How UK academic libraries choose metasearch systems

Ruddock, Bethan and Hartley, Richard J. (2010) How UK academic libraries choose metasearch systems. Aslib Proceedings, 62 (1). 85 - 105. ISSN 0001-253X

File not available for download.

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how UK academic libraries choose metasearch systems; the choice processes they use; the main influences on their choices; and whether these choice processes could be made easier. Design/methodology/approach – The project used a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research methods, consisting of a literature review, two semi-structured interviews, and an electronic questionnaire, distributed to systems librarians in UK university libraries. Findings – It was found that many processes are repeated across libraries. It was also found that a prior/existing relationship with vendors has a strong influence on how libraries chose metasearch systems. Originality/value – There has been no prior research explicitly investigating how a range-of-libraries chose metasearch systems. The results could be of value to libraries that are choosing a metasearch system, or other systems such as library management systems. It could also be of value to anyone interested in general choice procedures in libraries.