The Development History of Web-Scale Discovery Platform - Assignment Example

The development history of Web-Scale discovery platform Name Institution Introduction The library users have been working towards the location of the library resources from decades ago. People complained of a lack of access to desired data, hardships when customizing, user interface limitations, poor search functions, unfortunate updates, usability problems, backend issues, and problems when finding articles and journals among other issues. The issue led to the effort towards establishment of a better technology. This paper looks at the history development, technical issues, benefits, social impact, future innovations, and criticism of Web-Scale Discovery platform The development history of Web-Scale discovery platform The available library technology from then was the OPACs, which is an old technology although it efficiently served in access to library information. Because of increased complaints about the technology from the library users resulting from its limitations, the technology seemed to fail (Vaughan, 2011). Because OPACs restricted the end-user interface possibilities, there had to be a step towards looking for a solution. Information resources are increased and complex, however, there is scarce attention (Meadow, & Meadow, 2012). In addition, the library users continue increasing because of widely spread internet application in the world. A large number of internet users compromise the quality of access to the internet data. The technological frustrations made the academic initiatives come up with a new interface, referred to as a Discovery tool. Since 2009, there has been accessing to discovery products in the market since the introduction of Summon by the Serials Solutions (Ballard, & Blaine, 2011). Such products include; ‘collaborative solutions (WorldCAT), proprietary solutions (Chamo, Primo, and Summon), and open source software solutions (Backlight and VuFind) (Asher, Duke, & Wilson, 2012).’ The practice led to the evolution of the “Web-scale Discovery.” It is the most recent iteration technology (Chickering, & Yang, 2014). Technical aspects There was attempt to replace the particular catalogue and enhance improvement of the technology, but the amalgamated search tools were characterized by issues such as slowness, inefficient connections, and problems in the standard (Aly, Hatch, Josifovski, & Narayanan, 2012). Internet problems such as cyber threats lead to technical problems in the application of the technology. Benefits The discovery services were offered through a unique search box and this lead to the ability to acquire some full text and pre-indexed metadata. The platform is high potential for the removal of library user burden and makes search technology more efficient. The platform connects the discovery tools with bulky comprehensive index, which has the harvested content from the selected sources. The platforms offer cloud-computing services and are multi-tenant. However, the discovery tools have led to the formation of new problems and leaving some past problems unaddressed despite its ability to solve the major library search problems (Vaughan, 2011). The researchers now have easier access to different resources such as electronic books, journals, OPACs, digital repositories, and databases. The past search engines were full of confusion because searching for a particular information was characterized with huge and complex results. The discovery tool made the search environment less confused despite the huge investment conducted on the library resources (Kornblau, Strudwick, & Miller, 2012). Social impact Many libraries across the globe took the chance and implemented various discovery products to enhance their library services. From the introduction of discovery in the market, the libraries currently only go for the discovery when determined to offer ’single box search systems’ to their users. In the recent times, there has been an attempt to continue with the improvement of cloud computing and development of more discovery solutions. Likewise, implementation of the discovery tools in libraries enable solving of such problems since the system can integrate all the processed information. It is possible to retrieve the historical information through the federated search technology. The discovery services are quick and enable fast retrieval of some lost information from the database. There has been tremendous growth of the market for discovery tools because of the increased demand (Gross, & Sheridan, 2011). Criticism Application of these engines did not allow the possibility to link different facilities using the Smart Linking technique (Comeaux, 2012). Web-Scale Discovery platform leads to frustrations and acquisition of mixed reviews. The library systems failed to behave as expected by the library users because the Internet systems had many performance problems. Despite the effort of using the platform to avoid the complexity of library system, the users still experienced delay problems and inability to accessing the desired resources. The issue of cloud analysis is misleading users. Future innovations In the future, the researchers will not continue experiencing difficulties associated with searching resources such as local, licensed, and open collections like the institutional repository and library catalog. The platform is likely to be advanced more and might enhance automatic retrieval of the required information. In