About the Webinar
Today’s library discovery services are primarily based upon indexes derived from journals, e-books and other electronic information of a scholarly nature. The content comes from a range of information providers and products--commercial, open access, institutional, etc. By indexing the content in advance, discovery services have the ability to deliver more sophisticated services with instant performance, compared to the federated search techniques used previously. Libraries increasingly rely on index-based discovery services as their strategic interfaces through which their patrons gain access to the rapidly growing breadth of information that may be available to them.
This webinar will discuss the challenges of operating a centralized index-based discovery system. Learn about their strengths, and their weaknesses, the needs for standards and best practices in this arena, how libraries and providers can assess the usage, and how libraries can satisfy audiences with different needs--ranging from undergraduates to faculty across every discipline.
Event Sessions
Introduction
Speaker
NISO ODI: Promoting Transparency in Discovery
Speaker
The new generation of library discovery services are a boon to researchers, but without a set of interoperable standards and best practices it can be difficult for libraries, information providers, and discovery service providers to understand and evaluate content and services. We’ll talk about how the NISO Open Discovery Initiative (ODI) aims to create an environment that broadens stakeholder participation and ensures confidence, so that Librarians can better evaluate discovery services to address their needs, Information Providers have the confidence that the discovery service providers are handling their content in an appropriate manner, and Discovery Service Providers receive more efficient integration through standardization and best practices.
LINK: ODI Stakeholder Survey
Seeing Discovery Through User Colored Glasses
Speaker
This talk will discuss how the behaviors of various user types are seen in analytics around discovery and content use. Distilling usage information from a community of global researchers, we will illustrate what we see as value provided to users. Having a better understanding of your users and what they find valuable will help to inform your library content portfolio investment.
Collecting Patron Perspectives on Discovery Tools
Speaker
Current discovery tools offer a breadth of possibilities in terms of resource coverage and search options, but it can be a challenge to determine the optimal setup for your library. David will present a variety of methods for harnessing patron input to guide a library’s assessment or implementation of discovery tools. These approaches include defining use cases, usability testing, monitoring usage statistics, and evaluating the tool in the context of specific subjects. Collecting user data can guide configuration choices and lead to more productive communication with vendors, resulting in improved access to resources for your patrons.
LINKS: University of Chicago Library User Feedback Form
Additional Information
- Registration closes at 12:00 pm Eastern on September 26, 2012. Cancellations made by September 19, 2012 will receive a refund, less a $20 cancellation fee. After that date, there are no refunds.
- Registrants will receive detailed instructions about accessing the webinar via e-mail the Monday prior to the event. (Anyone registering between Monday and the close of registration will receive the message shortly after the registration is received, within normal business hours.) Due to the widespread use of spam blockers, filters, out of office messages, etc., it is your responsibility to contact the NISO office if you do not receive login instructions before the start of the webinar.
- Registration is per site (access for one computer) and includes access to the online recorded archive of the webinar. If you are registering someone else from your organization, either use that person's e-mail address when registering or contact the NISO office to provide alternate contact information.
- Webinar presentation slides and Q&A will be posted to the site following the live webinar.
- Registrants will receive access information to the archived webinar following the event. An e-mail message containing archive access instructions will be sent within 48 hours of the event.