Knihovny.cz – building a discovery portal for Czech libraries

Abstract

Knihovny.cz has been built as a user-centred discovery portal integrating library catalogues, library services, digital libraries as well as other library resources. The portal aims to become the gateway to collections and services of Czech libraries. It is based on the VuFind open source discovery system with a number of modifications to improve user experience. It covers library collections and other information resources such as bibliographies, digital libraries and other online resources as well as library services. This paper provides insight on the decision-making process preceding the development of the portal that led to it being developed in-house by the Moravian Library. The paper then concentrates on the development process of the portal including user analyses, user experience studies and design decisions that led to the current version of the portal. To conclude, the paper discusses lessons learned during all phases of the design process, the difficulties encountered when promoting the portal and presents plans for further development of the portal, chiefly ongoing development of machine learning based improvements, the integration of interlibrary service component currently being developed by the National Technical Library a planned addition of a commercial index of non-Czech resources.