It is nearly impossible to discuss search and discovery in libraries without mentioning Google.
The search engine has shaped user expectations for ease of use and accentuated by contrast the challenges library users encounter when they use library websites to search for information.
The fragmented state of search and discovery on library websites results in part from what Lorcan Dempsey identified as the complexity of the library systems environment, which includes purchased materials (items managed by the integrated library system [ILS]), licensed materials (electronic journals and article databases), digital resources (institutional repositories, special collections resources), and the library’s website.
Rather than being organized by research needs and user expectations, library information resources have traditionally been organized by the disparate systems library organizations use to manage those resources.
for a disproportionate amount of the overall queries.
Also discussed are the merits of ongoing evaluation of library user search behavior