Discovering the Next Generation of Library Search

Abstract

A few years ago Federated Search was touted as the best way to offer users access to multiple resources. But Federated Search turned out to be slow, difficult to maintain, and suspect with regards to search results. Over the past year a new breed of service has arisen: the Discovery Service. By searching pre-indexed (as opposed to live) data, discovery services return search results very quickly. This presentation discusses the University of Calgary Library's reasons for choosing to trial a Discovery Service after having run a Federated Search product for over a year. The presentation covers the technology used, some of the challenges encountered, and presents feedback from Library users.