Discovery tools are designed to provide a single point of access to a wide range of library resources, allowing users to execute searches across multiple databases with a single query. Key benefits include simplifying the research process, improving metadata depth, enhancing user experience with intuitive interfaces, and promoting library resources more effectively. Various examples of discovery tools such as EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, and Aquabrowser offer different features, including real-time availability, faceted navigation, and integration with Web 2.0 elements.

1. Discovery
Tools
January 2012
Dee Ann Allison
dallison@unl.edu

2. What are Discovery Tools?
A discovery tool provides a single point of access to a range of library
resources that enables users to search multiple resources with a single
search.
Some Examples:
EBSCO Discovery Service
Summon service (Serial Solutions)
AquaBrowser Library (Serial Solutions)
Encore Discovery (Innovative Interfaces)
Primo Central (Ex Libris Group )
Blacklight – open source University of Virginia

3. Reasons why you might want a discovery tool
1. Simplify the research process with a single search.
2. Market locally created databases to your community to increase
visibility and use.
3. Provide a more intuitive search interface that encourages discovery.
No more complex searching that confuses users.
4. Improve the “depth” of the metadata to index content not included in
your catalog.
5. Integrate Web 2.0 options with your search engine, e.g. tagging,
reviews. Give your searchers a reason to return to your site.
6. Enhance remote access to your library.
7. Make searches successful
8. Promote the library as a quality research source that meets the
changing expectations of our users.

4. OpenURL Results against Coverage File
OpenURL Results that Don't Match
180000
160000
G
O OCLC
140000 O CSA-Sociological Abstracts
G
L Elsevier
120000 E emerald
Compendex
S
Google
100000 C
H MathSciNet
O ResearchPro
80000 L scifinder
A
R SilverPlatter
60000 Ulrich
WilsonWeb:OmnifileSelect
40000 CSA- Water Resources
CSA:DAAI
20000
0
Sorry, based on the information provided there were no matches

5. What to expect from discovery
tools

6. Do your homework
• Who do you expect to use this tool?
• How are you going to build on your catalog?
• What resources to do want to bring together?
• How do you want to integrate with other services and products?
• What are your preferences for integrating the results? For
authentication?
for example, with articles – they can be integrated, separated, or faceted.
• Talk to librarians using the system – try to get a login to
demo

7. The Discovery Frontier (the race is on)
AquaBrowser Serials Solutions Queens Library http://aqua.queenslibrary.org/
Summon Serials Solutions Dartmouth College Library http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/ho
me/find/summon/
EBSCO Discovery Service James Madison University http://www.lib.jmu.edu/
Discovery (EDS)
Encore Discovery Innovative University of Nebraska-Lincoln http://encore.unl.edu
Interfaces Libraries
Primo Ex Libris Vanderbilt University Library http://discoverlibrary.vanderbilt.edu/pr
imo_library/libweb/action/search.do?v
id=VANDERBILT&reset_config=true
Worldcat Local - OCLC Univ. of Washington Libraries http://www.lib.washington.edu/
Blacklight University of Virginia Library http://search.lib.virginia.edu/
VuFind Colorado State University http://discovery.library.colostate.edu/
Libraries

8. Open source alternatives
• Blacklight
– University of Virginia http://virgobeta.lib.virginia.edu/
– North Carolina University http://historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu/
• VuFind
– Colorado State University Libraries http://discovery.library.colostate.edu
– Yale University http://yufind.library.yale.edu/yufind
• SOPAC (Social Opac)
– Ann Arbor District Library http://www.aadl.org/catalog
– Darien Library http://www.darienlibrary.org
• Scriblio
– Hong Kong University of Science & Tech.
http://catalog.ust.hk/catalog/smartcat
• Fac-Back-OPAC
− Paul Smith’s College Book Catalog http://library.paulsmiths.edu/catalog

9. Differences
What full-text can be included from vendors?
These are proprietary beasts and agreements must be reached.
Technology architecture is different
Facets for search limiters and expanders
Results are presented differently (to integrate or not)
Harvesting, some use OAI
Real-time issues
Network issues and response time (hosted or local)
Social networking capabilities
Advance search capabilities
Cost

10. Aquabrowser the Discovery Layer
• Hosted by Serial Solutions.
• Results are ranked by relevance
• Word Cloud with thesaurus and associative terms, translations and
spelling suggestions are automatically generated from resources
• Faceted navigation uses locally created mapping
• Real time availability of item status
• ADA compliant interface
• Supports sorting by title, author, publication date
• Web 2.0 features for lists, tags, ratings, reviews
• Library-configurable relevancy ranking
• Integration with a library’s 360 Search (Federated Search Service)
subscription
• Two additional local data sets/local collections
• No advance search

