Our Situation as Discovery Tools Were Released 2009/10 UNCG had a federated search product (EHIS), but due to its limitations we didn’t feature it very prominently on our web site OPAC (SIRSI Web2) no longer developed and barely supported Wanted a better single search box discovery tool that we could make the centerpiece of our homepage Ideally, we wanted a single product that could replace both EHIS and our OPAC in the near future

Deciding on a Discovery Tool Chose EDS over Summon because Cheaper Better metadata Better access to full text Decided to migrate to WMS when feasible. At time of EDS launch, decided to do a post- implementation analysis.

6 months later… Do you use Ebsco Discovery Service, or point it out to patrons at the Reference Desk? (also asked about inclusion in LibGuides and instructional sessions) Yes, a couple of times. My answer to all of these is actually no. I typically don't show it because, honestly, I just don't think about it - that whole search box is just not in my range of vision or something. Students use it all the time, though, at least from what I can tell when I'm walking around during sessions. I will show them one on one how to filter and refine. I don't use it or recommend it because the results are very confusing to our patrons, most particularly our undergraduates. No I have used it. I don't point it out necessarily as it depends on the question. If they are doing a more general topic and don't care about specific formats, then I would use it first. I have fewer hours at the desk this semester than previous semesters so I don't get as many general questions.

Informal meta-analysis of Discovery Tools Overall popularity Differential popularity among groups Increased usage of e-resources

Overall Popularity "Based on usability testing, Summon will clearly improve the discovery experience for all OSU users.“ - Oregon State Overall positive response at Dartmouth, NC State, and Arizona State.

Differential popularity Dartmouth - Summon had highest favorability rating of ANY library resource for undergrads - less popular with grad students (4 of the 9 grad participants were favorable) - faculty liked it and would recommend Summon be used in conjunction with other resources NC State - undergrads valued it more than grads - "In general, undergraduate students preferred the experience of using Summon to the experience of using the current library website, and specific databases." - "Many graduate students will likely prefer more powerful subject-specific databases and tools...“ Arizona State Allgood "indicated that students really liked the new Summon search, teaching faculty opinions were mixed and that library staff/faculty were the ones who resisted the change the most."

Usage No study showed a decrease in usage after implementation of a discovery tool. Smallest increase was 25% (East Carolina University). Largest increase was 642% (Grand Valley State)

Where do we go from here? Conducting a usability test of EDS Will consider making search box on homepage more prominent Keep promoting the single search box concept internally Will likely keep EDS at least until summer 2012 Tentatively planning on migrating to WMS 2012