future, People would be working hard to access some minor information whereby it would be easier and efficient to search for relevant resources from the libraries. More improvement to the establishment of the discovery tools will make it possible to connect to the full text because the available technology resulting in narrowing of the results. Libraries will easily be connected with those looking for relevant information from their resources. Reflection on the topic based on the research and the results of the group discussion I acknowledge that the development of Web-Scale Discovery platform was not easily conducted because the experts had gone through some difficulties with the failing technologies. In addition, the history of the platform, which is just a few years ago has marked success of the search for library resources whereby library users manage to access to desired information directly. I understood that institutional libraries have tried the past technology and because they had many limitations, the introduction of a Web-Scale Discovery platform, which is a recommendable technology, saw them congest in the market purchasing and installing the platform. I think that the whole process of establishing the discovery tools was not in vein but eventually resulted in some excitement not only to the library users but also to the expertise involved in the project. I acknowledge that the discovery service enables the libraries to achieve their goals although there has to be some connection between the discovery tool and the library resources. I notice that the library systems’ nature was poor since users could not acquire the desired information because of the delay, poor customization, and lack of enough search functions among other problems. The past library search technologies did not have the ability to enhance searching of the entire required resources using a single search box. Because of search problems, implementation of the platform in the library enhances the availability of relevant result sets. It came to my attention that the library services are usually offered in the form of cloud computing representation and through the application of Web-Scale Discovery platform, connecting researchers across the globe is unproblematic. Ultimately, the increased bad information behaviour was resulting from the usage of Google and internet based search engines by the net generation consumers. This makes it clear to me that the Web-Scale Discovery platform came to change the condition of library systems and to benefit those seeking to access some resources from the online libraries. I realized that to access data from a library; the system has to be efficient and with the ability to offer single search box. I think that if people continued using the Google and internet like engines, they would have led to many discrepancies and internet related issues because of the associated complaint. It appears to me that there was a great sense on the establishment of the discovery tools because the previous search engines were very costly and did not enhance user satisfaction. During the group discussion, my fellows were able to ask different questions regarding the history of Web-Scale Discovery platform and since I had done thorough research and had enough information, I answered their questions. We managed to learn more during the discussion because we would elaborate different points from personal knowledge with highlighting of examples from the experience of using computers in our studies. We practically used the discovery tools available in the college to search for some resources to acquire some prove regarding the functionality of the discovery system. Reflection on the process of gathering, analyzing and evaluating information Gathering, analyzing, and evaluating the research information was not an easy process because I had to look for resources containing true information about the history of Web-Scale Discovery platform, which was demanding. Some materials seemed to contradict with others, thus the need for conducting more research to recognize the materials with the appropriate information. I came across some hardships in the process because the majority of the literature articles talk about the past systems that seemed to fail in the library system. What was more interesting is that after looking in the current literature, it was possible to access materials discussion specifically about the Web-Scale Discovery platform, which is a unique platform in the contemporary research world. It was exciting how I applied the Web-Scale Discovery platform to look for the information I wanted about the system’s development. Analysing and evaluating the collected information was easy because I applied the past skills. I believe that the manner at which I analysed the information was effective in my report and for future application. It was possible to evaluate the information by reading various articles on the topic, which gave me some insight on how the discovery tools are applied in the library system and their applicability in conducting resource search. I also applied knowledge from the resource about how to analyse the research information, and this made my analysis and evaluation successful. I compared the discovery system with the past system such as Good Scholar and Google search engine, and the comparison helped me in coming up with a good analysis. Statement on personal contribution to the group discussion My contribution to the group