11. Summon Web scale discovery
• Hosted Service
• Journal and periodicals articles
• Relevancy-ranked list
• Incorporates library holdings
• Export citations to bibliographic management software
• Scholarship facet
• Includes abstracts, item location, online full text availability
• Advanced search

12. EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS)
• Databases from EBSCOhost, (customer subscribed)
• Databases from non-EBSCOhost databases (customer subscribed)
• OPAC loaded directly; includes real-time availability checks and daily
updates(and searched along with all other content)
• Supports book jacket images, book records, entertainment
records, annotations, family keys, subject headings, demand
information, awards, review citations, etc.
• Institutional archives/repositories directly loaded
• Facet options including subject, source, publication
• Includes alerts
• Includes RSS options
• Image Quick View
• Supports a variety of “widgets” and export portions of EBSCOhost
functionality onto library web sites

13. Primo
• Hosted or Local
• Harvests catalog and library has options for configuring metadata
including relevancy ranking.
• Uses hosted central index for full-text materials including articles, e-
books, which are delivered by publishers technology.
• “Primo Deep Search” which provides searching for resources not in
Primo Central but are compliant with an API.
• Ex Libris MetaLib® gateway for other resource linking and links-out
for other full-text and services.
• Facet options including subject, source, publication.
• Multilingual thesauri.
• webpage harvesting capability.
• Spell check – “did you mean.”
• Social networking, tags, reviews.
• Limited advance search (and)

14. Worldcat Local
• Resolves full-text through OpenURL
• Facets
• Integration with social bookmaking sites
• Includes catalog and article citations
• Supports citation export
• Single integrated result set
• Integrates with Illiad
• Supports book covers, book reviews, user contributed
reviews, tagging and recommendations.
• Offers advanced search for expanding and limiting searches
• Supports “and” Boolean searching.

15. BlackLight – Open Source
• Search items the Library has catalogued, including books,
journal titles, DVDs, CDs, sheet music, websites, and microfilm,
and also, digital collections of images and texts;
• Filter results by format, dates, and keywords;
• Sort results by relevancy ranking, date received, author, title or
call number;
• Save and share searches and results in Delicious, and,
VIRGObeta, RefWorks and Zotero;
• Generate an RSS feed for search, for notification when the
Library acquires materials in your subject area.
• Request item
• Article integration

16. VuFind – Open Source
• Search items the Library has catalogued, website, and
institutional repository.
• Limit results by collection, format, dates, and keywords.
• Supports limiting to items with illustrations, full-text, or
stemming (searches work so includes working, works, etc.)
• Sort results by relevancy ranking, date received, author, title or
call number;
• Supports bookmarking, citation exporting.
• No articles at the present time.

17. Encore
• Local or hosted
• Searches the catalog and harvested collections (OAI protocol).
Supports advance searches for “and/or”.
• Facets for limiting and expanding searches. Can do call number
searches.
• Sort by relevancy, title and date.
• Integration with Millennium Course Reserves, Media & Electronic
Reserves.
• Integration with Millennium Program Registration Event Calendar
• Library staff ability to promote individual titles in RightResult™
ranking.
• Expanded local links and branding Integration with Meebo™ online
• OpenURL resolver integration for services
• Inclusion of Google Books™ preview
• Community comments, ratings and tags.

18. Discovery Tool Checklist
 Hosted or local (implications for staffing requirements and response time)
 Real-time updating from the catalog
 Currency of articles
 Full-text limiting
 Peer review limiting
 Choice of databases for inclusion
 Authentication method
 Options for local databases (OAI or other methods)
 Flexibility to easily expand or limit queries, and support serendipitous
discovery
 Web 2.0 features
 Tagging ratings, reviews, exporting
 Browser, ADA, and mobile compatibility
 Local control (webpac backup)

19. Form Searching
The ability to add code to any webpage for searching.
(http://ethics.unl.edu/ethics_resources/index.shtml)

20. LibGuide on adding forms to web
pages
URL: http://unl.libguides.com/content.php?pid=134792

21. Resources
Evaluating and comparing discovery tools: how close are we
towards next generation catalog? By Sharon Q. Yang, Library
Hi Tech, v. 28, no. 4, Apr. 2010, p. 690-709.
Information portals: the next generation catalog, by DeeAnn
Allison, Journal of Web Librarianship, v. 4, no. 4, Oct.-Dec.
2010, p. 375-389.
Dee Ann Allison
dallison1@unl.edu
317 Love Library
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588-0410
(402)472-3944