The Explore Related Searches feature in Encore leverages authority data in your library’s catalog to help users get to truly helpful information quickly and efficiently. By leveraging this rich data in the library’s catalog, Encore presents users with reliable and useful “places-to-go-next” in a search session. This combination of discovery features and the sophisticated metadata that librarians have worked hard to produce is the hallmark of Encore Discovery.
Encore presents the Explore Related Searches link just below the search box. After an initial search, a simple click reveals a tag cloud of context-appropriate new searches at the bottom of the screen, as well as alternative searches powered by the library’s own authority data. At last, a solution that leverages library expertise while delivering a contemporary web search style to which library users are accustomed.
Managers or Executives?
If a user searches for “managers,” Encore presents the “executives” authority term. Reference librarians are familiar with cases where authors have a certain name, such as “Richard Bachman,” (aka Stephen King) that users are unlikely to search for. Just like a librarian who might say, “here’s where you might want to look next,” Encore’s Explore Related Searches gives users the right option at the right time.
In other cases, a single topic has many related topics that may be fruitful but that users would never think of otherwise. Think about a student trying to research “rhetoric.” Encore uncovers pathways to “lectures and lecturing,” “persuasion,” “oratory,” and more.
The Magic Flute
With stage plays or music, there are frequently several versions of a given work. Take a look (pictured) at Explore Related Searches results for a “Magic Flute” query. Encore neatly unpacks the authority record information to provide various “Magic Flutes” by different authors and composers, plus new-search links in the tag cloud for operas and vocal duets, as well as versions for special audiences (“Children’s Songs”).
No matter where a user wants to go—from a broader to a narrower search or vice versa, to a facet that refines a search, or to relevant new searches—Encore gives users the best possible information and the tools to get there. Relevant, in-context information. Elegantly presented with tools to succeed. Discovery with room to explore. That’s Encore.
Find out more about Encore Discovery on this website.