Cost Effecting Ways to Understand Users’ Searching Habits to Improve Discovery

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description

Indianhead Federated Library System’s MORE ILS consortium staff, represented by Lori Roholt, has taken a basic approach to understanding catalog use based on ILS reporting tools and Google Analytics, supplemented by observations from library staff. The approach is an informal, low-investment method for gaining a top-level understanding of usage patterns to inform site design and development, as well as instruction.

Transcript of Cost Effecting Ways to Understand Users’ Searching Habits to Improve Discovery

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Understanding Users’ Searching Habits to Improve Discovery

Lori RoholtMORE Administrator

Indianhead Federated Library System

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About MORE: My Online REsource

● ILS consortium● 49 member public libraries● 2013 Stats:

o Items: 1.7 milliono Bibs: 600,000o Service population:

458,000o Registered borrowers:

238,000o Circulation: 4.8 million

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Current MORE Online Catalog

● Innovative Interface’s WebPACo In use since 2000o Last significant update in

2011● Mobile: recently,

AirPAC for smartphones

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Forthcoming MORE Catalog

● Innovative Interface’s Encore

● Mobile: Encore Mobile

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ILS Tools: Search Activity

● Searching metrics only, last 9 days

● Searches by hour● Use of “see also”

references● Records retrieved● Use of limits

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ILS Tools: Indexes Used

Word: 32%

Title: 30%

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ILS tools: Indexes Used

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ILS tools: Indexes Used

Choose your default index

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ILS tools: Indexes UsedInnovative’s RightResult● Adjacency● Where search term appears● Format, esp. serials● And optionally:

o More copieso Matching titles (245a)o Manual promotion

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Google Analytics: All Activity

Historical reporting

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Google Analytics: All Activity

● Use patterns, by pageviews:o Searcho My Account: about half of users log ino Quick Listso MORE Library look-up

● ILS-specific queries reveal search behavior

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Forthcoming ILS tools

● Searches, traditional holdings vs. articles● Use of facets, tags, ratings● More to come, I hope!

o In-library vs. out-of-library useo Use of articles from initial searcho Use of OverDrive integration featureso My Account features used