Uncovering Discovery: Collaboration
between Systems and Reference at
Sojourner Truth Library
Kristy Lee, Systems Librarian
Lauren Marcus, Reference & Instruction Librarian
Anne Deutsch, Reference & Instruction Librarian
Timeline of New Paltz Discovery
Sojourner Truth Library Website
http://library.newpaltz.edu/
Implementation
• Completed Catalog Questionnaire from EBSCO
• Implementation team: systems, electronic
resources & serials librarians
• Inputs from reference/instruction librarians
• Created the ‘EDS Search Testing’ spreadsheet
• Librarians compiled a priority list
‘Out-of-the-Box’ Version
Major Problems
• Massive search results
• Content we don’t subscribe to
• Not showing our catalog collection/holdings
Minor Issues
• Search terms disappear in results list
• Search results include duplicates
• Print journal holding update
More issues reported in the ‘EDS Search Testing’
Spreadsheet
Evaluation and Assessment of
Discovery Tools: What do we need to
do and what do we want to know?
• Establish an evaluation and beta testing committee
• Establish a training plan and schedule for students, staff
and faculty
• Conduct usability studies and get feedback from students
and teaching faculty before implementation and launch of
service
• Determine what level of customization is available or even
feasible
• Determine whether relevancy ranking can be modified to
prioritize access to local holdings
• Determine the purpose and placement of discovery in the
campus community, i.e. who will be using these tools
When I search for
Goldman Sachs I get
irrelevant results from
Fresh Brewed Media
and Marquis
Biographical Dictionary
The open URL resolver is not
showing up for content not
available as full-text.
What resources
reside in the
Integrated Search
Universe?
• Collection access
Books are not listed
Refined/faceted
in the•“Source
Type”
list. . .?
search capabilities
• Relevancy
EDS rankings
seems to save
How do I
access the
Wall Street
Journal print
holding?
my search settings
without displaying
those settings—it is
hard to refine a
search if I can’t
view the limiters.
When I finally
select “Books” in
the expanded
source list, I find
books that are not
in our collection.
Your Logo
Here
For all the
information you
need click here. . .
A library website should “provide an understanding of the
content, services, and tools that the site provides. This is a
different task than that of Google”
Swanson, Troy A. and Jeremy Green. “Why We Are Not Google: Lessons from a Library Web site
Usability Study.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 37.3 (2011): 222-229.
Integrating Discovery Tools into the
Sojourner Truth Library homepage
What is your experience?
Considerations for Instruction Program
• Assess and debug WSDS thoroughly before
incorporating it into instruction program.
• Analyze findings from assessment activities to
determine how tool is used and where users need the
most support.
• Create learning objects to support those needs and
make them as accessible as possible.
• Place WSDS in your instructional toolkit and incorporate
it in classes where its strengths map to course content
or assignment.
• Help students develop the ability to determine the right
tool for their specific needs.
Resources for Assessment and
Implementation of WSDS in ILI
Hopes, Impression, and Reality: Is a Discovery
Layer the Answer?
Susan Avery & Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe
Fostering Discovery: Collaborative Solutions for
Teaching with Discovery Tools
Dunstan McNutt & Mary Moser
Kristy Lee: leek@newpaltz.edu
Lauren Marcus: marcusl@newpaltz.edu
Anne Deutsch: deutscha@newpaltz.edu
Annotated Bibliography
Asher, Andrew, et al. “Paths of Discovery: Comparing the Search Effectiveness of EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, Google Scholar,
and Conventional Library Resources.” College & Research Libraries 74.5 (2013): 464-488. Directory of Open Access Journals. Web.
20 Apr. 2014. In this analysis of a 2011 study at Bucknell and Illinois Wesleyan Universities, researchers compare search efficacy of
EDS, Summon, Google Scholar, and traditional library catalogs and databases. They conclude that most students are unable to
evaluate sources and rely on default search settings and relevancy rankings.
Buck, Stefanie, and Christina Steffy. "Promising Practices in Instruction of Discovery Tools." Communications in Information Literacy 7.1
(2013): 66-80. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. Using a literature review, a
survey for instruction librarians, and interviews, researchers develop a list of best practices for integrating discovery tools into library
instruction programs.
Buck, Stefanie, and Margaret Mellinger. "The Impact of Serial Solutions’ Summon™ On Information Literacy Instruction: Librarian
Perceptions." Internet Reference Services Quarterly 16.4 (2011): 159-181. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with
Full Text. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. This study reveals ambivalence by academic librarians to integrate Summon discovery tools into library
instruction.
Cassidy, Erin Doris, et al. “Student Searching with EBSCO Discovery: A Usability Study.” Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship
26.1 (2014): 17-35. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. Findings of this 2012 usability study indicate that students rarely go past first page search
results and do not understand source type terminology. For this reason, the Google-type interface of web-scale discovery tools often
overwhelm and confuse less experienced student researchers.
Kaufman, Karen, Jeanne Larsen, and Patricia DeSalvo. “Discovering the Discovery Tool: The Introduction and Impact on Research and
Instruction at Seminole State College of Florida.” College & Undergraduate Libraries 19.2-4 (2012): 278-296. Library, Information
Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. This case study presents the benefits and challenges of integrating
discovery tools into library research and instructional support. The online faculty questionnaire/assessment, included in the appendix,
would be helpful in the evaluation of newly implemented discovery tools.
Kornblau, Amy I., Jane Strudwick, and William Miller. "How Web-Scale Discovery Changes The Conversation: The Questions Librarians
Should Ask Themselves." College & Undergraduate Libraries 19.2-4 (2012): 144-162. Library, Information Science & Technology
Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. This article provides advice on integration of library services and resources after
discovery implementation.
Kulp, Christina, Cheryl McCain, and Laurie Scrivener. "Teaching Outside the Box: ARL Librarians’ Integration of the “One-Box” into
Student Instruction." College & Research Libraries 75.3 (2014): pre-print. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. The results of this study indicate that
most participating ARL libraries and librarians prefer to teach beyond the constraints of “one-box” search tools.
Parry, Marc. “As Researchers Turn to Google, Libraries Navigate the Messy World of Discovery Tools.” The Chronicle of Higher Education
60.32 (2014). Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. Concerns over less than transparent relevancy rankings and built-in bias of
competing discovery vendors are articulated in this brief article.
Rose-Wiles, Lisa M., and Melissa A. Hofmann. “Still Desperately Seeking Citations: Undergraduate Research in the Age of Web-Scale
Discovery.” Journal of Library Administration 52.2-3 (2013): 147-166. Findings and experiences from Seton Hall University and
Rider University libraries indicate concerns over confusing search terms, student inabilities to distinguish between source types, and
mediocre search results.
Swanson, Troy A. and Jeremy Green. “Why We Are Not Google: Lessons from a Library Web site Usability Study.” The Journal of
Academic Librarianship, 37.3 (2011): 222-229. Web. 4 June 2014. This article evaluates a 2009 web site usability study conducted at
Moraine Valley Community College. Authors Swanson and Green determine that the library’s traditional, multi-tiered gateway page
was a more effective access point than a central-search, one-box homepage.