Unified Discovery: What's Your Ideal Search Interface?

Many libraries are faced with deciding what their next discovery interface (next generation federated search) will be. With the documented desire of our users to have single resource discovery tools and the proliferation of such tools, Serial Solutions Summon product and University of Virginia's Blacklight being just two examples, librarians are faced with many difficult choices. Our users know what they want, but librarians also have many opinions about what an ideal discovery interface could look like. This hands on session will allow librarians to generate their ideas about what an ideal single resource discovery interface would be. The presenters will facilitate a participatory design process, based on the University of Rochester's Undergraduate Research Project that will elicit those ideas through small group activities and allow for sharing of ideas. The presenters will then give a quick review of current products. After the session, the presenters will use this information to develop a product evaluation tool to be distributed to the session participants.