library discovery: challenges and opportunities...medieval surgery blackness and prison chicana...
TRANSCRIPT
#EMEARC16
Library Discovery:
Challenges and Opportunities
Mike Showalter
Executive Director, OCLC End-User Services
A TIME OF CHANGE…
#EMEARC16
#EMEARC16
#EMEARC16
347million records
2.3billion holdings
44million digital items
16million eBooks
#EMEARC16 Source: http://www.library.pitt.edu/subscriptions
#EMEARC16
#EMEARC16
THE LIBRARY RESPONSE
#EMEARC16
University of Michigan (Dearborn) Library Web Site 1996
#EMEARC16
University of Michigan (Dearborn) Library Web Site 2000
#EMEARC16
University of Michigan (Dearborn) Library Web Site 2006
#EMEARC16
University of Michigan (Dearborn) Library Web Site 2012
MAPPING THE DISCOVERY
LANDSCAPE
#EMEARC16
#EMEARC16
FirstSearch WC Local WC DiscoveryWC.Org
• Launched in 1991
• Key use case: Library front door to precision search of WorldCat
• In use at thousands of libraries worldwide
• Essential tool for librarians and scholars
• Libraries own even when they have alternate discovery application
• Launched in 2006
• Key use case: Open web discovery of library resources
• 230 million+ pageviews per year
• 125k+ visitors a day find books, create and share lists, write reviews
• Many libraries link to worldcat.org as a research tool
• Launched in 2008
• Key use case: Search local collection, articles and worldwide library holdings at same time
• In use at 100s of libraries worldwide
• Pioneering discovery application
• Original discovery application for WMS customers
• Launched in 2014
• Key use case: Search local collection, articles and worldwide library holdings at same time
• In use at 100s of libraries worldwide
• Originally designed to replace both WC Local AND FS
• All new WMS customers now get WCD, not WCL
OCLC Discovery product overview
#EMEARC16
OP
AC
sH
yb
rid
sD
isco
very
Layers
Next G
en
Cata
log
s
#EMEARC16
Components of modern library discovery
• Search all (most) content in one place
• Central index of e-content + local collection
• Simple, fast search with keyword-driven relevancy
• Facets to filter results
• Modern, intuitive interfaces
• One-click to full text
#EMEARC16
#EMEARC16
#EMEARC16
Complexity of the problem means no
single solution solves all use cases
• Multiple user types
– researcher, student, librarian
• Huge diversity of content types with vast differences
in available metadata
– books, articles, digital, etc.
• Multiple paths and workflows lead to same content
– users will pick their own paths
#EMEARC16
Diverse information needs
genetics of alcoholism
urban inequality
methane emissions
banned comic books
drag queens and queer representation
Leonardo Da Vinci inventions
industrial farming
bilingual parentingasian americans and bullying
korean counterculture
animal abuse
medieval surgery
blackness and prison
Chicana movement
cheating college coaches
stress and college
DISCOVERY INFLECTION POINT?
#EMEARC16
Have we solved the problem?
Yes and no
Users expect much more
#EMEARC16
#EMEARC16
Challenges in library discovery
• Users start with ambiguous queries• More than half of queries are 1-3 words long
• Users need context• Why is something important?• What are my options?
• Users want ability to explore topics• 50,000+ topics searched over and over• The age of Wikipedia-driven inquiry
• Users don’t want to think• In an age of algorithms, why should they have to figure out
what’s available that matches their needs?
#EMEARC16
#EMEARC16
Relevancy signals to drive results
#EMEARC16
Context and ability to explore
#EMEARC16
Query driven user experience
#EMEARC16
Just in time
information
Personalized
results
Automated
curation/updates
#EMEARC16
Bento box search trend: Impactful?
WHAT’S NEXT?
#EMEARC16
#EMEARC16
Growing user engagement
#EMEARC16
Growing Web discovery of library materials
-
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
4,500,000
5,000,000
May2014
Jun2014
Jul2014
Aug2014
Sept2014
Oct2014
WorldCat Works Linked
Data Released
Unique Visitors to WorldCat
#EMEARC16
Exploring ways to use linked data
#EMEARC16
Using data to improve search algorithm
#EMEARC16
Discussion points
• What challenges to you see in your library related to discovery?
• How could we (the library community) provide a more consistent, data-driven view of what end-users need and want?
• Is it possible to create and adopt best practices to inform a consistent user experience?
• How can OCLC help drive improvement, regardless of which discovery product members choose to use?