Discovery search tools: a comparative study

Abstract

Purpose

This review allows librarians to compare three of the major discovery services – EBSCO Discovery Service, Ex Libris’ Primo and Serials Solutions’ Summon – on the basis of price, content, user experience, features and functionality and back-end configuration to make informed decisions about the best tool for their institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The comparisons were made through a literature review, study of the vendors’ websites, several interviews and personal usability testing of each tool.

Findings

The tools each have their strengths and weaknesses, and a decision of which tool is most appropriate for an institution varies depending on the institution’s needs and current situation.

Originality/value

A literature review shows that no study has yet been conducted comparing these three discovery tools, and few comparative studies of discovery tools have been published recently.

Citation

Goodsett, M. (2014), "Discovery search tools: a comparative study", Reference Reviews, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 2-8. https://doi.org/10.1108/RR-12-2013-0312