DISCOVERY TOOLS:
THE TALES OF IMPLEMENTATION AT TWO
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUS)
Netta Cox
Serials Librarian, North Carolina A&T State University
Iyanna Sims
Systems Librarian, North Carolina A&T State University
Shaundra Walker
Head of Reference, Fort Valley State University
ALA Annual Conference
Saturday, June 25, 2011
WHAT IS A DISCOVERY TOOL?

New Technology

Single Point of Entry

Pre-harvested

Centralized Index

Vendor neutral

Relevancy

Robust Features

Customizable
Source: Definition synthesized from the literature. See bibliography.
DISCOVERY TOOL OPTIONS
Proprietary
Open Source
EBSCO Discovery

Blacklight
Service

LibraryFind

Encore Synergy

Scriblio

Primo

SOPAC

Summon

VuFind

WorldCat Local

COMMONALITIES

Single point of entry for all library information

Enriched web interface

Faceted navigation

Simple keyword search

Relevancy
BRAINSTORMING…
What should I consider
when choosing and
implementing a discovery
tool?
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE
UNIVERSITY

HBCU, Public Land-Grant Institution

Enrollment: 10,000

Library Staff: 50

Library Collection:

Over 700,000 volumes of print and audiovisual materials

Over 150,000 electronic books

Over 160,000 print and electronic journals and serials

Approximately 300 databases
MOTIVATION

Rich collection of print and audiovisual resources

Expeditious growth of electronic resources

Digitized archival material and developing an
Institutional Repository

Desire to meet user expectations

Federated Search

Funding
THE PROCESS

Formed a committee

Representation from each department – Public Service,
Technical Service, and Systems

Researched commercial and open-source platforms

Developed an evaluation matrix

Vendor visits

Discussed pros and cons in relation to library
environment
THE MATRIX
THE REALITIES



No perfect solution

Functionality

Coverage
Timeline

Realistic

Flexible
Bells and whistles may come with a cost
GOING FORWARD

Complete configuration process

Internal testing

Train Staff

Revise instruction curriculum

Integration

Harvest IR data

Increased visibility and usage of resources

Embrace the platform as a living organism
LESSONS LEARNED

Understand your library needs and wants

Have questions for vendors and ask for
demonstration of live instances of platform

Make no assumptions

Resource Analysis

Network with other libraries
FORT VALLEY STATE
UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1895

1890 Land Grant Institution

One of Three Public HBCU’s in Georgia

Member of the 35-Member University System of
Georgia (USG)Consortium

Enrollment of 3400

One of the fastest growing schools in the USG
system
ABOUT FVSU LIBRARIES


Three Branches

Main Library (Hunt)

Curriculum Materials Center

Warner Robins Center (Graduate and Adult
Education)
Print Collections
150,000+ Volumes
 600 Active Print Serials Titles
 Small AV Collection


Electronic Resources
Over 100 Databases (mostly shared via GALILEO)
 Ebooks (NetLibrary, Ebrary, IEEE)
 Moving Print Serials to Electronic Serials

THE CONSORTIA CHALLENGE

Participant in GALILEO
Public, private, K-12, technical and college and
university members
 Shared platform, varied resources
 Cost-sharing for electronic resource purchasing
 Shared Proxy Server and OpenURL Link Resolver


Member of the GALILEO Interconnected
Libraries (GIL)
ExLibris Voyager ILS
 Union Catalog
 Reciprocal Book Borrowing Service (GIL Express)

MOTIVATION

Influx of New Resources

Better Return on Investment

Frustration with Federated Searching

Information Literacy Challenges

Multiple, Changing Platforms

Puzzled Students

The “50 Minute” Session
NEEDS/DESIRES

High Coverage of Scholarly Resources

Easy Updates

Simple Interface

Extendibility

Affordability and Sustainability
THE SELECTION PROCESS

Evaluated Three Major Tools

Vendor Presentations

Coverage Analysis

Selected Final Tool
IMPLEMENTATION

Started in January 2011

Three Phases


Adding E-Resources to the Client Center

Exporting MARC Records from the catalog

Setting Up Nightly Cron Job
Testing, Testing, Testing!
SOFT LAUNCH

March 2011

Added Search Box to Homepage

Introduced in ENG 1101 and ENG 1102

Response

Overwhelmingly positive, professors and students

More time spent on searching than teaching in
information literacy sessions
LESSONS LEARNED

Managing Electronic Resources



Need for new workflows
Impact on Instruction

Customizing the OpenURL Link Resolver page

Teaching the importance of good search statements
Impact on Collection Development

Purchasing more electronic resources

Availability in Summon
LOOKING AHEAD


Information Literacy

Focus on 1000 and 2000 level courses

Revised Information Literacy Tutorial
E-Resources

Moving Print Serial Subscriptions to Electronic

Considering MARC Record Updates for Electronic Journals

Considering adding MARC Records for non-indexed
collections


Considering MARC Records for E-book Collections

Considering More E-Books

Adding Open Access Collections
Adding Institutional Repositories
WAYS WE’VE USED SUMMON

LibGuides
Added to Search Drop Down Box along with other
search types (catalog, Ask-A-Librarian, e-journals,
etc.)
 Created search boxes for specific collections (i.e.
videos, special collections, etc.)


LibAnswers


Embedded search boxes in Ask-A-Librarian answers
BlackBoard

Created learning objects
DEMONSTRATION
Q&A
DISCUSSION
RESOURCES

Grand Valley State University Library Labs



http://gvsulib.com/labs/custom_summon/
Helpful tool for creating Summon search boxes
LibGuides Summon Resources
http://help.springshare.com/content.php?pid=90986&
sid=1053606#3190055
 More help for creating Summon search boxes


Summon API


http://api.summon.serialssolutions.com/help/api/
Summon Community Wiki
http://community.summon.serialssolutions.com/index
.php/Main_Page
 Another great resource for Summon users

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Vaughan, J. (2011). Chapter 1: Web Scale Discovery What and Why?.
Library Technology Reports, 47(1), 5-11. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.
Vaughan, J. (2011). Chapter 2: OCLC WorldCat Local. Library
Technology Reports, 47(1), 12-21. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Vaughan, J. (2011). Chapter 3: Serials Solutions Summon. Library
Technology Reports, 47(1), 22-29. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Vaughan, J. (2011). Chapter 4: Ebsco Discovery Services. Library
Technology Reports, 47(1), 30-38. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Vaughan, J. (2011). Chapter 5: Ex Libris Primo Central. Library
Technology Reports, 47(1), 39-47. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Vaughan, J. (2011). Chapter 6: Differentiators and A Final Note.
Library Technology Reports, 47(1), 48-53. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Vaughan, J. (2011). Chapter 7: Questions to Consider. Library
Technology Reports, 47(1), 54-59. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Vaughan, J. (2011). Chapter 8: For More Information. Library
Technology Reports, 47(1), 60-61. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Way, D. (2010). The Impact of Web-scale Discovery on the Use of
a Library Collection. Serials Review, 36(4), 214-220.
doi:10.1016/j.serrev.2010.07.002
Yang, Sharon Q, Kurt Wagner, (2010) Evaluating and comparing
discovery tools: how close are we towards next generation
catalog?, Library Hi Tech, 28 (4), 690 – 709.