Have Internet search engines influenced the way students search library Web pages? The results of this usability study reveal that students consistently and frequently use the library Web site's internal search engine to find information rather than navigating through pages. If students are searching rather than navigating, library Web page designers must make metadata and powerful search engines priorities. The study also shows that students have difficulty interpreting library terminology, experience confusion discerning difference amongst library resources, and prefer to seek human assistance when encountering problems online. These findings imply that library Web sites have not alleviated some of the basic and long-range problems that have challenged librarians in the past.

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In early 2011, an Indiana University Libraries task force was charged with selecting an open source discovery layer to serve as the public interface for IU's online catalog, IUCAT. This process included creating a rubric of core functionality and rating two discovery layers based on criteria in four main categories: General Features and Functionality; Authentication and Account Management; Export and Share; and Search Functionality and Results Display. The article includes information about our rubric and the two discovery layers reviewed, Blacklight and VuFind, as well as a discussion of the priorities of the task force. The article concludes with future steps and anticipated highlights for IUCAT.

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