EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) - A different way to search!
This year the Dalton School Library adopted EDS (EBSCO
Discovery Services) as an enhancement to the library catalog. Discovery is the latest and greatest method
for doing research. It will soon be the
lingua franca of search methods, not only on Google, but in colleges as
well. I think of it as going into
subject matter through the back door instead of the front door. What does that mean? For ages we have been teaching Boolean
searching, using AND, OR, and NOT operators to narrow the searching process and
to teach our students how to focus. Venn
diagrams helped make the process graphic.
But the Internet age has turned the process 180 degrees. Now one starts with a big idea or concept and
then begins narrowing the process using “facets.” Rather than searching the catalog and then each
database separately, the “discovery” software finds everything at once –
instant gratification! If thousands of results did not appear at
once, that might be the end of the conversation – or instruction process. But there is a critical sorting process, not
always so straightforward. Lists of “limiters” or “facets” allow the
researcher to check off any number of selections: books only, for example – in the quest for
relevant information. A number of
subjects and formats are also listed that can then be pared down.
So, there are some great things and some not so great about
this! More results expand the possibility of finding
what the researcher is looking for, often turning up serendipitous and valuable
information. Yet some searches can produce
so much that it is overwhelming. Also,
there can be glitches in the system. If the
metadata of a resource is not in sync with the search terms, results may be
either skewed or not available.
That said, we are clearly on the path to helping our
students engage in more rewarding research in a new and effective way. With technology changing so fast, “bugs” do
not always get fixed on the first round.
Just consider the web problems in rolling out Obamacare, for example. But
like that, we are confident that the end result will be a smoother and more effective
searching system that is here to stay.
To quote Marshall Breeding in the January/February 2014
issue of American Libraries:
Discovery services can play a vital
role in a library’s strategic infrastructure.
But it’s not a one-size-fits-all arena.
The needs of public and academic libraries, for example, differ
enormously. “
If you would like to look at our new EDS library website and
try it out for yourself, just go to:
http://www.dalton.org/program/libraries/high
and click on Catalog
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