Enriching Discovery Layers: A Product Comparison of Content Enrichment Services Syndetic Solutions and Content Café 2

摘要

A comparative analysis of content enrichment services, Syndetic Solutions and Content Café 2, was undertaken to explore which service would provide public library users with a superior online search and discovery experience through the enriched data elements offered, specifically looking at the cover image data element and exploring what factors impact the display of said element. A data-set of 250 items in five different formats, including books, CDs, DVDs, e-books, and video games, was searched in four North American public libraries’ discovery layers to compare the integration, extent, and quality of the cover image data element supplied by Syndetic Solutions and Content Café 2. Based on an analysis of the URLs, ISBNs, and UPCs for each of the 250 items, it was determined that the integration, and therefore the display, of the cover image data element was impacted by: (1) whether or not an ISBN or UPC was listed in the MARC bibliographic record; (2) which ISBN or UPC was listed, as items could potentially have more than one; (3) the inclusion of both ISBNs and UPCs in the record and the settings of the discovery tool; (4) the order in which the ISBNs or UPCs were listed in the record; and (5) whether or not Syndetic Solutions or Content Café 2 had the image data in its database at the time of the search. The quality of the cover image displayed was found to be impacted by the size requested by the library and the size of the image provided by the publisher. These findings may also have implications for the integration of other enriched data elements.