There's been much ado about the role of the Integrated Library System (ILS). Traditionally, the ILS of course has played an important role in both the management and accessibility of library resources. This role was based predominantly on the need to catalog, acquire and circulate print items. Yet in the course of time, the focus has shifted increasingly towards digital items. And with this trend, the end-user expectations have shifted as well. Today, end-users expect (demand) an experience on the library’s website to be as agreeable as (and probably better than) elsewhere. As end-users we expect to find relevant information easily. Plain and simple. This panel will look at the key role of the discovery service and its relationship with the ILS in supporting the library’s mission. The front-end discovery service is, after all, the gateway to the library’s resources where the user experience (read: retention) is effective or not. Panelist will ask the question: how central is the discovery service to the library’s mission? How should the ILS support discovery? And how can libraries best assess and choose the discovery service independent from the ILS back-end?
