Modern library discovery systems and tools can be customized and presented in nearly endless ways. Each library makes a host of decisions about how to present discovery in ways that will best serve its users and expose its collections. Are there consensus choices across research libraries that might be said to represent "best practices"? In February 2023 and again in July 2024, I set out to answer this question by visiting the websites of all 120 academically affiliated Association of Research Libraries members. I recorded detailed information about how each presents search options on their library homepages. In this presentation I will share some possible answers to the following questions: - How much variation is there in discovery presentation across research libraries? - Are any consensus approaches supported by published usability studies? - To what extent do presentation choices correlate with software and system selection? - What future work is suggested by this investigation?
International 7 Ex Libris Knowledge Days and ELUNA Conference 2025 eluna-conf-planning@exlibrisusers.orgModern library discovery systems and tools can be customized and presented in nearly endless ways. Each library makes a host of decisions about how to present discovery in ways that will best serve its users and expose its collections. Are there consensus choices across research libraries that might be said to represent "best practices"? In February 2023 and again in July 2024, I set out to answer this question by visiting the websites of all 120 academically affiliated Association of Research Libraries members. I recorded detailed information about how each presents search options on their library homepages. In this presentation I will share some possible answers to the following questions: - How much variation is there in discovery presentation across research libraries? - Are any consensus approaches supported by published usability studies? - To what extent do presentation choices correlate with software and system selection? - What future work is suggested by this investigation?
