Librarians' and Information Professionals' Perspectives Towards Discovery Tools - An Exploratory Study

Discovery tools are becoming popular all over the world. Yet, there is little information regarding discovery tool implementation and evaluation. The objectives of this study are to explore: (a) librarians' and information professional' current use of discovery tools, (b) to what extent does the TAM explain librarians' and information professionals' intentions to use discovery tools, (c) to what extent do characteristics such as cognitive appraisals explain librarians' and information professionals' intentions to use discovery books, and (d) to what extent do personality dimensions such as openness to experience explain librarians' and information professionals' intentions to use discovery books. The research was conducted in Israel during the first semester of the 2015 academic year and encompassed 145 librarians and information professionals. Researchers used eight questionnaires and two open questions to gather the data. Findings reveal that the implementation of discovery tools in Israel is still in its infancy. Further, findings confirm that the TAM, cognitive appraisals, openness to experience, and importance of discovery tool features, affect respondents' satisfaction with discovery tools.