Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Management (ALA Fundamentals) by Alana Verminski & Kelly Marie Blanchat

Author:Alana Verminski & Kelly Marie Blanchat [Verminski, Alana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LAN025000 Language Arts & Disciplines / Library & Information Science / General
ISBN: 9780838915417
Publisher: American Library Association
Published: 2018-07-19T23:00:00+00:00

A Word on Open Source Discovery

The promise of simplified and streamlined discovery is alluring. In reality, a discovery system will not solve all issues relating to information retrieval. Nor should a discovery layer be used as a means to transition away from information literacy instruction. Within a discovery system, just as in Google, a simple keyword search can return thousands upon thousands of results, a situation which requires users to think critically about both the tool used to bring back results and be critical about the results themselves.

Open source discovery is a recent trend in libraries which aims to improve discovery by using neutral data and result rankings that are not based on content provider. Open source discovery layers provide more opportunities for customization, shared code, and system transparency, but this flexibility comes at the cost of increased development time, implementation, and general system maintenance. Two such open source discovery systems are Blacklight and VuFind. Blacklight, developed at the University of Virginia, features relevance ranking, faceted browsing, a customizable interface, and remixable data. VuFind, developed at Villanova University, includes faceted browsing, enhanced content, social network integration, the ability to index non-MARC records, and content recommendations.

Libraries choosing between commercial and open source options will need to weigh the benefits of open source against the greater requirement for technical expertise and dedicated staff time. As discovery systems and research expectations continue to develop, libraries should also consider whether they are simply playing catch up with technology companies like Google, and whether they can continue to evolve while also serving their core mission.

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