Starting research from outside

the library homepage, an

analysis of user behavior from an

academic library.

Aaron Tay

Senior Librarian

National University of Singapore Libraries

@aarontay

aarontay@gmail.com

Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC - 2007

Discovery happens

Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC 2007

“Assume that discovery happens elsewhere, and focus on fulfillment ” Tony Hirst, Open University - 2006

“Your OPAC sucks” - Karen G. Schneider

http://www.slideshare.net/daveyp/opac-20-and-beyond

http://www.slideshare.net/daveyp/opac-20-and-beyond

“After all, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still very much a pig.” Roy Tennant -- 2005

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/190/5/b/Pig_Avatar_by_lurino.png

Ithaka S+R Releases US Faculty Survey 2012

“The perceived decline in the role of the library catalog noted in previous cycles of this survey has been arrested and even modestly reversed, driven perhaps to some degree by significant strategic

shifts in library discovery tools and services.” - Ithaka US Faculty Survey 2012 (empathies mine)

Innovative Interfaces - Encore

Main search tools

Serialssolutions’- Summon

Google -> Journal -> Library -> Journal

Google/Google Scholar

Hit paywall

Go back to library page

Finally get article

Providing access when beginning

outside library homepage

#1 Proxy bookmarklet – 2008

What is proxy bookmarklet?

• Piece of javascript in bookmark that will append

the ezproxy stem to any URL

• Gives access to full-text via libraries subscriptions

Offered by …..

Usage is high

Why?

• No alternative method to access fulltext until 2013

• No ip-authenication in-campus

• Heavy promotion from librarians since 2009

Installation guide is most popular

guide

#3 Most popular FAQ

Enhance the proxy bookmarklet with Google analytics

http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.sg/2011/12/improved-proxy-bookmarklet.html

We love Google analytics

Usage of bookmarklet over 12 months

Bookmarklet Usage as % of library

searches Unique visitors

July 2012 - Sept 2012

Oct 2012-Dec 2012

Jan 2013 - Mar 2013

April 2013- June 2013

Proxy bookmarklet

20,256 32,312

29,542

22,230

Encore 72,545 54,674 7,280

4,420

Summon 5,295 13,122

62,634

45,386

% of search systems

26% 47.7%

42.3%

44.6%

Ezproxy initial logins per session

June 2012 – June 2013

#1 Pubmed

#2 Google Scholar

#3 Google

#4 Portal

#9 #10

Non-academic sources

After 3 months of adding link resolver

in 2013

Link resolvers are rising…

The default library search is still

important but we should not neglect

teaching users to access from outside

the website

Implications

Google vs library search

http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.sg/2010/10/adding-your-library-catalogue-results.html

http://www.libereurope.eu/blog/thinking-the-unthinkable-a-library-without-a-catalogue-reconsidering-the-future-of-discovery-to

• Location and fulfillment. If "discovery happens elsewhere" it is important for the library to be able to provide its users with location and fulfillment services which somehow connect to that discovery experience

http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/thirteen-ways-looking-libraries-discovery-and-catalog-scale-workflow-attention

Teach multiple options

Search

From Library page

Make library search

accessible off site

Toolbar, browser plugin

Mobile apps Forward to

libraries wikipedia

Support delivery options from

external search systems etc

Link resolver (e.g Google

Scholar, Mendeley)

Worldcat registry. OCLC

holdings

Easier access to search from offsite

Support fulfillment

Wikipedia – Forward to Libraries

Cambridge Library toolbox

http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/toolbox/index.html

Remember to market!