Results of Web-scale discovery:Data, discussions and decisions

Jeffrey DanielsHead of Technical Services and Electronic Resource Management Grand Valley State University Libraries

• 24,000 plus students

• $4.5 million annual library materials budget

• 63 library staff members

• Over 300 databases

• 60,000 ejournal titles

• 600,000 plus ebook titles

• 2012 ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award

Why should we listen to this guy?

• Grand Valley State University was

the first commercial implementer

of Serial Solution’s Summon

• Went live in August of 2009

• Nearly 3 years experience with a

live web-scale discovery product

Key Questions and Decisions

•Do we want web-scale discovery?

•Where do we want it?

•Who is our audience?

•Should we teach it?

• Is it working?

Do we want web-scale discovery?

•Federated searching never panned out

•Enter web-scale discovery

•Summon by Serials Solutions

•Product search

• Implementation

Where do we want it?• Searching Before Summon

▫Keyword - Encore▫Keyword – Classic▫Title▫Author▫Subject▫ Journal Title

• Could there be more choices? YES▫Tabs for Nautilus▫ Document Delivery▫Courser reserve

Searching After Summon

•Summon search only search on page▫Why?▫Wanted to emphasize search box▫Links to other searches

Did that help?

Who is our Audience?•Should determine this prior to

implementation

•1st and 2nd year users

•Anyone doing research outside their

discipline

•Summon driving users to subject specific

resources

Should we teach it?•Discovery Delivery and Management task

force

•Not that “type” of librarian

•What type of class is this?

•Bookend the classes

•The “ah-ha” factor

Is it working?

• Catalog items in Summon

• Usage statistics

• Article by Head of Collections at GVSU: Doug Way

Doug Way, The Impact of Web-scale Discovery on the Use of a

Library Collection, Serials Review, Volume 36, Issue 4,

December 2010, Pages 214-220, ISSN 0098-7913,

10.1016/j.serrev.2010.07.002.

(

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098791310

000882

)

• Collection Development

Everybody loves statistics!•August 2009 -May 2012 (34

months)▫Summon sessions: 535,247▫Summon searches: 2,868,046

•2011 calendar year▫Database sessions: 116,308▫Summon sessions: 210,181▫Database searches: 192,357▫Summon searches: 1,147,807

Aug-0

9

Sep-0

9

Oct-0

9

Nov-0

9

Dec-0

9

Jan-

10

Feb-1

0

Mar

-10

Apr-1

0

May

-10

Jun-

10

Jul-1

0

Aug-1

0

Sep-1

0

Oct-1

0

Nov-1

0

Dec-1

0

Jan-

11

Feb-1

1

Mar

-11

Apr-1

1

May

-11

Jun-

11

Jul-1

1

Aug-1

1

Sep-1

1

Oct-1

1

Nov-1

1

Dec-1

1

Jan-

12

Feb-1

2

Mar

-12

Apr-1

2

May

-12

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

VisitsSearches

Effect on collection development?

• This is a Frequently asked question

• Using counter usage statistics to measure effect:

▫2 years pre Summon (September 2007 – August

2009)

▫2 years post Summon (September 2009 – August

2011)

Abstract and index databases

• Expectations:▫Searches would go down▫Possible able to cancel general A/I resources

• Statistics (2 years pre compared to 2 years post):▫RILM searches: 37% decrease▫Sociological Abstracts searches: 38% decrease

• Effect on collection development:▫None, no cancelations to date

Want our upper level students using discipline appropriate resources Accreditation and purchase model

Full text journal packages

•Expectations:▫Full text access would increase▫Allow us to cancel some aggregated databases

•Statistics:▫Springer full text: 80% increase

•Effect on collection development:▫We’re pleased▫Reinforced desire to get these packages

Full text aggregated databases• Expectations:

▫We would be able to drop some aggregators

• Statistics:▫ProQuest Medical Searches: 3% decrease▫ProQuest Medical Full Text: 3% increase▫Most aggregated resources trended similar

• Effect on collection development:▫Use is as strong or stronger▫No longer looking to drop

Effect on collection development

•Summon has clearly changed how our resources area being used, but we feel they are good changes

•Hoped to be able to recoup Summon costs with cancelations but didn’t see usage change that way

•*also haven’t had the need (knock on wood)

And in closing…

• If you are looking at web-scale discovery, ask the

questions

• Great resource for undergraduates

• Makes library resources less “scary”

• Not to the ideal experience yet, keep asking the

questions!

• Best product we’ve ever worked with if you don’t

know where to start.

Questions?

•Jeffrey Daniels▫danielsj@gvsu.edu

▫616-331-2702