1. Starting research from outside
the library homepage, an
analysis of user behavior from an
academic library.
Aaron Tay
Senior Librarian
National University of Singapore Libraries
@aarontay
aarontay@gmail.com

2. Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC - 2007
Discovery happens
Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC
2007

3. “Assume that discovery happens
elsewhere, and focus on
fulfillment ”
Tony Hirst, Open University -
2006

4. “Your OPAC sucks” - Karen G. Schneider
http://www.slideshare.net/daveyp/opac-
20-and-beyond

5. http://www.slideshare.net/daveyp/opac-20-and-
beyond

6. “After all, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's
still very much a pig.” Roy Tennant -- 2005
http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/190/5/b/Pig_Avatar_by_lurino.png

9. Ithaka S+R Releases US Faculty Survey 2012

10. “The perceived decline in the role of the
library catalog noted in previous cycles of
this survey has been arrested and even
modestly reversed, driven perhaps to
some degree by significant strategic
shifts in library discovery tools and
services.” - Ithaka US Faculty Survey 2012
(empathies mine)

12. Innovative Interfaces - Encore
Main search tools
Serialssolutions’- Summon

13. Google -> Journal -> Library -> Journal
Google/Google
Scholar
Hit paywall
Go back to
library page
Finally get
article

14. Providing access when beginning
outside library homepage
#1 Proxy bookmarklet – 2008

15. What is proxy bookmarklet?
• Piece of javascript in bookmark that will append
the ezproxy stem to any URL
• Gives access to full-text via libraries
subscriptions

17. Offered by …..

18. Usage is high
Why?
• No alternative method to access fulltext until
2013
• No ip-authenication in-campus
• Heavy promotion from librarians since 2009

20. Installation guide is most popular
guide

21. #3 Most popular FAQ

22. Enhance the proxy
bookmarklet with
Google analytics

23. http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.sg/2011/12/im
proved-proxy-bookmarklet.html

24. We love Google
analytics

25. Usage of bookmarklet over 12 months

26. Bookmarklet Usage as % of library
searches
Unique
visitors
July 2012 -
Sept 2012
Oct 2012-
Dec 2012
Jan 2013 -
Mar 2013
April 2013-
June 2013
Proxy
bookmarklet
20,256 32,312 29,542 22,230
Encore 72,545 54,674 7,280 4,420
Summon 5,295 13,122 62,634 45,386
% of search
systems
26% 47.7% 42.3% 44.6%

27. Ezproxy initial logins per session

28. June 2012 – June 2013

29. #1 Pubmed

30. #2 Google Scholar

31. #3 Google

32. #4 Portal

33. #9 #10
Non-academic sources

34. After 3 months of adding link resolver
in 2013
Link resolvers are rising…

35. The default library search is still
important but we should not neglect
teaching users to access from outside
the website
Implications

37. Google vs library search
http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.sg/20
10/10/adding-your-library-catalogue-results.html

38. http://www.libereurope.eu/blog/thinking-the-
unthinkable-a-library-without-a-catalogue-
reconsidering-the-future-of-discovery-to

39. • Location and fulfillment. If "discovery happens
elsewhere" it is important for the library to be
able to provide its users with location and
fulfillment services which somehow connect to
that discovery experience
http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/thirteen-
ways-looking-libraries-discovery-and-catalog-
scale-workflow-attention

40. Teach multiple options
Search
From Library
page
Make library
search
accessible off
site
Toolbar,
browser plugin
Mobile apps
Forward to
libraries
wikipedia
Support delivery
options from
external search
systems etc
Link resolver
(e.g Google
Scholar,
Mendeley)
Worldcat
registry. OCLC
holdings

41. Easier access to search from offsite

42. Support fulfillment

43. Wikipedia – Forward to Libraries

44. Cambridge Library toolbox
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/toolbox/index.html

45. Remember to market!