discover the possibilities An Overview to Different Platforms

Who I am? Jennifer Schmidt Coordinator of Services SWITCH Library Consortium Milwaukee, Wisconsin Our consortium features three different discovery tools in use at five libraries.

Why a discovery layer?

What is a discovery tool? ➔ Offers a unified search interface that lays over the online catalog ➔ Integrates all library content into a meta-index. ➔ E-book, audiobooks ➔ ILS content may or may not need to be brought in; updated ➔ Features facets that narrow results & give local holdings ➔ Includes authentication & link resolver technology for full text ➔ Provides several sort options for results ➔ Features social media tools to let patrons review & rate

“Save the time of the user” (Ranganathan)

Advanced search options available but not the default

Only library resources Only full text content available to library patrons (and open access)

Two parts to the product Discovery INTERFACE (body) Central index CONTENT (heart) Certain products are known to have relationships with specific providers / publishers and thus access to more full text content than others but it changes.

Major products Implementation tips Final comments

Ebsco Discovery Service (EDS) ➔ Ebsco doesn’t have its own ILS. ➔ EDS has 40-plus ILS partnerships ➔ Supports open source ILS options ➔ Libraries can retain their link resolvers & KB ➔ EDS has widgets for chat systems, LibGuides, etc. ➔ EDS interface is same as Ebsco databases ➔ EBSCO-centric content; fewer non-Ebsco resources

EXAMPLES Lancaster Theological Seminary has EDS built into its catalog Ebsco EDS

OCLC (Worldcat Discovery Service) ➔ WorldCat holdings are built in ➔ Affordable option ➔ Integrates well with ILL & catalog (Worldshare) ➔ Libraries report a surge in ILL requests ➔ “Real-time” availability for catalog items (no exporting) ➔ Facet: book and e-book results separated out ➔ Facet: article and chapter results separated out ➔ “Sign in” is different from the remote ILS/FT log in ➔ It’s best to use OCLC’s (confusing) knowledgebase ➔ Weak on social media integration

EXAMPLES Nashotah House Nashotah House AMBS Mount Mary University WorldCat Discovery

Innovative (Encore Duet & Encore Synergy) ➔ Released in 2010 at same time as Primo and EDS ➔ Popular with academic and public libraries ➔ Works with non Innovative ILS products ➔ Two tabs: catalog and article results ➔ Previously no central index; partnered with Ebsco for FT content in real-time ➔ New “open” knowledgebase (March 2016) ➔ Real-time catalog updates for Sierra ILS users ➔ Facet: “At the library” vs. “Online”

EXAMPLES Wheaton College Skokie Public Library Andrews University New York Public Library Encore & Encore Synergy

BiblioCommons (BiblioCore) ➔ Early discovery product for public libraries ➔ Works with most ILS products ➔ No default article content ➔ User-friendly admin & Google Analytics account ➔ Features to support community engagement ➔ Ties back to library programs, blog posts, reviews, etc. ➔ E-book integration is strong ➔ Facet that focuses on recent materials

EXAMPLES Seattle Public Library Chicago Public Library Bibliocommons

ProQuest (Summon & Primo) In 2015, ProQuest purchased Ex Libris SUMMON ➔ Early discovery tool; requires catalog updates (no ILS) ➔ Excellent link resolver & knowledgebase (not indexed regularly) ➔ No content bias in terms of search results ➔ Book facet: e-book and print together PRIMO ➔ Strong centralized index ➔ Very customizable interface ➔ Works with many ILS products but OPAC functionality applies to Alma ➔ Great relevancy ranking

EXAMPLES Concordia University Wisconsin University of Illinois at Chicago Summon Popular with academic libraries Plans for embedded librarian

EXAMPLES Gonzaga University University of Wisconsin Libraries University of Notre Dame Primo Primo can be used with other ILS Print has a knowledgebase (central index of aggregated data)

