This report is a response to the following charge from project sponsor DeeAnn Allison: Develop a working definition of the purpose and scope for a discovery tool that includes a description of what it should accomplish. How will it help scholars connect with information? The charge included a request to answer seven questions:
1. What content should be included and why?
2. What functions or search capabilities should be included?
3. What social media enhancements should be included?
4. How can it be structured to help both novice and advanced researchers?
5. Can you identify a “perfect” tool? If not, which ones are better and why?
6. Should we abandon Encore? Why or Why not?
7. What is the relation, or non-relation to Google products? Is a discovery tool just a variation of Google? Should it be?
Over the course of the Fall 2016 semester, DIG committee members, comprised of seven Libraries faculty who voluntarily participated, met frequently to discuss the charge and determine how to best answer each question. Our answers were ultimately informed through a combination of reviewing the current literature, investigating peer institutions’ search tools, soliciting feedback from our library colleagues through a library-wide survey, and the committee members’ own insights. The responses to each of the following questions are a reflection of the consensus of the DIG committee members