discussion was efficient because I managed to conduct research in my area of discussion. I was able to convince the group with evidence from my deeply carried out investigation about how the Web-Scale Discovery platform came to be functional in the library system. Despite having a good number in the group, I ensured that my contribution was efficient and recognized in every group meeting that we held for the discussion. The group members appreciated my views because I talked from evidence. I had enough time to do my research and the practice helped me to be highly knowledgeable about the topic of discussion. Reflection on the Group discussion- the content/ issues and the process of the group I like the fact that this group has been active in doing its research. We have cooperated from the beginning to the end, which as a very motivating issue towards continued learning in the course. The group discussed the topic very well that every member of the group managed to grab knowledge about the history of Web-Scale Discovery platform, its applicability, advantages, and the nature of the current market. It came into my view that this was a very successful group discussion because there was equal participation in coming up with points, making comments and the leadership was efficient. We began with discussing the meaning of Web-Scale Discovery platform; whereby points were raised by one of the group members. The introduction was interesting because it gave way to discussion of other issues related to the topic such as the history of the platform and how it is currently applied in different libraries. I thought that the research topic was hard for me, but once I went to the group for the discussion, I discovered that this is the challenge I would wish to have always in my computer course. The group was well organized, and we were very committed to our meetings since no one missed a single meeting. Additionally, we spent our time effectively because we managed to collect the information, analyse it and discuss it before the deadline. Group members were all friendly and ready to assist each other in learning more about the topic. Conclusion Web-Scale Discovery platform is a library system that was established and implemented in the library system recently. The discovery of this system resulted from discrepancies and limitations of the other search engines, such as Google and internet search like engines. The library users used to complain a lot about the problems faced when using such engines to search for resources from the libraries. Some of the complaints raised by the library users such as poor means of access to data, inefficient updating, hardships in customization, user interface limitations, backend issues, usability difficulties, and inadequate search functions among others. Such problems led to the effort of trying to look for another system that would significantly solve the problems and improve the library system service. The discovery tools such as WorldCAT Primo, and Summon among others were introduced in the market since 2009. The introduction of these tools has changed the nature of library system because many libraries have implemented the techniques in their system. The discovery tools offer cloud computing services and application of single search box when searching resources from the library. References Aly, M., Hatch, A., Josifovski, V., & Narayanan, V. K. (2012, April). Web-scale user modeling for targeting. In Proceedings of the 21st international conference companion on World Wide Web (pp. 3-12). ACM. Asher, A. D., Duke, L. M., & Wilson, S. (2012). Paths of discovery: Comparing the search effectiveness of EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, Google Scholar, and conventional library resources. College & Research Libraries, crl-374. Ballard, T., & Blaine, A. (2011). User search-limiting behavior in online catalogs: Comparing classic catalog use to search behavior in next-generation catalogs. New Library World, 112(5/6), 261-273. Chickering, F. W., & Yang, S. Q. (2014). Evaluation and comparison of discovery tools: An update. Information Technology and Libraries (Online), 33(2), 5. Comeaux, D. J. (2012). Usability testing of a web-scale discovery system at an academic library. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 19(2-4), 189-206. Gross, J., & Sheridan, L. (2011). Web scale discovery: the user experience. New library world, 112(5/6), 236-247. Kornblau, A. I., Strudwick, J., & Miller, W. (2012). How web-scale discovery changes the conversation: The questions librarians should ask themselves. College & undergraduate libraries, 19(2-4), 144-162. Meadow, K., & Meadow, J. (2012). Search query quality and web-scale discovery: A qualitative and quantitative analysis. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 19(2-4), 163-175. Rozsnyai, S., Lakshmanan, G. T., Muthusamy, V., Khalaf, R., & Duftler, M. J. (2012, July). Business process insight: An approach and platform for the discovery and analysis of end-to-end business processes. In SRII Global Conference (SRII), 2012 Annual (pp. 80-89). IEEE. Thompson, J. L., Obrig, K. S., & Abate, L. E. (2013). Web-scale discovery in an academic health sciences library: Development and implementation of the EBSCO discovery service. Medical reference services quarterly, 32(1), 26-41. Vaughan, J. (2011). EBSCO discovery services. Library Technology Reports, 47(1), 30-38. Vaughan, J. (2011). Web scale discovery services. American Library Association. Read More