Resource DiscoveryThis is a featured page

Note: comments, questions, and general feedback concerning any of the information provided below should be directed to the CUWL Resource Discovery Experimentation Working Group using the email alias: cuwldiscover-l@library.wisc.edu.

The links below are meant to help UW System library staff gain an understanding of the term 'resource discovery' and how proposed solutions to resource discovery might transform the way students and faculty search for and discover resources within our campus libraries. By 'resources' we are including content currently accessed via our OPAC, article databases, Minds@UW, etc. There are resource discovery solutions being considered that would replace and/or transform our OPAC and federated search tools.
Some of these solutions already exist and are being implemented at a growing number of colleges and universities.

The CUWL Resource Discovery Exploratory Task Force spent the first half of 2009 creating a vision for resource discovery within the UW System. Our vision and recommendations are included in our report linked below. We would ask that you review the information below in the order presented. There are four items we would like you to read or view: (1) Chronicle article, (2) UW Forward Presentation, (3) Archived webinar on Summon, and (4) the CUWL RDETF final report. We also provide additional information that you might find beneficial.

There will be a CUWL User Service Coordinating Committee webinar on Thursday, November 19th from 12-1pm that will focus on the work of the Resource Discovery Exploratory Task Force. This session will primarily be a time for you to ask questions and engage in a discussion concerning resource discovery ideas and options. All those attending should read and view the four items listed below prior to attending this event. Information on how to attend this webinar will be distributed to the cuwluser email list. Information on joining the cuwluser email list can be found here: http://uwlib.uwsa.edu/committees/.

RESOURCE DISCOVERY

  1. After Losing Users in Catalogs, Libraries FInd Better Search Software - September 28, 2009
    Short article from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

  2. UW Forward Presentation - July 21, 2009
    50 minute presentation on the UW Forward project. UW Forward could become our central interface for accessing library material - including OPAC data, locally created digital content, institutional repository metadata, customized local services, and even article level metadata using an API (application program interface). For a visual description of how UW Forward might fit into the larger vision described in the CUWL RDETF final report, see the image below #4. In this image, UW Forward would encompass the silo labeled 'UW Builds and Manages Silo' and could provide the 'Resource Discovery Interface' as well. In other words, the UW Forward project includes both the gathering of our data/metadata into a single pre-indexed silo of content and the interface used to access that content. With the use of APIs, the UW Forward interface could also become the interface used to access article level and other licensed content. For example, using the Summon API (see presentation linked below), the UW Forward interface could become the search interface for both the locally managed data/metadata as well as licensed data/metadata managed externally.

    Here's a JING video showing you exactly how to access this archived presentation if you're having difficulty.

    See also: UW Forward Project Home; You can also search a live test instance of UW Forward. Examples of other libraries that use the Project Blacklight open source code include: Stanford University and University of Virginia.

    See also: Sadler, E. (2009). Project Blacklight: a next generation library catalog at a first generation university. Library Hi Tech. 27 (1), 57 - 67. (Summary). Provides a technical overview of Project Blacklight, the underlying open source software behind UW Forward.

    While Project Forward is built on the code provided by Project Blacklight, some colleges and universities have elected to build similar systems using several other competing open source products, including: VuFind and Extensible Catalog (XC).

  3. Library Journal Webinar on Implementations of Summon - September 22, 2009
    Use the email address: sfrye@library.wisc.edu to login and view this archived webinar.
    63 minute webinar on the experiences of three universities who have implemented Serials Solution's Summon. We are focusing on Summon because it is the only product currently available that provides non-federated access to a massive silo of pre-harvested and pre-indexed article level content. By massive we mean
    6,000+ publishers' content including 50,000+ journal and periodical titles which comprise 400+ million items. This content can be searched using the Summon interface or by using another interface by way of the Summon API. Similar products are being developed that may also provide access to a massive silo of pre-harvested and pre-indexed article level content. These products include: ExLibris Primo Central and Ebsco Discovery Service. Both of these emerging products have expected public release dates of 12/2009. OCLC is also partnering with Ebsco and others to expand the searchable content within their OCLC Local product.

    It is important to note that in the RDETF vision, single silos of pre-harvested and pre-indexed licensed content would significantly reduce the need for federated searching. Instead of searching a limited number of pre-selected article databases and returning a limited number of results (up to 30 results per database) after 60 to 90 seconds, products like Summon search content equal to hundreds of article databases in seconds and return all results. These results are then ranked by relevancy or chronology and can be further organized using faceted browsing.

    For a visual description of how a product like Summon might fit into the larger vision described in the CUWL RDETF final report, see the image below #4. In this image, Summon (and similar products) would encompass the silo labeled 'Vendor Builds and Manages Silo' and could provide the 'Resource Discovery Interface' as well. In other words, the Summon product includes both the gathering of licensed data/metadata into a single pre-indexed silo of content and provides an interface that could be used to access that content. Furthermore, Summon (and similar products) could ingest all of our locally managed data/metadata into their managed silo - providing our users with a central access point to most of the resources that we provide, including OPAC content, article level content, digital collections metadata, institutional repository metadata, etc.

    Here's a JING video showing you exactly how to access this archived webinar if you're having difficulty.

    See also: The following Summon implementations:
    http://gvsu.summon.serialssolutions.com/

    http://dartmouth.summon.serialssolutions.com/

    http://wmich.summon.serialssolutions.com/

    See also: Breeding, M. (2005). Plotting a new course for metasearch. Computers in Libraries, 25 (2), 27-29. Breeding's vision, as expressed in this article, is made real in the products and projects that are now coming online - including Summon. This article appears to be in full text via Ebsco's Academic Search Premier.

CUWL Resource Discovery Exploratory Task Force Final Report - August 14, 2009

Resource Discovery Vision


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Here is a recording of the 11/19 Discussion on Resource Discovery. Note that the discussion starts 6 min. and 39 sec. into the recording. The discussion then lasts 56 minutes.


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