Walker Memorial Library debuts new tool for library patrons
BROWNWOOD – February 6, 2012 – HPU’s Walker Memorial Library is pleased to announce the debut of its “one-stop-shopping” search engine, designed to offer easy access to virtually all of HPU library’s content through a single search box.
Eliminating the need to navigate an “alphabet soup” of library databases and search interfaces, this state-of-the-art tool lets students access the library’s entire array of thousands of books, e-books, articles, journals and other research materials through one search box.
“Up until now, it’s been a learning curve for students to figure out which library search engine to use for what,” said Laura Coulter, reference librarian. “Each batch of content was housed in its own ‘database,’ each with its own interface. That meant that students had to search among dozens of databases, plus our online catalog, to find what they needed. Understandably, folks were often unsure of even where to start.”
To make the starting point more obvious and intuitive, the library’s webpage has been streamlined to a single search box, alongside a small photo of Walker Memorial Library’s neoclassical façade.
According to Nancy Anderson, dean of libraries, students seem to like the new search engine and feedback from faculty has been positive so far.
“I really like it. It’s so much better,” said Jake Aschmutat, HPU senior. “Instead of having to pick a database, it’s all right there in one place, which is much more efficient.”
According to Coulter, efficiency and ease of access were the goals.
“We hope that this new search engine will be a welcomed convenience for students needing to locate ‘five acceptable sources for the paper that’s due tomorrow,’ as well as a useful ‘discovery’ tool for even the most seasoned scholar at our university,” Coulter said.