The University of Warwick is globally recognised for the quality and impact of their research and commitment to student success.\u00a0 The institution is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the United Kingdom and continues to demonstrate strong performance in the government\u2019s Research Excellence Framework.\u00a0 Matching academic excellence with relevance is a hallmark of the university, and their enterprising approach is reflected in a desire to leverage leading-edge technology in support of their students and faculty. \u00a0Serving more than 25,000 undergraduates and postgraduates, plus more than 4,000 staff across campus, requires robust systems.<\/p>\n
The University of Warwick performed a market scan to evaluate modern library discovery solutions, with an eye toward improving user experience and access to articles, while maintaining real-time availability and visibility of local collections.\u00a0 The university\u2019s library staff determined Innovative\u2019s Encore Duet offering, based in the cloud and customised to reflect the university brand and unique library services, was the best solution to meet their needs.<\/p>\n
Challenge: Provide users with a modern discovery solution that offers comprehensive coverage and easy access to relevant articles to support world-class research and student success. <\/strong><\/p>\n The University of Warwick recognised the benefits of a discovery layer and suspected there were opportunities to make finding relevant articles easier for their students.\u00a0 Focused on providing all their users with the best experience technology could offer, the search began for a discovery solution that could deliver advanced usability features and a high percentage of coverage for journal and electronic collections \u2013 without increasing effort required to train students or maintain the system.<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed a solution that made it easy for users to find what they were looking for, regardless of source.\u00a0 A clear interface with fast, relevant search results and fully integrated access to the user account were important for usability, and visibility of local collections with real-time availability was a big factor, too.\u00a0 We were focused on the ease of getting all that working, and Encore Duet made that possible.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u2013 Ed Kirkland, Data Services & Digital Production Manager, The Library at University of Warwick<\/p>\n For Warwick, making it easier to find articles required a combination of intuitive interface and broad coverage.\u00a0 Known for its clear display and familiar interaction model, Encore Duet was a logical choice.\u00a0 After confirming that the central index used for article discovery included comprehensive results over the majority of the university\u2019s collection, as well as a high percentage of journals and databases, the library was confident users would find top quality content that was relevant for their studies.<\/p>\n In addition to subscribed resources, access to local collections and digital assets was critical.\u00a0 Harvesting via OAI\/PMH meant Encore Duet would integrate discovery of Warwick\u2019s archival materials, digital objects, and articles from their institutional repository alongside electronic resource records and bibliographic results from the library catalogue. This brings collections together from multiple different systems into a single search.<\/p>\n Real-time integration between Encore Duet and Sierra meant users would have completely accurate information about catalogued materials, as well as integrated access to their library account (requests, checked-out items, personal history, etc).\u00a0 Also, staff would not have to worry about maintaining record loads or establishing system connections.\u00a0 Finally, integration with the library\u2019s existing link resolver, knowledgebase, and authentication method meant they didn\u2019t have to change anything behind the scenes.<\/p>\n Having identified a solution with all the functionality they required, the next step was confirming it could satisfy the university\u2019s volume of users.\u00a0 Located in the United Kingdom, Warwick was pleased to see that when Encore Duet was hosted in a Tier4 security collocation facility in Dublin, they experienced quick response times and reliable performance, even during peak usage hours. \u00a0\u00a0With Innovative taking responsibility for system maintenance of the cloud-based discovery solution, the library has additional peace of mind knowing they can speak with a support team from Innovative\u2019s Dublin office, in Warwick\u2019s same time zone.<\/p>\n The University of Warwick was satisfied that Encore Duet could truly take over as their primary search tool.\u00a0 The library felt very confident about promoting the new discovery solution and positioned it as the only search box on their home page.\u00a0 Having won over the academic librarians, students see Encore Duet in all the induction teaching materials now.<\/p>\n Library staff have been very pleased with the localisation options offered by Encore Duet.\u00a0 Ed Kirkland, Data Services & Digital Production Manager notes, \u201cWith a customised header and background image that includes the university branding, the interface matches the main website and feels like a natural continuation for users.\u00a0 It\u2019s quite nice that it looks like ours \u2013 really makes Encore Duet stand apart from other discovery solutions.\u201d\u00a0 The library is also able to customize text and material type icons.\u00a0 Beyond cosmetic adjustment, they have added JavaScript to include additional features and to power integration with local systems, such as the ability to request external store items.\u00a0 Users benefit from a single click on the results browse, which automatically populates request forms with title and author information from the bibliographic record, served up by Encore Duet. \u00a0The best part is the library can control everything within a web-based administration interface, so there is no need to open service tickets.<\/p>\n Since promoting Encore Duet as their primary search interface, the library has experienced a significant increase in usage.\u00a0 During the first academic year after implementation, they were pleased to see that discovery sessions were up by 73%, the number of unique users was up by 202%, and the number of page views was up by 37%.\u00a0 Anecdotally, they have gotten positive responses from their users.\u00a0 The launch was marked by complimentary comments on Twitter, and students and academics from the university\u2019s Business school in particular really appreciate the improved experience and have become very heavy users.\u00a0 Best of all, the library doesn\u2019t get any complaints \u2013 Encore Duet is always available and working well for students and faculty.<\/p>\n Overall, Innovative\u2019s Encore Duet discovery solution allows the University of Warwick to better serve faculty and students, satisfy library staff, and guarantee ongoing excellence in research and teaching in accordance with their mission.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nThe Solution That Ticks All The Boxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Reliable Performance And Localised Support<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Result: Better Experience And Increased Usage <\/strong><\/h3>\n