EBSCOhost Debuting Discovery Service, Aims at One-Stop Search Interface
Josh Hadro -- Library Journal, 4/10/2009
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- Service will rely on indexed content
- Three tiers of service based on the EBSCOhost 2.0 plaftorm
- Content partnership includes access to OCLC WorldCat records
As many in the industry predicted, it was only a matter of time until EBSCOhost got in on the discovery game: today, the company announced the EBSCOhost Discovery Service, to be made available by the end of 2009 as a component of its Integrated Search platform.
This buttresses the recent announcement of a federated search option available to libraries that subscribe to EBSCOhost databases. However, unlike federated search that relies on limited access to remote resources via connectors, the Discovery Service product will rely on pre-indexed content and metadata. At a basic level what this means is that users, through a single interface, will be able to search through all of the preindexed materials—potentially including catalog records, subscription databases, and web content—more quickly than with existing metasearch tools and with many more possiblities for the refinement of search results.
Similar technology is used to power the search functions of other discovery tools, such as Summon from Serials Solutions, Primo from Ex Libris, and Encore from Innovative Interfaces.
OCLC partnership
This news follows the April 7 announcement of a partnership between OCLC and EBSCOhost. Billed by Mike Gorrell, EBSCOhost CIO, as an exchange of metadata between two interested parties, the partnership will allow the Discovery Service to index and return as search results the catalog records of WorldCat Local subscribers from among the larger pool of WorldCat's 130 million bibliographic records.
Likewise, authenticated patrons at institutions subscribing to both EBSCO databases and WorldCat Local will have seamless access to full-text and citation content through the WorldCat Local interface as part of EBSCO's participation in the WorldCat.org Partner Program, according to OCLC's statement.
Though Gorrell was not ready to provide details on content providers beyond WorldCat, he acknowledged that the utility of the Discovery Service will depend upon a robust base of indexed materials, and assured that the product will provide users with a "full, diverse set of content."
Three tiers to an interface
EBSCOhost's Integrated Search platform, scheduled to debut in June, ultimately will have three tiers. The baseline EBSCOhost 2.0 interface already serves as an access point to all EBSCO content subscribed to by a library. In addition, libraries can subscribe to an optional federated search tier, which will provide connectors to third-party resources that are not included among the content pre-indexed as part of the Discovery Service. Finally, the Discovery Service will provide access to preindexed content from publishers and other content providers.
In offering these three tiers, EBSCOhost aims to position itself as a one-stop shop discovery interface for end users to locate any library material they may need, ranging from electronic journal articles to books and DVDs.
Preindexing a key to discovery?
EBSCOhost's announcement of a product that depends on pre-indexing materials rather than connecting to remote resources comes as little surprise. Direct access to indexed metadata offers significant advantages in terms of search speed, granularity, and options for displaying search results. Moreover, Summon, another interface product competing in the database marketplace, has received significant attention in recent months for its similar reliance on pre-indexing and a business model that includes strategic partnerships with outside content providers like Gale and ProQuest.
In January, just days after Summon was announced, EBSCO Publishing founder and President Tim Collins told LJ that the company would consider pre-indexing as a "direction we will go if harvesting is something the market wants," even as it was just announcing its connector-based federated search product.
When asked what would set the EBSCOhost Discovery Service apart from other similar products, Gorrell cited EBSCOhost's access to its own 330 database offerings, as well as further metadata associated with 35,000 journals and magazines via EBSCO subscription services, and materials from content providers to be announced at a later date.
No exact release date has been set for the service; Gorrell said the company was aiming for the end of 2009. Summon is currently beta testing in a handful of libraries, including those at Dartmouth College and Oklahoma State University, and is slated for general release in July 2009.
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