries http://www.lib.washington.edu/

Blacklight University of Virginia Library http://search.lib.virginia.edu/

VuFind Colorado State University Libraries

http://discovery.library.colostate.edu/

Open source alternatives• Blacklight

– University of Virginia http://virgobeta.lib.virginia.edu/– North Carolina University http://historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu/

•VuFind– Colorado State University Libraries http://discovery.library.colostate.edu– Yale University http://yufind.library.yale.edu/yufind

•SOPAC (Social Opac)– Ann Arbor District Library http://www.aadl.org/catalog– Darien Library http://www.darienlibrary.org

• Scriblio– Hong Kong University of Science & Tech.

http://catalog.ust.hk/catalog/smartcat

• Fac-Back-OPAC− Paul Smith’s College Book Catalog

http://library.paulsmiths.edu/catalog

DifferencesWhat full-text can be included from vendors?

These are proprietary beasts and agreements must be reached.

Technology architecture is different

Facets for search limiters and expanders

Results are presented differently (to integrate or not)

Harvesting, some use OAI

Real-time issues

Network issues and response time (hosted or local)

Social networking capabilities

Advance search capabilities

Cost

Aquabrowser the Discovery Layer• Hosted by Serial Solutions.• Results are ranked by relevance• Word Cloud with thesaurus and associative terms, translations and

spelling suggestions are automatically generated from resources • Faceted navigation uses locally created mapping• Real time availability of item status• ADA compliant interface• Supports sorting by title, author, publication date• Web 2.0 features for lists, tags, ratings, reviews• Library-configurable relevancy ranking • Integration with a library’s 360 Search (Federated Search Service)

subscription• Two additional local data sets/local collections• No advance search

Summon Web scale discovery• Hosted Service• Journal and periodicals articles• Relevancy-ranked list• Incorporates library holdings• Export citations to bibliographic management software• Scholarship facet• Includes abstracts, item location, online full text availability• Advanced search

EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS)• Databases from EBSCOhost, (customer subscribed)• Databases from non-EBSCOhost databases (customer subscribed)• OPAC loaded directly; includes real-time availability checks and daily

updates(and searched along with all other content)• Supports book jacket images, book records, entertainment records,

annotations, family keys, subject headings, demand information, awards, review citations, etc.

• Institutional archives/repositories directly loaded• Facet options including subject, source, publication• Includes alerts• Includes RSS options• Image Quick View• Supports a variety of “widgets” and export portions of EBSCOhost

functionality onto library web sites

Primo• Hosted or Local• Harvests catalog and library has options for configuring metadata

including relevancy ranking.• Uses hosted central index for full-text materials including articles, e-

books, which are delivered by publishers technology. • “Primo Deep Search” which provides searching for resources not in

Primo Central but are compliant with an API. • Ex Libris MetaLib® gateway for other resource linking and links-out

for other full-text and services.• Facet options including subject, source, publication.• Multilingual thesauri.• webpage harvesting capability.• Spell check – “did you mean.”• Social networking, tags, reviews.• Limited advance search (and)

Worldcat Local• Resolves full-text through OpenURL• Facets• Integration with social bookmaking sites• Includes catalog and article citations• Supports citation export• Single integrated result set• Integrates with Illiad• Supports book covers, book reviews, user contributed reviews,

tagging and recommendations.• Offers advanced search for expanding and limiting searches• Supports “and” Boolean searching.

BlackLight – Open Source• Search items the Library has catalogued, including books,

journal titles, DVDs, CDs, sheet music, websites, and microfilm, and also, digital collections of images and texts;

• Filter results by format, dates, and keywords;• Sort results by relevancy ranking, date received, author, title or

call number;• Save and share searches and results in Delicious, and,

VIRGObeta, RefWorks and Zotero;• Generate an RSS feed for search, for notification when the

Library acquires materials in your subject area.• Request item• Article integration

VuFind – Open Source• Search items the Library has catalogued, website, and

institutional repository.• Limit results by collection, format, dates, and keywords.• Supports limiting to items with illustrations, full-text, or

stemming (searches work so includes working, works, etc.)• Sort results by relevancy ranking, date received, author, title or

call number;• Supports bookmarking, citation exporting.• No articles at the present time.

Encore• Local or hosted• Searches the catalog and harvested collections (OAI protocol).

Supports advance searches for “and/or”.• Facets for limiting and expanding searches. Can do call number

searches.• Sort by relevancy, title and date.• Integration with Millennium Course Reserves, Media & Electronic

Reserves.• Integration with Millennium Program Registration Event Calendar• Library staff ability to promote individual titles in RightResult™

ranking.• Expanded local links and branding Integration with Meebo™ online• OpenURL resolver integration for services• Inclusion of Google Books™ preview• Community comments, ratings and tags.

Discovery Tool Checklist Hosted or local (implications for staffing requirements and response time) Real-time updating from the catalog Currency of articles

Full-text limiting Peer review limiting

Choice of databases for inclusion Authentication method Options for local databases (OAI or other methods) Flexibility to easily expand or limit queries, and support serendipitous

discovery Web 2.0 features

Tagging ratings, reviews, exportingBrowser, ADA, and mobile compatibilityLocal control (webpac backup)

Form SearchingThe ability to add code to any webpage for searching. (

http://ethics.unl.edu/ethics_resources/index.shtml)

LibGuide on adding forms to web pages  

URL: http://unl.libguides.com/content.php?pid=134792

ResourcesEvaluating and comparing discovery tools: how close are we

towards next generation catalog? By Sharon Q. Yang, Library Hi Tech, v. 28, no. 4, Apr. 2010, p. 690-709.

Information portals: the next generation catalog, by DeeAnn Allison, Journal of Web Librarianship, v. 4, no. 4, Oct.-Dec. 2010, p. 375-389.

Dee Ann Allison

dallison1@unl.edu

317 Love Library

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Lincoln, NE 68588-0410

(402)472-3944