Chapter 6: Differentiators and A Final Note

Abstract

The previous chapters introduced web scale discovery and profiled a majority of the key players engaged in this space as relates to the library environment. While similarities abound, differentiators are present as well. This chapter highlights some of the differences in the areas of content coverage, metadata and relevancy, pricing, integration with other systems, and the interface. As evidenced throughout this report, each service continues to evolve at an extremely rapid pace in terms of content covered, and the features, functionality, and flexibility of the interface. While these services each hold great potential, a final note observes that web scale discovery services, at least at their present stage of development, are not the “final word” for the library discovery environment.