The Impact of Web-scale Discovery on the Use of a Library Collection

Grand Valley State University Libraries implemented Serials Solutions' web-scale discovery tool, Summon, during the fall of 2009. This case study explores whether Summon had an impact on the use of the library's resources during its first semester of implementation. An examination of usage statistics showed a dramatic decrease in the use of traditional abstracting and indexing databases and an equally dramatic increase in the use of full-text resources from full-text database and online journal collections. The author concludes that the increase in full-text use is linked to the implementation of a web-scale discovery tool.