Emory Libraries is launching a new library search engine that will make searches easier and more complete for users.
Library Search will debut Jan. 6, but the beta version is available now. Emory students, faculty and staff are invited to take the new search engine for a test drive at search.libraries.emory.edu and provide feedback either by email to librarysearch@emory.edu or by using the feedback form within the application.
“We’re so pleased to be able to enhance search functionality for the campus community,” says University Librarian and Dean Yolanda Cooper. “The platform will provide a more robust research experience and better highlight the extensive formats available within the Libraries’ resources.”
Some of the improved features include enhancements to search functions and advanced search that allow users to create a more precise search with narrowed results. An improved user interface will provide a more intuitive search experience, notes Cari Lovins, director of digital programs and client services at Emory University Libraries.
A note for faculty
Project leaders ask that faculty pay close attention now through the end of December if they have any saved searches or permalinks referenced through discoverE, the current library search engine, Lovins said.
“We are working to make sure links and saved searches in discoverE still function,” Lovins says. “In the meantime, we are asking faculty to update any saved searches or permalinks in their documentation referenced in discoverE to the new Library Search in preparation for the spring semester.”
Instructions and help articles are forthcoming and will be accessible on the Libraries’ main website.
The project is in its first phase: integrating the Emory Libraries’ catalog with Blacklight (an open-source platform that was also used to develop Emory Digital Collections, the new digital repository, in early 2020). The product will continue to be refined and developed in subsequent phases.
Emory Libraries sought a new search engine product after receiving feedback from library users. The goal of the project is to improve the discovery layer to enable faculty, students and researchers to search the Emory Libraries’ collections in a meaningful way and allow them to find materials quickly.
For more information, visit search.libraries.emory.edu/about.