“But I just want a book!” Is your discovery layer meeting your users’ needs?

Abstract

In January 2016, the University of Toledo Libraries implemented EBSCO Discovery Services (EDS) as its discovery layer. Administrators questioned whether users were able to find consortial material in the EDS, so they assembled a task force to conduct a pilot usability test. The task force gathered demographic data and recorded the screens of 25 students answering six task questions. Results showed participants could easily find most items except books, and for tasks that were open-ended, many students continued searching even though they found relevant material. To determine why participants could not find books, the task force consulted with EBSCO and discovered a configuration problem that was easily resolved by editing a mapping table and adding a custom limiter for print books. The searching issue was more difficult to determine, and the task force suggests a lack of library instruction may be at least partly to blame. Libraries invest significant resources in discovery layers. If users have difficulty using them or finding relevant material for their assignments, libraries need to address that issue and instruction is one solution. This pilot study reports on what the University Libraries did to make the EDS more usable for its users.     

Promise Fulfilled? An EBSCO Discovery Service Usability Study

Discovery tools are the next phase of library search systems. Illinois State University's Milner Library implemented EBSCO Discovery Service in August 2010. The authors conducted usability studies on the system in the fall of 2010. The aims of the study were twofold: first, to determine how Milner users set about using the system in order to better inform customization choices, which in turn would create better search experiences, and second, to find out whether discovery tools fix the problems of federated search. With federated search technology, users often felt frustrated by the search experience. Some reasons for the frustration included a desire for better ways to determine the relevancy of search results and for more information about the material included in the records. The authors determined that while many federated search problems were solved, some issues persisted. Overall, the move to EBSCO Discovery Service at Milner Library has been a positive experience for its users.     

Taking Action on Usability Testing Findings: Simmons College Library Case Study

Simmons College Library conducted in-person and remote usability testing to observe how students retrieve full text when using Library Search, its discovery service system powered by EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS). Testing was conducted as a collaborative study with a consultant associated with EBSCO Information Services User Research Group. This testing found that students expect direct access to full text, have an unfavorable impression of Interlibrary Loan (ILL), and are unsure, based on terminology, which links provide direct access to full text. Steps taken by the library in response to the findings include local customization of EDS, improvements to ILL messaging, updates to user education regarding full text formats and terminology, and requests to EBSCO to update terminology to support users’ direct access to full text. Study findings also validated decisions the library made during the initial set up of its discovery service system.     

Discovery Tools in the Classroom: A Usability Study and Implications for Information Literacy Instruction

In 2016, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) library acquired ProQuest’s discovery tool Summon. To determine when information literacy instruction using Summon would be effective and what aspects should be taught, librarians conducted a usability study. Students completed tasks focused on determining whether Summon is intuitive and whether the interface needs to be taught. Results indicate that students are comfortable with the interface and have few problems with the tool. Instead, participants struggled with critical thinking processes associated with research. Results were used to integrate the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education into instruction.     

Research Collaborations Between Public and Academic Libraries

Web-scale discovery systems are gaining momentum among academic libraries as libraries seek a means to provide their users with a one-stop searching experience. Illinois State University's Milner Library found itself in the unique position of having access to two distinct discovery products, EBSCO Discovery Service and Serials Solutions’ Summon. Two researchers at Milner conducted a usability study for the former product in 2010, and now two other researchers, including one involved with the EBSCO Discovery Service study, have conducted the same study on the latter product. The goals of the study were twofold: first, to identify user behavior while using discovery systems’ search features and to see whether using these features would improve the user's searching experience, and second, to compare user experiences with EBSCO Discovery Service and Summon at Illinois State University. The similarities and differences in user expectations, use, manipulation, and satisfaction with both discovery tools are explored in this article, with the ancillary hope that libraries investigating discovery tools might be able to make a more thoroughly informed choice in acquiring their own Web-scale discovery system.     

Still Desperately Seeking Citations: Undergraduate Research in the Age of Web-Scale Discovery

ABSTRACT

Web-scale discovery services promise fast, easy searching from a single Google-like box, pleasing users and making library resources more discoverable. Some librarians embrace the concept of giving users what they have come to expect from Google, while others are concerned that this will “dumb down” searching and undermine information literacy. In this article we explore the potential impact of Web-scale discovery tools on information literacy, focusing particularly on undergraduate research skills. We review the existing literature and present findings and experiences from two mid-sized academic libraries that have adopted EBSCO Discovery Service as their library home page portal.     

