2019 Charleston Library Conference

Discovery services have evolved to include not just books and articles, but databases, website content, research guides, digital and audiovisual collections, and unique local collections that are all important for their users to be able to find. Search and ranking remain at the core of discovery, but advanced tools such as recommendation, virtual browse, ‘look inside‘, and the use of artificial intelligence are also becoming more prevalent.
The group will discuss how content in their discovery systems can change based on the context of the user, using as examples Primo and Blacklight, and how content is populated, discovered and requested by users through differing customization and workflows. The session will also explore what tools are available today or may become available in the coming years that may be used to highlight different collections and material types in a library discovery system.
As this topic impacts many stakeholders -- libraries who need to make content discoverable and satisfy the needs of their users, content providers who want to make sure that their content is visible and used, and discovery providers who need to develop their systems to support the changing needs -- the panelists also want to hear from the audience. What are the challenges that you face with making your unique content collections discoverable? What solutions have you found, if any? We hope for a lively discussion as we know this is a topic that has a far-reaching effect on libraries of all types and sizes.