Representation of Local Collections in Web-scale Discovery Tools -Do Discovery Tools Promote Local Holdings?

Web-scale discovery tools are the top-notch search engines that provide a single search across a library’s catalogue, databases, and digital collections. Most academic libraries have deployed one or two web-scale discovery layers by now. Many libraries acquired discovery tools in the hope of boosting dwindling local borrowings. However, anecdotal evidence seems to indicate a rise in the usage of journal articles and ebooks and a decrease in the circulation of local print collections after the implementation of a discovery service. Quite often we heard complaints that discovery tools promote journal articles and ebooks more than print collections. In spite of the vendors’ assurance that their products promote library collections, we know very little about how library materials are represented in the central index and relevancy algorism. This paper will discuss the findings from a research project by two academic librarians who attempted to exam local collections in web-scale discovery services including EBSCO Discovery Service, Primo, Summon, and WorldCat Discovery Services. We hope that the research discussed in this paper may serve as a starting point that inspires more libraries to do research on local collections in discovery services and motivates vendors to improve products.