网络规模发现服务的研究与实践

分析跨库检索和“下一代图书馆目录”技术存在的缺陷,在此基础上阐述网络规模发现服务的基本原理和主要特点,并介绍WorldCat Local、Summon、EBSCO Discovery Service、Primo Central等几款商业网络规模发现服务产品及美国图书馆界对应用这项服务的反应。指出发现服务在中国的应用刚刚开始,它将有助于提高图书馆西文数据库的利用率,而开发中文网络规模发现服务是当务之急。     

Managing Content in EBSCO Discovery Service: Action Guide for Surviving and Thriving

ABSTRACT

Since Idaho State University Libraries’ implementation and promotion of EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) in 2014, its electronic resources team continues to troubleshoot seamless content discovery for library patrons. But nothing prepared us for the kind of content issues the Library would have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. This report discusses ways of managing content in EDS to improve discovery of resources, including linking issues to ClinicalKey records and dealing with “bound with” local catalog records. It also addresses obstacles and solutions, as well as the authors’ experience working with EBSCO Support.     

Primo on the Go: A Usability Study of the Primo Mobile Interface

Abstract

Primo Analytics from two campuses of the California State University system has revealed that a dramatically low proportion of Primo searches originate from mobile devices. The current study focuses on usability concerns as one area that may be preventing students from searching the Primo mobile interface. The sample for this study includes students from two campuses with a variety of experience with library instruction and searching the library’s discovery system. Participants were given the same set of six common academic tasks to complete. Both mobile and desktop participants found three tasks relatively easy to complete. When there were differences in completion rates between the mobile and desktop users, the desktop users were overall more successful. No task was consistently difficult for desktop users to complete, while mobile users found two of the tasks very challenging to complete. Based on the findings, the authors make recommendations for improving the experience of mobile users.     

Improving Library Resource Discovery: Exploring the Possibilities of VuFind and Web-Scale Discovery

Like many libraries, the Bridge Consortium (the shared library of Carleton College and St. Olaf College) had outgrown the existing catalog and needed to find an improved search interface for collections. Seeking something that would work with the existing Innovative Interfaces Inc.'s Millennium integrated library system, researchers explored everything from catalog enhancements provided by Innovative Interfaces to a completely separate, Web-scale discovery tool. For the past year, they worked to implement VuFind as a catalog overlay, continually customizing and enhancing it based on user feedback. At the same time, they continued to research a broader solution and recommended a discovery tool to their consortium leadership group that they believe will redefine student research at their colleges and give new shape and direction to their consortium. By thinking of discovery as more than a product and staggering their implementation, they were better able to meet their consortium's needs. This article details their evaluation process and provides reflection on the decisions made. Many libraries are considering Web-scale discovery products. As part of the process, they confront questions about open source tools, Web site redesigns, incorporating user feedback, and consortial needs. The researchers hope to contribute to these libraries' processes by outlining their process and considerations, and what they learned along the way to arrive at their current solution.     

Applying User-centered Design to Discovery Layer Evaluation in the Law Library

Abstract

Usability and user experience are an important factor in the overall value of products and services offered by law libraries. User experience evaluation tools can help librarians make better decisions for their users when choosing databases to purchase or subscribe to, designing a library website, or selecting and implementing discovery layers. This article describes an array of evaluation tools and discusses how and when they can be implemented in the law library context.     

Search,Serendipity, and the Researcher Experience

ABSTRACT

Lettie Conrad reported on the findings of original research on academic user experience with serendipitous discovery in scholarly research. This research has been released as the fourth installment of a series about discoverability as part of the SAGE White Papers. This research was designed to examine how students and faculty seek content beyond the search box. The researchers being studied take advantage of unplanned or unexpected content discoveries such as selecting a link in an e-mail alert, following a trail of citations within an important paper, or making use of recommendations. The study found that researchers decide to follow recommendations, either machine generated or from an acquaintance, based on a combination of perception of relevance to the field of study, access to the recommended article, and trust in the provider. SAGE has used these findings to enhance its products to better showcase content to users and then help them to more readily make sense of it.     

