Monday, February 23, 2015

Music findability

I just read this article:

Dougan, Kirstin. “Finding the Right Notes: An Observational Study of Score and Recording Seeking Behavior of Music Students.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 41, no. 1 (2015): 61-67. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0099133314001888

They are using “a local federated search tool with a module specific to the Music and Performing Arts Library (MPAL Easy Search)”: http://www.library.illinois.edu/blog/music/2012/06/mpal_easy_search.html ). I don’t know what the difference between that and a “commercial discovery layer (Primo)” is – and which is the equivalent of GVSU's Summon?

Kirstin says, "When we educate our patrons about our specialized recording databases and how to search for music, we should not hesitate to give them concrete examples showing how the catalog and library streaming tools compare to Google and YouTube. This will help patrons see the benefits of each type of tool rather than generate the feeling that we aren't keeping up with the tools they already use." [emphasis added]

Yes, I already show/discuss Google & Wikipedia compared to Oxford Music Online, and should also ask what other tools they use (e.g., YouTube) and show those compared to our tools!