Discovering Our Library's Resources

The University Libraries (UL) at the University of New Mexico has experience implementing both a resource discovery tool from a standard library vendor and an in-house, custom built federated search using Drupal? as a Content Management System. The standard vendor-based resource discovery tool was the library's first attempt at a federated search, and feedback from librarians and users was not always positive, largely because results seemed inconsistent and lacking clear relevance to the terms searched. The Drupal® approach proved to be straightforward to implement, very flexible, and customizable, but the project team determined it would not be scalable as a solution for searching the library’s entire collection. This chapter describes the UL's experience with both tools, and provides best practices and recommendations for libraries considering either type of approach.