Phase 1 (Catalog)

Problem Statement

Each year the Emory University Libraries spend roughly $20 million to acquire vital materials the Emory community uses in pursuit of creating, preserving, teaching and applying knowledge in the service of humanity. However, purchasing materials is not enough; the community must also be able to find these materials. With over five million physical volumes spread across seven buildings and countless electronic resources comprising millions of eBooks and articles, this is no small feat. Helping the community find these resources is the cornerstone of the work of libraries.

To assist the Emory University Libraries in helping the Emory community find the information they need for teaching, learning, and healthcare, the libraries contracted with Ex Libris for a search and discovery tool; locally, this product is known as discoverE. Currently, discoverE allows users to search for materials acquired or physically held by the Libraries and the Library Service Center including books, electronic journals and databases, archival material, audio visual materials, and a host of other materials the libraries collect.

Toward the end of 2018, Ex Libris began signaling to customers that the libraries’ current user interface would become deprecated and has encouraged customers to move to their new user interface. Unfortunately, this interface was developed with a wide range of Ex Libris customers in mind – it’s main selling point is that it provides customers with the ability to create simple customizations through its administrative interface, with more extensive customizations encouraged through local development work. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that heavy customizations may cause significant performance issues.

This change by Ex Libris caused the Emory University Libraries to pause, evaluate its investment, and determine whether upgrading to Ex Libris’ newest interface provides the Emory community with the best user experience. Engagement with stakeholders over the last four months has shown an overwhelming dissatisfaction with Ex Libris’s discovery layer. It is often the case that some stakeholders encourage users to bypass discoverE and instead direct them to other library discovery tools. It is clear that Ex Libris’ search tool no longer provides the Emory community with the robust search functionality it needs to discover materials the university has invested in for the community.

Time and again, users have noted a desire to search across the various collections the libraries make available. Disparate search tools have resulted in confusion among users as they engage with siloed information. Over the last four years, the libraries have worked to breakdown these silos and consolidate search behind a single interface.  The initial phase saw the creation of the Emory Digital Collections site.  Powered by the open source software tool Blacklight, the Emory Digital Collections site is a single-source repository where the libraries provide access to Emory digitized and born-digital materials. 

In consideration of a new discovery layer, the libraries have identified the following requirements:

• Integration with Catalog. Does the option allow us to search records for the materials cataloged in our libraries’ integrated library platform, Alma?
• Integration with Article Search. Does the option allow us to utilize an article search platform that Emory University Libraries pays for?
• Support Model. Can the option be easily supported by Emory Libraries’ (i.e. does the technology fit the skill set of the team tasked with supporting it)?
• Robust Search. In addition to basic search functionality, does the option allow users to revise searches, browse subject terms, and search via a call number for either a single library or across all libraries.
• Improved Search Results. Does the option provide the ability to sort search results by relevancy including call number, date published, and author? Does it display contextual information (e.g., help) on search results?
• Faceted Search. Can the option provide faceted searching including limiting results by author, title, subject, format, publication year, language, genre, library location, call number? In addition to faceted search, does the option allow users to select results using multiple facets?
• Suggest Terms. Does the option provide auto complete of search terms based on known metadata fields? Does the option suggest alternate spelling for a search in English?
• Improved User Interface. Does the option provide a seamless user interface with the same look and feel?

Project Objectives

In Scope

1. Establish specific feature requirements for the new discovery layer (Blacklight) by meeting with stakeholder groups across campus and completing a current state analysis with a focus on the catalog discovery layer for version 1.0. Further analysis of the article discovery layer will be completed as part of version 2.0.
2. From the requirements, develop a roadmap based on the features providing the greatest value for the university.
3. Implement a Blacklight infrastructure necessary for the discovery layer utilizing the same architecture model as the Digital Library Program.
4. Establish prioritized integrations between the discovery layer and existing systems to implement catalog searching. This includes but is not limited to:
   1. Integration with Alma will ensure Blacklight can perform basic search, discovery, and real time availability functionality without relying on Primo.
   2. Integration with Primo will ensure Blacklight can link to fulfillment services (i.e. request materials including document delivery) and my library card services (i.e. patron info; list and renew loans; list and cancel requests; and list of fines). Integration of these into the catalog discovery layer will be planned for version 2.0.
5. Develop a beta and 1.0 release of the discovery layer based on prioritized features and integrations needed to achieve minimum viable product for search, discovery, requesting, and access to materials via the libraries catalog.
6. Implement the new Primo User Interface to minimize risk of Primo support for fulfillment and my library card features.
7. Identify and implement a suitable article search tool for users.
8. Establish and develop any new workflows for back-of-house operations associated with Blacklight, including those related to cataloging and shared collections with Georgia Tech.
9. Perform organizational change management tasks including communications and training for all associated stakeholder groups.
10. Conduct end-user assessments to validate interface usability for Blacklight discovery application.
11. Establish preliminary service metrics, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Operational Level Agreements (OLAs), and/or partnership agreements for shared collections.

Out of Scope

1. During phase one of development, article search will be delivered through another means; the integration of article search will be planned for version 2.0.
2. Establishing roadmaps for other discovery layer products beyond those identified in the in-scope section.
3. Implementation of any other discovery layer products not directly associated with the catalog.
4. Decommissioning plans for the current Primo application that will be needed until new workflows and agreements for the shared collection with Georgia Tech are established.
5. Design of larger operational workflows and staffing beyond articulating SLAs and OLAs for in-scope software development and support.
6. Creation of local cataloging rules and updates to existing catalog records
7. Implementing a new content management system for Emory University Libraries needed to enable a Bento Box design desired by stakeholder groups.

Project Team