AMICAL-OCLC forum on “The challenges of discovery services”
Intended for: E-resource and other librarians from OCLC (RESPOND) member libraries who are currently or will soon be involved in the selection process for a discovery service, or those who are currently directly involved with the management of discovery services. Total attendance will be limited to approximately 20.
About the event
Libraries are struggling with effectively connecting users with the full range of e-content they manage. Libraries that have implemented Discovery services have found that their user communities are very receptive to this new service by providing them access to their suite of electronic resources. However, we have just begun this journey and various problems and issues are presenting themselves. Questions are emerging about relevance, precision and recall when searching. The behind the scenes work reveals even more problems: e-resource coverage load, accuracy of the selected packages, getting local content indexed, link problems, landing page problems, syncing the catalog with the discovery layer and more. There is much to be considered with this innovative service and this is a product that becomes its own management and technological challenge that requires a care and attention that for many will be unanticipated. Forum participants will be there to discuss precisely these issues.
Whether you’re using or considering WorldCat Local, EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, or some other discovery service, join us for a day and a half of discussions about the challenges these discovery services present. Their introduction into the work environment radically alters existing workflows and even organizational structures. We’ll be focusing on what managers, librarians, and staff should be aware of, types of problems encountered, best practices, and how to devise workflows around a digital product that is now completely outside of the print legacy workflow environment which still guides many in their day to day operations.This event will be largely run by the participants, and we will be counting on you to share what you know in discussion groups and workshops.
OCLC staff will also be present to talk about how their products and services can address these issues, and integrated into the event will be training sessions on implementing/using OCLC’s WorldCat Knowledge Base, WorldCat Local, and perhaps even Connexion and Batchloading (insofar as they relate to the above e-content questions), depending on the interests of attendees.
A full announcement about the event will be made in January. In the meantime, any input you wish to share about this event, and the topics to be covered, would be warmly welcomed, including offers to lead workshops or discussions (send to events@amicalnet.org).
Sponsorship
This event is being cosponsored by AMICAL and OCLC. AMICAL will provide travel sponsorship for as many attendees as its budget permits; priority will go to those who are leading a discussion or workshop, and to those who have already begun implementation of a discovery service. Information about how to request for travel funding will be made available in January.
Forum Organizers
- David Nelson, Former Director for Collections, AUC Libraries, American University in Cairo
- Cendrella Habre, University Librarian, Lebanese American University
- Jeff Gima, AMICAL Director, American University of Paris
- Arthur Smith, OCLC