Funds made available at the close of the 2010-11 fiscal year allowed purchase of the EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) for a year-long trial. The appeal of this web-scale discovery product that offers a Google-like interface to library resources was counter-balanced by concerns about quality of search results in an academic health science setting and the challenge of configuring an interface that serves the needs of a diverse group of library users. After initial configuration, usability testing with library users revealed the need for further work before general release. Of greatest concern were continuing issues with the relevance of items retrieved, appropriateness of system-supplied facet terms, and user difficulties with navigating the interface. EBSCO has worked with the library to better understand and identify problems and solutions. External roll-out to users occurred in June 2012.

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An anticipated change in the proportion of print and electronic serial titles held at the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library, coinciding with a vacancy in the Serials Librarian position, prompted Himmelfarb staff to re-examine the position's responsibilities and duties. In an effort to relieve the burden of managing an exploding number of electronic resources on the existing Electronic Resources and Instructional Librarian, electronic serials management was redistributed to the Kathe S. Obrig, MLS (mlbkso@gwumc.edu)