Discovery Layer - our Latest Library Buzzword

Twittaker at the Whittaker Library Catalogue

We have a new catalogue system in the Whittaker Library.  This one's a great advance on the old one, because you can look for online resources actually *in the catalogue*.  The software that makes this all possible is called a "discovery layer".  So we looked for a colleague's scholarly article, and lo and behold! there it was, without having to go and look on a different website.

Where's the article? Why, here it is! Ace!

Of course, this really opens up our resources for students and colleagues when they're offsite, because they can check the catalogue and discover lots of electronic resources - articles, database searches, streamed sound and more - which they can access anywhere.

We'll be posting hints and tips to help people get the most out of this very clever new system, so watch this space - and Twitter, of course!  Extra kudos for anyone who asks the staff to demonstrate our new discovery layer ...

Check out the Catalogue!

https://rcs.koha-ptfs.co.uk/

Deep Web - Forthcoming Resource for Musos, Dancers and Theatricals

Arriving Shortly ...

Search All our E-Resources Simultaneously!

'Deep Web' sounds vaguely anarchistic, but it's actually the way we'll be searching our electronic resources in a few months time.  There's nothing suspect about it in the slightest - it just means that the search engine will explore all our e-resources to bring you an amazing array of results!  

Embrace your Inner Geek!

If you're vaguely curious about how our discovery layer will work, we can share a couple of blogposts written by the nice people at Deep Web.  Believe us, you'll be astounded at what you'll be able to retrieve:-

• Why Doesn't Explorit Everywhere! Bring Back All Results?
• Ranking: the Secret Sauce for Searching the Deep Web (a Deep Web Tech Blog posting)

The Library Discovery Layer: Improvements Ahead

90 Years in the Library

Wikipedia picture

Whittaker Library catalogue today

Rather to our surprise, casual conversation revealed the fact that by 2018, three of the library staff will each have been here for thirty years.  Heavens!  We've amassed a wealth of expertise, and seen the library change from using a card catalogue (imagine!) through several online systems, to the present library catalogue. 

Material for your Learning and Teaching

We're looking forward to a new library management system later this year.  It's a system already in use at the University of the Arts London.  We can't wait!  Of course, ours will be branded and designed for RCS Whittaker Library, but the underlying structure will work like the University of the Arts London catalogue.

What's a Discovery Layer?

In technical terms, we're getting a discovery layer.  So what will change?  At the moment, you either check the catalogue or you check our e-resources pages.  By the summer, you'll be able to look for online material via the library catalogue, just like you look for physical, hard-copy books, music and audiovisual content.  (Look at the UAL catalogue - they have two buttons, one for library materials and the other for database content via Articles Plus.)  

The Right Stuff, whatever the Format

We hope this will revolutionise information searching at the Conservatoire, because you'll find the right stuff for your studies, regardless of whether it's digital or sitting on a shelf.

It's not so long since we were asked, 'Where do you keep your electronic resources?' (Well, they're online ... )  But when we get our new system, the answer will hopefully be, 'Just click here ... '

It's a Voyage of Discovery at the Whittaker Library

Before too long, the Whittaker Library will incorporate a discovery layer (it's called a Full Text Finder) which will enable users to explore both physical resources and all our electronic databases, all at once.  This should make it very much easier to get the most out of what the library holds.

Just imagine - supposing you're doing the Scottish music degree, and you decide there are five electronic databases that just might have useful info for you.  Right now, you'd need to look at each resource separately.  In future, you can search the lot, all together.  Watch this space for the announcement that the discovery layer has gone live.

Meanwhile, there are still surprises ... did you know that you can look up:-

• Scottish music in the African American Music Reference
• Nova Scotia or Cape Breton material in American Song
• Archival Gaelic song in British Library Sounds
• Niel Gow in Oxford Music Online or in RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
• Strathspey or Ballads in SCRAN
• Scottish Music reported in times gone by, in Times Digital Archive
• Uist, Cape Breton, or Niel Gow, in The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online

. Why wait? Get exploring! 

We are the very helpful Whittaker Library at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.