Implementing Web-Scale Discovery Services: A Practical Guide for Librarians

by JoLinda Thompson

Overview

Web scale discovery tools index a vast number of resources in a wide variety formats and allow users to search for content in a physical collection, print and electronic journal collections, and other resources from a single search box. Search results are displayed in a manner similar to internet searches, in a relevance-ranked list with links to online content.

Implementing Web-Scale Discovery Services: A Practical Guide for Librarians is a one-stop source for librarians seeking toevaluate, purchase, and implement a web-scale discovery service. The book breaks down each phase of the project into decision points and action plans which will help move the project forward in an orderly and focused manner.
After reading this guide, librarians will be able to:

• identify the system with the best content match for their library;
• conduct informative product trials;
• negotiate for the best pricing options;
• and optimize customization of the selected systems to meet local needs.

Implementing Web-Scale Discovery Services: A Practical Guide for Librarians guides librarians on configuring search boxes, integrating local content sources, and making full-text easily accessible. This text presents the information in check lists, decision trees, and quotes from early adopters, and includes information on how to customize these systems to meet each library’s specific needs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810891265
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/11/2014
Series:	Practical Guides for Librarians , #9
Pages:	174
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

JoLinda Thompson is technical systems coordinator at Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library and has over fifteen years of experience as a library systems professional.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: The Evolution of Web-Scale Discovery in Libraries
Chapter 2: A Closer Look at Web-Scale Discovery Options
Chapter 3: Making the Best Content Match for Your Library
Chapter 4: Evaluating the Discovery Layer
Chapter 5: Other Important Web-Scale Discovery Service Features and Functions
Chapter 6: Selecting and Purchasing a Web-Scale Discovery Service
Chapter 7: Configuring System Content Integration and Customization for Local Needs
Chapter 8: Configuring and Branding the Discovery Layer
Chapter 9: Introducing the Service to Users
Chapter 10: Usability Testing of Web-Scale Discovery Services
Chapter 11: Maintaining a Web-Scale Discovery Service
Chapter 12: The Future of Web-Scale Discovery
Glossary
Index
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Implementing Web-Scale Discovery Services is a great overview of the concepts, current products, and what you need to know to get started. This book answers the question of "where do I start, and what do I need to know going in?"

Michael Sauers

Thompson provides a 'how to do it' manual for librarians on identifying, evaluating, selecting, configuring, customizing, implementing, and maintaining a web-scale discovery service that will provide access to a wide range of resources from one interface. She begins by profiling the four commercial contenders in this arena: EBSCO Discovery Service, Ex Libris’ Primo, ProQuest’s Summon, and OCLC’s WorldCat Discovery Service; this comparative evaluation is an outstanding feature of the text and can serve as a springboard before contacting vendors.. . .The text will be useful to any library faced with the dilemma of deciding which system best suits its needs; fortunately the small universe and the step-by-step considerations of this text make that task somewhat easy.

American Reference Books Annual