SirsiDynix (Enterprise & BLUEcloud PAC) ➔ Works with Symphony, Horizon, BLUEcloud Campus ➔ Popular with public libraries ➔ It is unclear if there’s a knowledgebase ➔ Libraries partner with Ebsco for its article content ➔ Facet: “ include ” or “ exclude ” ➔ Facet: downloadable format and audience

EXAMPLES Kalamazoo PL SWANSWAN (suburban Chicago) Enterprise

Open Source (VuFind) ➔ Developed by Villanova University (2010) ➔ Active online community; no commercial support vendor ➔ Not affiliated with any ILS ➔ Can index locally sourced metadata such as the catalog ➔ Discovery interface only; no knowledgebase ➔ For-fee API needed to bring in Ebsco or ProQuest full-text articles ➔ Free API available to bring in WorldCat

EXAMPLES University of Chicago CARLI Consortium (Concordia University Chicago)Concordia University Chicago Grinnell CollegeGrinnell College – three “silos” of content VuFind

ProQuest Aquabrowser Axiell Arena Infor Iguana Open source Blacklight

Do ➔ Know your ILS codes (including for print & e-journal holdings) ➔ Think about suppressed & discarded records ➔ Remind your vendor to map item availability & status (MISSING, LIB USE ONLY, FACULTY HOLD SHELF, etc.) ➔ Look at what’s included in the KB (content providers) ➔ Plan to do full catalog export a few times a year ➔ Look at what is offered for failed searches

Don’t ➔ Leave discovery out if you are planning an ILS change! ➔ Forget to include public & tech services staff in your discussion ➔ Forget to check which authentication methods are supported ➔ Leave patrons in the dark – promote and link to a beta site!

Other Thoughts ➔ Integrating your ILS catalog records will take time -- especially if your discovery is a different vendor -- especially for local journal holdings ➔ Ebsco has many partnerships for full text ➔ Discipline-specific databases are key for in-depth research ➔ Library home pages can benefit from discovery ➔ Small libraries should consider the product that goes with their ILS

Evaluating Discovery Discovery layers are not new. ➔ Are librarians finally on board? ➔ Is it a seamless experience for the novice searcher? ➔ What usage reports does the vendor provide? ➔ Is it clear to the library which resources are used the most? ➔ Why haven’t vendors streamlined the mapping of catalog records? ➔ Seek out best practices for usability tests & evaluation Content. Search. Cost. Fit

“L IBRARIES ARE SOFTWARE. Our collections and services are delivered primarily via software. Most of our users' experience of the library occurs online and through software regardless of whether the user is physically present in the library. The choices we make in the development, selection, and implementation of this software are not incidental to our delivery of content and services. Rather they define the limits of our content and services.”... “Our best opportunities for intervention, for reference, and for instruction are within our software. Our users succeed every day in information seeking online, as they shop, listen to music, register for courses, and interact through social media. In none of these cases do our users expect that services vital to the endeavor exist outside of the software in front of them. Rather, the software is the service.”

Questions?

Resources Auger, Tim. “Central Knowledge Base : Expanding the Definition.” American Libraries blog. November 4, Accessed April 17, knowledge-base-expanding-definition/. knowledge-base-expanding-definition/ Evans, Gwen. “Good Question! What is a Discovery Layer?” OH-Tech Consortium Blog. Accessed April 12, Hanson, Cody. ” Opinion (Libraries are software).” Cody Hanson writing. Accessed April 12, Hoeppner, Athena. ”The Ins and Outs of Evaluating Web-Scale Discovery Services.” Computers in Libraries, April Accessed April 12, Hoeppner-Web-Scale-Discovery-Services.shtml. Hoeppner-Web-Scale-Discovery-Services.shtml

Resources Scardilli, Brandi. ”ILS Product Roundup : Choosing Among the Top Discovery Services.” Computers in Libraries, March 2016, p Accessed April 4, Silo image. Multichannel Marchant. Accessed April 12,