EDS at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

1. EDS at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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.

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

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

7. 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."

8. 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)

9. 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