Upload
publiclibraryservices
View
229
Download
1
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Discovery Services and Public Libraries:
How much information is not enough?
Colleen Giles & Jennifer WilsonFairfield City Library Service
February 2015
In early 2012 Fairfield began looking for solutions to improve user access to our broad range of eResources
In May 2012 we had a demonstration of EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS)
• 15 separate products
• EBSCO and non-EBSCO
• Range of subjects and levels
• Separate eLibrary (OPAC)
What were we trying to fix?
• Low Internet & PC ownership
• 18 high schools
• “Study Hub” for tertiary students
• Existing access not “user friendly”
Our situation was this -
• 50% of residents born overseas
• 70% non-English speakers at home
• 60% aged 15+ no qualifications
• Only 9.2% have Bachelor or higher
• 25% attending educational institution
Our real challenges were these:
• Real time catalogue checks
• Indexing of locally harvested data
• Base Index rich content & functionality
• Indexing of full metadata for included products
• Coverage of our existing eResources
• Additional free content
So why EDS?
• Lots of documentation and forms
• Lots of meetings and emails
• Testing, testing, testing
Implementing the EDS
• Difficult to do with the EBSCO Team based in the US
• Harvesting of catalogue records easy but our LMS policies are really complicated
• Public libraries have database products not included in or not suitable for EDS
What did we learn?
Then we learnt that:
• Good user search skills maximize value
• Did not work well for Fairfield on the OPACs
• Getting Guest access set up was a challenge
• Public Library environments are more complex than most people realise
• Increase in usage statistics
• Single entry search point on library webpage
• Works very well with products in the base index and can use connectors for other products
What worked well:
• Easy to still search catalogue only or select a favourite database
• Customisation options mean flexibility
• Great asset for information services
What worked well:
• Fairfield plans to continue with the EDS
• LMS systems now integrating EDS with their own discovery layers
• Hope to include our Digital Archive in the EDS
Where to next?