An insight into the user experience of modern library resource discovery. Presented at the CIG Scotland seminar 'Resource Discovery : from catalogues to discovery services' at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, 21st March 2018.

1. From student to graduate trainee:
a user perspective on discovery
Liz Antell
Graduate Library Trainee, University of St Andrews

2. Perspective
• Student at St Andrews, 2010-2014
• Graduate Library Trainee, August 2017-present
What did I think about St Andrews’ discovery services as a student?
What reflections do I have on that perspective now, as a trainee
cataloguer?

3. Comparing catalogue and discovery layer

4. Why?
SEEKER:
• contains everything that SAULCAT does – and more!
• can find journal articles
• searches multiple databases simultaneously
• can show the most recent scholarly work on a subject or by a
particular author, even if not held by the Library

5. What’s the user experience?

6. What use are
resources that
I can’t access?

7. Why are
my results
so irrelevant?
Impatience?
Ineffective
filtering?
Vague
keywords?
Too many
results?
Something
else?

8. Limitations in the service?
Lack of user skill?

9. Search 1: looking for journal articles
Scenario:
• undergraduate student researching for an essay about gender roles in
Shakespeare
• looking for journal articles only
My search:
• ‘Shakespeare’ and ‘gender’ as title keywords
• select ‘Academic Journals’ as my source type

15. What’s the user experience?

16. Search 2: an academic’s publications
Scenario:
• student researching the work of a potential supervisor
• academic is Dr. James Palmer
My search:
• author search for ‘Palmer, James’

21. IMAGE CREDIT:
Beta secretase inhibitor, molecular model. RAMON ANDRADE
3DCIENCIA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY. Rights Managed /
English bishop - costume from 15th century. Lebrecht / Universal
Images Group / Universal Images Group. Rights Managed / For
Education Use Only

23. Comparing catalogue and discovery layer

24. What’s the user experience?