图书馆资源发现系统的现状与趋势

简要介绍WorldCat Local、EBSCO Discovery Service、Summon、Primo四大具有集中索引仓储的Web级资源发现系统,从内容索引、系统特性、检索结果显示三个方面对它们进行比较分析。最后指出资源发现系统未来的发展趋势。     

The North Carolina State University Libraries Search Experience: Usability Testing Tabbed Search Interfaces for Academic Libraries

Creating a learnable, effective, and user-friendly library Web site hinges on providing easy access to search. Designing a search interface for academic libraries can be particularly challenging given the complexity and range of searchable library collections, such as bibliographic databases, electronic journals, and article search silos. Library Web designers must decide whether to present users with a single search interface—one that searches across content silos by default—or to offer an interface that exposes the various silos available. Designers must also contend with the user's entire search experience and determine how search should appear on the library home page as well as in global navigation systems. In the spring of 2010, the North Carolina State University Libraries sought to answer search design questions for an upcoming Web site design effort. The Libraries evaluated two different search interfaces to determine whether a tabbed search approach with options to pre-select silos is an effective design for end users. Findings show that a tabbed search interface is an effective design device for presenting multiple silos. This study outlines the methods the North Carolina State University Libraries used to conduct usability testing as well as observations, findings, and recommendations about effective design of search on academic library Web sites.     

But is My Resource Included? How to Manage,Develop, and Think about the Content in Your Discovery Tool

Implementing discovery tools and getting them to work with existing library services often leaves very little time for their promotion and for the thoughtful, ongoing evaluation and curation of their content. However, the expectations and experiences that users have about discovery tools are often directly related to the content and the way that content is described. In our efforts to work with vendors to resolve the underlying business issues that prevent us from having all of the metadata for our resources included in our discovery tools, we may have lost sight of our role in curating and evaluating the usefulness of the content that is already included in them.     

An Unexpected Discovery: One Library's Experience With Web-Scale Discovery Service (WSDS) Evaluation and Assessment

ABSTRACT

“Discovery” is today's term for user-centered information searching and access. A growing number of libraries have embraced Web-scale discovery services (WSDS) featuring one-stop searching of libraries’ owned and licensed collections. Recognizing potential benefits to users of these systems, a mid-sized ARL library formed a discovery-tool committee in spring 2012 to explore selection of a WSDS in keeping with its values, vision, and institutional mission. This article explores “discovery” as it assesses WSDS performance and reports results obtained from a request to WSDS vendors to showcase the search power of their system with actual reference questions.     

Kicking the Tires: A Usability Study of the Primo Discovery Tool

Discovery tools offer users a powerful way of searching library holdings as well as external databases and indexes. They are becoming an increasingly common part of the library user experience, and research on the usability of such tools is expanding. In 2012, a mid-sized academic research library implemented Primo Discovery and Delivery by Ex Libris and conducted a diagnostic usability test to investigate how the tool is used without instruction, to discover patterns in searching behavior, and to uncover how compatible Primo is with user search behavior. This article will describe the design and implementation of the usability study. Despite some design flaws, users adapt to the tool over time and can perform effective searches. This article also provides recommendations for future usability studies in specific targeted areas where problems were detected.     

OPAC图书相关文献资源发现与获取方法实现

针对Web环境下日益丰富的图书相关信息资源,如电子图书、随书光盘、网络书评等,其类型的多样性、平台的异构性以及隐蔽性使得读者难于全面获取这些资源。文章提出一种面向OPAC检索系统的图书相关资源发现和获取方法,对系统架构、相关资源发现接口、相关信息的获取及对全文对象的链接方法等技术进行深入分析,并介绍其实现方法。通过在多个高校图书馆的应用实践表明,此方法方便了读者发现和获取图书相关文献资源。     

山东大学图书馆资源发现系统评估工作的摸索与实践

指出随着资源量的不断膨胀,图书馆正把建设资源发现系统作为解决资源管理与利用问题的重要举措。结合山东大学图书馆在对资源发现系统功能的评估实践,提出参考咨询部门和技术中心共同实施评估工作;评估重点学科领域的资源发现功能;分类服务对象,制定适合特定读者需求的评估指标;通过热门课题中关键词的学术检索来测试元数据质量等评估策略,以期为今后国内高校图书馆在筹划资源发现系统时引领并探索出一条科学的评估之路提供借鉴。