Discovery services have become prominent and valuable tools within many of today's libraries. Created to meet user expectations in the age of Google, they aim to provide a single search platform for an institution's electronic collections. Ideally, they connect users seamlessly to resources spread across various publisher platforms and databases. However, without proper configuration and regular assessment a discovery service may develop access barriers that frustrate and potentially drive away users. This presentation outlined a holistic approach developed at Ohio University Libraries for optimizing a discovery service through a combination of technical knowledge, open collaboration, and understanding the user experience.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.