From Library Catalog to Discovery Search Tools

Richard Guajardo and Dan Blackaby

University of Houston Libraries

Pathway to Discovery

• Metafind• LibraryFind• ResearchPro• Encore

Search results

User feedback

“this is great, why didn’t you do this years ago?”

“a confusing bunch of results in all media”

“I can go straight into an ebook - I don’t have to click again and again”

“OneSearch is confusing to me, because it searches everything”

One Search [Box]

Technical Challenges

• Number of catalog records

• Consortial holdings• Post implementation

clean up of catalog• Ongoing

maintenance• Daily update limits

Technical Challenges

• A new technical services workflow for record deletion and updates was implemented for all libraries in the shared ILS.

• Batch processes may exceed daily upload limits without additional coordination

Organizational Change

New library department created:Resource Discovery Systems (RDS)

RDS has responsibility for Summon, the Millennium ILS, and electronic resources management

Organizational Change

A post implementation committee was formed:Discovery Systems Working Group

The committee is charged with coordinating data exchange between discovery system vendors and the shared ILS. It also stays abreast of discovery system initiatives at other area library systems.

Q & A

From Library Catalog to Discovery Search Tools

South Texas College of Law

What about a law library?

What about a law library? • Recent database purchases

and projects, requiring better searchability• BNA• Hein• Content DM/Archives• LibGuides

• Expedited timeframe• Summon kick off call Sept.

28• Summon "debut"

Nov. 10

Law Library Particulars• Much higher % of

databases were not IP recognition – Username & Password only

• Certain databases just don't play well with others• Lexis/West• MOML

• Databases• No password logins• All vendors had to be informed as to an added IP• All proxies had to be applied

• Setting Interface Preferences• Excluding Newspapers• Material Types• Locations

• Tagging• Especially important for added content such as ContentDM and

LibGuides

• Branding

Advantages

• Allowed access to our digital collections• Access and promotion of LibGuides• Brings attention to little used databases• Actually promotes use of books• Search improvement

– Searches Hein better than Hein– Provides a way to search across BNA

• Citation collection / list construction• Tailored search boxes • Can search material in other libraries

Disadvantages• Learning Curve• Not full coverage

– No tax databases, no caselaw• Doesn't always work the same with every database

– Some form searches differently– Not 100% coverage in every database (BNA)– Sometimes have to rely on the catalog (MOML, Gov Docs)

• Idiosyncrasies– Serials– Citations – says it's Harvard, but not Blue Book

Getting Better

• ProQuest now part of Serials Solutions– Congressional Universe– Legislative Insight

• As our tagging grows, our searches will become more effective in finding our own material

• Workarounds– Catalog records for MOML, etc.– Adding law review websites fixes Serials issue

From Library Catalog to Discovery Search Tools

Richard Guajardo and Dan Blackaby

Thank you!