ALL SEARCH IS LOCAL: MAXIMIZING DISCOVERY IN

WORLDCAT LOCAL

Nicole Branch

Librarian for Research and Digitization

Paul J. Cushing Library, Holy Names University

All Search is Local

Holy Names University: A small local academic institution

WorldCat Local: HNU’s local search engine

Maximizing Discovery: HNU library wish list

Holy Names University

Located in Oakland, California 1,300 enrolled students Degrees: Graduate, adult degree

completion, traditional undergraduate Programs: Nursing, Business,

Education, Psychology, Liberal Arts, Religion/Spirituality

Social justice focus

Students & Faculty

Diverse student body First generation college students (more

than 50%), working adults, international students

Dedicated to teaching Professional degree orientation Strong ties to the local community

Student and Faculty Research Skills Reliant on Google (students) Used to traditional ILS/card catalogs

(faculty) Local public high schools do not have

strong library cultures Beginning-level information search skills

Very budget conscious

Library Transformation

Leadership Staffing Services Technology

InstructionApproximately 70 research workshops

between August 2011-June 2012Most instruction sessions are 75 minutes

longAttended by over 1,000 students in 2011-

2012 (duplicated and unduplicated)Important for faculty awareness

Research Help

Spring semester 2012 Librarians responded to 585 inquiries at the

research help desk 402 of these inquiries were “research”

question (i.e. not technology, directional or circulation)

Library Services Collection

management E-Theses E-Learning Liaison

program Environment Events

Materials BudgetHNU Materials Budget

Printe-Resrouces

14K (10%)

130K (90%)

Materials Budget

Print budget static for the past decade 8% increase in e-resources budget

annually

WorldCat Local at HNU

Launched in September 2011ILS implemented in 2004Circulating online July 2009OCLC December 2009WorldCat Resource Sharing (ILL) and

OCLC Navigator July 2010Resolving a cataloging backlog

Usage Impact

Comparing spring 2011 usage to spring 2012:

○ Examined 29 individual databases (articles, video/music, eBooks, reference)

○ 14 databases declined in usage○ 15 databases increased in usage

Usage Trends○ Overall usage increased by over 32%○ Individual database decreases ranged from

just under 9% to around 97%○ Individual database increases ranged from

25% to 1596%○ 8 individual databases increased in the range

of 100-300%

Circulation Trends

Spring 2011 Total Checkouts: 2,553 Spring 2012 Total Checkouts: 3,394

Increase of 33%

Implications for Selection Usage

Usage is the local “mayor”Analyze library and non-library factors

impacting usage Visibility

Makes visible materials that are desired (even if they are not currently available)

Requests rule

HNU WorldCat Wish List

Enriched data MARC records Records management Central indexing

Enriched Data

Users expect an enriched search experienceAbstractsTable of ContentsJackets and cover art“Enriched” doesn’t generally include

advanced search for users

Google & Search Expectation

Image courtesy of webempires.com

#1 Websites based on traffic rank.

Familiar Search Experience

Information Evaluation Abstracts, table of contents, related subjects

Visual Display of Information Configuration makes it easy to present

“nice” eBooks

Database/Format Awareness Ability to distinguish between different

databases and types of formats

Preparing Lifelong Scholars Academic alternative to Google Developing new “familiars” Support skills that cut across platforms

and institutions

MARC Records

Give us records Let them be of high quality No need to manipulate records in-house Good records-- including abstracts

(500/520)-- are crucial for discovery

eBook Records

Don’t treat eBook records as an afterthought- they reign eBook discoveryRecords and the interface for downloading

Clash of the ISBNsWhen not unique, records conflict

Quality Assurance

Have a quality assurance plan in place

If you aren’t sure, ask your users Search the AUTOCAT mailing list for your

company name and look for grumbling

Record Management Complete and comprehensive sets of

records Easy way to load/reload Clear distinctions for what is new or

updated Adding and changing proxy server prefix

(global edit) Dynamic and universal changes (no wait

time) Intuitive admin pages

Central Indexing

Impacts visibility Supports understanding of database

content Can dramatically impact usage

The Case of MAS Ultra

Centrally indexed Not demonstrated through instruction Generally not a targeted

recommendation during research help

MAS Ultra Usage Comparison Spring 2011 usage (full text): 55 Spring 2012 usage: 933

Increase of 1596%

Closing

WorldCat Local makes searching local Users expect centralized and enriched

search experiences Don’t neglect records Make discovery easy with central

indexing and easily manageable records